Charlotte 10 Miler Recap

 This morning, I was in south Charlotte for the S2F Charlotte 10 Miler. A few years have passed since I last did this race. They have made a few changes. They moved the race start to just off the McMullen Greenway, and now, the course runs entirely on the greenway. What's not to like about this. Short of a few rises, the course is about as flat as any course that you would find in Charlotte. 

We started at 7:30 but with the overcast skies, I felt like I was still running in the dark. The start is in the parking, and we go a little congested with everyone trying to cram on to 4th wide trail. We headed east for the first out and back section. I was running Jim W. More so, I was just holding on. We made the turn around, and we headed back. This was a bit tricky because everyone was pretty bunched up and running several people across. 

We pass by where we are entered the greenway. Things have spread out a bit but now, we catching the 4 miler who started after us but went in the other direction. Roughly two miles in the other direction i.e going west, and greenway was fairly clear with the exception of runner or walker out for a little morning stroll. 

When we hit the dirt section, this was my favorite. I could feel every tiny pebble up through my shoe. Adding to my annoyance, the laces on my left shoe were coming lose. This was most irritating. We made the turn at the parking lot just off highway 51. 

I am not sure what happened or why it happened but I really took this mile off. I ran it in just under 7 minutes. The mile up this point were all just a tad under 6:30. The miles after under 6:30 as well. Like I said, I had a slow mile. 

The race was definitely harder than I expected. I just couldn't find that right groove. I seemed to be just a step out of sync. Yet, I was just 2 seconds over my goal time which was 65 minutes. 

I finished 33rd overall and 1st in my age group so I was very happy with the results. Still, I think that there is more there. I just need to get to it. 

Race I aside, I enjoyed getting back on the roads. Seeing faces that I don't normally see. Seems I have 2 groups of friends - one road and one trail. There are a few overlaps. There is a still smaller group that are ultra fanatics.

I like to think that I make friends where ever I go. 

Cool Down Runner