Wicked Halloween 10k

Rest day today!!!

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Short Version:  Ran a new 10k with a new PR of 46:41. A 2:01 improvement!  Yahoo!

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Yesterday I raced the Wicked Halloween 10k race.  This was a race in Plymouth, Michigan that started and finished in downtown Plymouth.  This is not around the corner from me but it looked like a fun race and since I decided to skip the Detroit Turkey Trot this year, I went to this race instead.

It was an early start to the morning as I had to get up at 5:30am to get ready.  I did my usual race routine including bathroom, eating, foam rolling and headed off.  It took me about an hour to get there which really is a long way for a 10k race but it was worth the drive.

I got there and went to check in and get my bib and shirt.  Here's a picture of the shirt:

A really great looking shirt and I like the fact that there are two colors on the shirt.  Great logo design as well in my opinion.  I was able to get a parking spot just a block from the start line which was nice so I took the shirt back and waited until closer to the race.  It was FREEZING outside!  The temps were in the low 30's.  I think it was colder for this race than the Turkey Trot last year.

Once it got closer to start time, I headed back to the race and waited in line for the port-o-potties.  That was also really quick as well.  There were tons of people that were dressed up for Halloween as I expected.  I went as a runner.  Ha!  No costume for me.

I got to see one of the guys I went to school with at Central Michigan so we got a picture before the race.  He was there with his wife and daughter.

I also got to see Megan and Ryan and their gang from Watch MeGo Run along with meeting Megan and her husband, Kevin from On the Road Again.  We got a quick picture of the gang but I forgot to get a picture with Megan and her husband from On the Road Again.  Oops.  Megan #2 was doing the 5k since she's 29 weeks pregnant!!!!  Holy cow!  Awesome!  Here's our picture:

That would be me, Megan, Ryan, Runnersis and Runnerbro!

The race had a little Michael Jackson Thriller dance before the race and then the
national anthem and we were off!  The first 1/2 mile was LOTS of weaving in and out of people.  I was shooting for a PR on the 10k which was difficult but was able to do a 7:19 first mile even with the crowd.  After that the crowd thinned out pretty well and I didn't have to run around people anymore but still continued to pass quite a few people.  I saw Meagan's husband in front and tried to keep up with him but after about 2 miles, I lost him.  Dang, he is fast!!

Because it was so cold outside, I really did not warm up until mile 3.  My hands and feet were freezing until then but I was able to keep a pretty decent pace throughout the race.  I was really worried about all the turns on the course but when we got out there, it was not bad at all and really enjoyed it.

Coming back at the end of the race, there were people cheering you on at both sides of the street which was nice for the finish.  There were also some residents out cheering us on as well during the race.

At the finish, you went through the finish shoot and there were volunteers there to give you your medal and direct you towards the food.  Sweet medal!

I was really happy with my time given the fact that I just ran a marathon 2 weeks ago.  Check out my splits.  Yes, I like to call myself Mr. Consistency...well...except for forgetting to shut off the Garmin at the end - Crap.

The food was great.  They had Rice Krispie treats from Noodle Co., small Wheaties boxes, candy, bagels from Panera Bread, bananas, granola bars, energy bars and water.  Here's what I grabbed:

Candy - can't go wrong for a Halloween race!

Overall, I felt the race was very well organized.  It's put on by the same people that did the Solstice 10 miler so I figured it would be well organized.  There was 1,150 10k runners registered(but results for 1,264 so they must have added more) for this inaugural race.  Amazing!

After the finish, I was also able to find Rose from Hacker Half marathon and get a picture with her, Megan and Ryan too.  Rose, Megan AND Ryan had a PR today to so go congratulate them!

Me, Ryan, Megan and Rose - The 10k PR team!

I also looked and looked and looked but I could not find Ken from Eastside Stony Creek TNT Coach.  I'm sure he was there but could not find him before or after the race.

Overall, I was very happy with my race and a new PR for the 10k.  Yeah!  Of course, I'm a complete idiot for not turning off my Garmin at the end of the race.  What's the point of the Garmin if you can't remember to turn the damn thing off!

Official chip time:  46:41 (A new 10k PR by over 2 minutes!) 7:32 pace
Unofficial Garmin time:  47:09
Overall:  109 out of 1264
AG Place(M 40-44) 16 out of 90

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!