Snoqualmie Valley 10k Race Recap

Hey everyone!

I know I’m a little late getting this up, but better late than never, right? A couple of weeks ago I participated in the Snoqualmie Valley 10k, despite ending up with a really bad eye infection the day before (part of the reason for the sunglasses in the race day photos). I’m definitely doing great with injuries lately! Hopefully I have gotten everything out of the way so that I can finish up my training strong and make it to the start line of the Beats Half Marathon in August without anymore issues. Fingers crossed!

Since I hadn’t been feeling great the day before this race, my goal going into the race was to make it do the finish line without stopping. It’s been a while since I’ve ran the 10k distance without impromptu walking breaks to take photos, so I was somewhat concerned that I didn’t feel ready going into this race. But you know what they say… fake it until you make it so I suited up and made my way to the start line to see what I was made of. Here’s my Flat Tricia, with some of my recovery gear making a cameo appearance.

This race definitely had a small race feel, which is always something I love. I’m not sure how many runners participated in the half and the 10k, but it was certainly enough to force me to park around a 10 or so minute walk away from the start line when I arrived. I know… I know… first world problems….  but it was cold because of all the shade coverage of the trees and there’s almost nothing I dislike more than being cold in the morning before I’m fully awake! It definitely wasn’t a deal breaker though. It was the PERFECT weather for a run and I was dressed perfectly for the weather once I started moving a little.

I started the morning off with half a banana and a gluten free waffle with some peanut butter that definitely decided not to sit well on my stomach towards the end of the run. I’ve been using some combination of this as my pre run fuel for a while now so I think it was actually a combination of needing electrolytes and possibly being low on magnesium that was causing the issues though.

I ran through my dynamic warmups (single leg deadlifts, body weight squats, lunges, leg swings and arm circles) and did some light jogging on the grass before lining up with everyone to start the race. When I saw the PR bell, I was really hoping I was going to get the chance to ring it at the end of my run but it just wasn’t in the cards this time around.

Let’s discuss some of the pros and cons of this race:

Pros:

• Beautiful course
• Not overly crowded
• Free race photos
• Both 10k and half marathon finishers receive medals
• Tech race shirt
• Free parking
• Age group prizes
• Post race bbq with hot dogs and awesome snacks
• Good on race support with gels and drinks and port o potties
• Weather was perfect and trees provided shade keeping us cooler as it warmed up
• Mostly flat but the first three miles are a gradual incline that’s deceiving

Cons:

• 45+ minute drive from Seattle
• Packet pickup was also pretty far away (it was in Bellevue)
• Not enough close parking
• Walkers in rows blocked parts of the course making it hard to go around
• Not many spectators on course
• Sometimes I found myself alone in parts of the course (can be pro or con depending)
• The dirt path most people chose to run on was very narrow and slanted at points. The rest of the course was mostly in gravel which can be hard to run on.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this race, even though it was a bit of a struggle for me and some other runners I know that participated this year. Even though it seemed flat, the first three miles of this race were at a gradual uphill climb so I wasn’t able to settle in and really get to work until the halfway point. I was a little disappointed in my finishing time, since I was really hoping for a PR, but given the circumstances of my random eye infection the day before, I consider myself lucky that I was able to power through.

Here’s how I did during the race:

Finish time: 1:01:31; L1: 9:52, L2: 10:20, L3: 10:12, L4: 9:52, L5: 9:55, L6: 9:29, L7: 1:52

Race bling!

Race swag!

Recovery brought to you by Zico chocolate flavored coconut water, compression socks, frozen peas and Amazon Fire TV!

Questions of the Day:

Coconut water… love it or hate it? Favorite flavor?

• I’m loving pineapple and chocolate lately.

What does your post run recovery look like?