A Run With A View - Week 10 (March 3 - 9, 2013)

Silver Comet 10K (Mableton, GA) - March 9, 2013

Ever since I started running a few years ago, I have always wanted to run on the Silver Comet Trail, but I have never had the opportunity.  I have heard of the Silver Comet Half Marathon that is held in late October, which they added a full marathon option last year.  Unfortunately, my devoted love for football has prevented me from running the half marathon the past 2 years.  Despite its 15th running, I have never known about the Silver Comet 10K until a few weeks ago.  Once I saw that they did a 10K in early March I knew I wanted to do it.  It will give me the opportunity to run on the Silver Comet and it is a good distance for me to run during my 3 weeks between half marathons.

When I woke up at 5:30 the temperature was 41 degrees so I decided to just go with shorts and a tshirt since the high was projected to be in the mid-60s.  By the time I got to the race the temperature dropped to 32!  Thank goodness I was unintentionally prepared for cold weather and had my arm warmer sleeves in my running bag. Before the race started I was a little cold, but a mile or so into the race I became quite comfortable.

The race started in front of Kroger which was nice if you needed any last minute race stuff (water, Powerade, protein bar, etc) or you could run into their restroom.  

The race had a on-time start and we started on the main road for the 1.25 miles or so.  The remaining 5 miles were all on the historic Silver Comet trail.  The trail was absolutely beautiful.  There were so many scenic spots that we passed along the way where the sunrise coming through the trees was breath-taking.  The course is mostly flat along the way which made for good run overall.

About 3 miles or so into the race I came across a runner doing intervals similar to mine.  Nicole was awesome to run with and chat for a bit.  My pace slowed up from hers and she went ahead.  Nicole is a member of Black Girls Run which is such an AWESOME group of women.  We were talking about how our interval running helps us and the importance of just being active whether you are fast or slow. Black Girls Run is such a supportive group that cheers for and supports everyone like the champions that they are.  I always love seeing Black Girls Run at events and feeding off of their amazing vibe and energy.

Nicole and I at the finish line

Some of the amazing girls from Black Girls Run!

In all of the pre-race communications we were informed that we would finish at a different location than the start/post-race party and we would have to ride shuttles back to start area for the post-race party.  As I came into my last mile or so I kept seeing runners that have finished running and walking back the opposite way.  I didn't think much of this because I have seen a lot of runners at races run additional miles after the race.  Well, I walked the short walk up the parking lot to catch the shuttle - now I know why people were running back.  

There were hundreds of people waiting in line to catch the shuttle.  After about 45 minutes of waiting for my turn to board the 44-person shuttle, I finally made it to the "post-race party."  First I hit up the tshirt table and they had different color options earlier, but as the volunteers told me "I guess this is the color that no one wanted so its all we have left."  Wow, thanks.  It didn't bother me because I love my shirt.  There was not any additional swag - we were just handed our shirt.  This might have been different for those that got back before  me.

By the time we made it back to the start area all of the vendors were packing up and the only food for us was a box that had a few orange slices in it.  We just ran 6.2 miles (some 12+ miles after running back) and there was nothing to eat!?!  I don't expect a buffet, but something with some carbs would have been nice.  I finally got back to my car around 11:00 and by the time I got to a drive-thru it was going on 12:00.  My body was very unhappy with me at this point and did not react well to the situation.  Even though I run 6+ miles frequently, my body had a very hard time recovering after this 10K.  

Overall, the race was great.  My only complaint is about what happened after the race: (1) the shuttle wait (2) no food.  I really want to run the half marathon in October, but I will have to digest my overall impression about how the race went and if my schedule allows me to run it.

Race Pros:

Great shirt!

Scenic route

On time start

Race Cons:

45+ minute wait for shuttles

Lack of food at finish

Overall Race Rating: B+

Question of the week:  One of my favorite post race foods (for 15K+ races) is pizza.  What is your favorite post race food?  

Time to Run,

Brandi