Race Recap: Old Wethersfield 10K

HMF Old Wethersfield 5K & 10K
Registration: $40 (10K) includes bib, t-shirt, drinks, light food
Race Location: State Street, Old Wethersfield, CT
Packet Pickup: Day before at Fleet Feet WH, or morning of starting at 7 AM
Parking: Free parking in DMV lot
# of Participants: 10K- 615 people

Runners gathering nice and early!

Overview: What better place to run my first 10K race than in my own town, Wethersfield?  I was coming off of a rough few weeks, which involved less running than I would have liked, so I wasn't going into this 10K with high expectations.  All I hoped for was to run the whole way, and finish in under an hour.  I did both, but it was hard.

The morning festivities were well under way when I arrived at 7:45 to pick up my packet, which included an awesome bright orange t-shirt.  There was a DJ playing loud, fantastic music getting everyone pumped up for the race.  The 5K and 10K both started at 8:30 am, with the 5K doing one loop around Old Wethersfield, and the 10K doing two loops.  I usually run through Old Wethersfield at least once per week, so I was familiar with the area, which helped ease my nerves. 

Pre race selfie!

The first 3 miles went very well, I was averaging a 9:00 minute mile, and felt good.  Around mile 4, I got a really, really bad stomach ache… as in I didn't know if I was going to throw up or something worse…  I thought through all of my options- should I stop? Should I just run to a bush and throw up? Should I flag down a police officer? As I contemplated my options I realized we had passed the 5 mile marker, and at that point I decided to just suck it up.  Also around that point, my high school marketing teacher was running next to me, so we chatted and I kind of forgot about my tummy.  The last mile I definitely slowed down, but I was still proud of myself that I wasn't walking.  I crossed the finish line at 59:49.  The second I crossed the finish line I booked it for the bathrooms, thinking I was going to get sick.  In all my years of physical activity and sports I have never thrown up from overexerting myself, so I think this may have been a combination of exhaustion, emotion, terrible eating a few days before, and lack of training.  I ended up placing 28/48 in my age group, 165/345 in the female division, and 399/615 overall.

Daniella! The best encourager and fellow iRun4 runner!

I had a bunch of friends running in this race, and it was really nice to see them throughout the run and give high fives and get encouragement.  This was a mentally challenging race for me, and I persevered through it and finished while completing my race-goals.  I'm proud of myself for not quitting even though I wanted to desperately numerous times throughout.

I will definitely be running this race next year.  The HMF does a great job organizing events and providing fun, energetic environments. 

Have you run the Old Wethersfield 5K/10K in previous years?

Do you prefer running on home-turf as opposed to races in other towns, or do you feel no difference?