With Colfax Half Marathon training in full swing, I decided to add this 10K to my training calendar on a down week. It took a lot of inner strength to NOT sign up for the half marathon, which would’ve caused me to jump up in my mileage prematurely. I think it is the years of running and racing at this point that helped guide me to that decision. I’ve been feeling great with my training plan thus far…it is a very gentle ramp up. It increases by a mile every other week, with “down” weekends being a 10K run. So far so good.
When my husband and our friends decided to do the half marathon, I chose to tag along to do the 10K. You know what’s great about a 10K? Practically everything! Here’s a list of reasons why a 10K is better than a half marathon:
- You still get a tracked time
- You still get swag
- You (sometimes) get a medal…half the work for the same swag!
- Unless you’re running ALL OUT, you won’t feel like you’ve been hit by a bus
- You can still walk afterwards
- You can travel with relative ease
- You can probably still shower and make your 12 noon hotel checkout deadline
- It’s usually half the price of a half marathon
We chose to drive in to Albuquerque on Thursday night. I worked from my hotel room on Friday and then went to packet pickup. Our friends drove in on Friday night and we grabbed a carb-y dinner together. From there we went our separate ways and woke up the next morning ready to go.
For the Albuquerque half marathon, the route was a point-to-point course. That means that you don’t start and finish your race in the same place. So, for groups of people who are traveling and running together, that can pose some logistical challenges. Similarly, the start times are different based on the distances as well. The half marathon here started 45 minutes before the 10K. It makes sense if you are trying to close up the finish line by a certain time.
Winters in the southwest desert are beautiful. The weather was great for the race. It started off a little chilly and windy but warmed up. There is very little shade/cover on the course, so you get plenty of sun. I originally packed a thermal jacket, long sleeved shirt, and running gloves, but as you can see I ditched those for a tank top and sunscreen.
The course itself was a mix of asphalt (mostly running on the shoulder of the road when in neighborhoods) and packed dirt. Packed as in “soil wet from torrential rain that has baked under the desert sun”. Only half marathoners and age group winners got medals, which is fine by me! The swag t-shirt was great…buttery smooth.
Overall I enjoyed the race. Everyone was in much better shape than me so I had the course to myself for most of it. Signage was really easy to follow and I never got lost. The neighborhoods we ran around were really fancy and felt really safe. There were at least 3 water stations during my 10K. I definitely recommend it if you are looking to support a small race company!
Amara in Training 