Power of She 10k Recap

Happy Friday friends!

Now that I've got the birthday celebrations and foodie creations happily in my belly, I had a moment to finally sit down and tell you all about my first 10k!

 

Thanks to the lovely SheJAMS gals for covering my Power of She 10k race registration in exchange for a blog recap! So let's start with the day before the race...

Bib pickup was held at the same spot we would meet for the race, which made it super easy to find come race day. Not to mention the immediate confidence boost before i even made it through the door.

 

 

SheJAMS is all about empowering women who strive for an active lifestyle which is so apparent in every event and the community it continues to build.

I finally got to meet the SheJAMS gals, Julie, Andrea, and Melissa which are the JAM of SheJAMs. After communicating online the whole time, it already felt like I knew these ladies for years!

 

Me & Julie showing the Power of She love!

 

They had lots of booths and programs going at the race expo, which included Girls on the Run which I have been dying to be a part of for some time now. Hoping I can work it into my work schedule in the spring!

 

Papa John and Lisa came up to cheer me on, so we grabbed a bite to eat before settling in for a crazy night of watching Hocus Pocus. I opted for a Chicken Caesar Salad. Boring, I know, but it was what I was craving, and was a safe meal the night before a race.

 

 

The next morning I woke up around 6:30 to get my coffee fix in with enough time to use the bathroom 12 times before the race at 9. I also managed to down a banana despite having no appetite whatsoever. Damn you pre-race jitters!

 

We left about 7:45, which ended up being waaayy too early since we were the only ones there. That was kinda weird for me, since I usually show up for races about an hour before and it is already pretty crowded. It was a relatively small race, which could have been a factor.

Once it was go time, we all did a quick warm-up, then started in waves with our estimated finish times, since the route was really narrow and prone to some SheJAMS JAMS. (see what I did there?!) I ended up in the 2nd wave, since I aimed to finished in under an hour.

 

It was a chilly and breezy start, but was so glad I opted for my usual tank and shorts. It only took a couple miles until I was already warm, especially with the sun beaming on down.

Word of caution: ALWAYS take a close look at the course map before race day. Or better yet, going on one of the training runs that the SheJAMS group held every Sunday, which of course I could make none of.

The course was much hillier than I was expecting, which is never a welcome surprise. One giant hill right at the halfway mark took a lot out of me, but luckily there was soo soo much support from fellow runners and spectators that I didn't collapse, roll down it, and call it a day.

With about 2 miles left to go, I could feel myself slowing down, and was determined to finish in under an hour. I picked up the pace a bit, and well a bit too much since I ended up having to take a quick walk break at one point. After peeking at my garmin, it seemed like I wouldn't end up coming in at under the 60 minute mark. I was pissed. Like to almost the point of tears. I'm stubborn what can I say.

But once the finish line was in site, I booked it as hard as I could, and could see the giant clock ticking in at around the 58 minute mark. To say I was stoked would be a 1990's understatement.

 

I gave it all I had left in the tank, and finished at 58:49!

I ended up placing 36 out of 126, which I was pretty excited about. For my running friends, here's my splits, and for my non-running friends, scroll ahead to donut pictures.

Mile 1: 9:04

Mile 2: 9:18

Mile 3: 9:41

Mile 4: 9:48 (this was the hill!)

Mile 5: 9:41

Mile 6: 9:50

Sprint finish: 1:29

 

And in true Portland spirit, I celebrated with a famous Holy Donut, a large cup of strong coffee, and a pretty medal.

 

Overall, I loved this race, and the fact that it was held on National Women's Day!

Pros: Super supportive, relatively small (it was the inaugural race), gorgeous course along the ocean, clearly marked course, lots of updates and reminder emails before race, training runs on Sundays before race day, all-women's race.

Cons: Only 2 porta-potties at the race start/finish, having to walk a bit to race start (more cons for spectators), pretty hilly course, all women's race (sorry for the boys!)

 

I'd say there's plenty more positives than negatives, especially since this is the first time this race has been held! So thankful I was able to be a part of it, and it will definitely not be my last with SheJAMS.

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Want more race and running info? Head to my running page for more posts and tips!

 

Make it a great day!

Any races coming up for you?

What's the longest race you've run?