Park Forest Scenic 10

OK, so I'm way behind in the reporting arena, but hey, I got lots of stuff going on!

The morning of the PF Scenic 10, I wished I hadn't signed up for the race. I had that hilly bike ride the day before, but more importantly, it was POURING RAIN! The last time I did this race, it rained. But, you know, you get up and drive to the race the whole time hoping that it will clear up before the race starts. I couldn't find my raincoat and I thought "Gee, this means I REALLY shouldn't go!" I thought it was a sign.

However, I have this weird "thing" where if I sign up for a race, I'm doing it unless I'm on my deathbed or have some serious injury. It was chilly and drizzling as I walked quickly over to pick up my packet. I have no idea why the PF Scenic 10 t-shirts are so ugly. This is a premier race where they always bring in all these super fast people. Almost none of them can speak English and they all (including the men) weigh under 100 pounds. Well, I never really see these people until they do the awards presentation at the end.

I planned to just run this for fun with no time goal in mind. It's amazing how different the whole race feels when you go into it with that attitude. I lined up with some friends at the back of the pack and planned to run with them through the race. Ten miles goes much faster when you can chatter with friends.

Even as the gun went off for the race, it was drizzling. I don't really mind drizzle. That can make a run rather refreshing. It's that downpour of cats and dogs that gets your shoes and socks so soaking wet you get blisters that I can't stand. Takes your shoes DAYS to dry out after a run like that.

Anyway, we started off at a nice, casual pace. A couple of hills made the pace seem harder than it should have, but the course is second to none. It starts in residential areas and then very quickly heads into forest preserve. The only problem with that is that the path is narrow. And with it raining, I didn't really want to try and pass people by running around them forcing myself to run in the grass. I just didn't care about my time so much to do that.

The first 5 miles went by so fast it made me wish the race was longer (yeah, right). But then here's where the real fun began. I was now solo with a guy I had trained with all last year and run a couple marathons together. Our running abilities are very close, which makes us good running partners. We chatted the entire time, but we churned out negative splits the entire second half of the race. Mile after mile, the times kept going down. We'd smile at each other and keep chugging on, enjoying every step of each mile. It wasn't a full-out sprint down the finish chute, but we passed many people and it felt good.

It rained almost the entire race, but at some point, it didn't matter. I was soaked at the end and had to go to the car to change immediately. One of the best things about the PF Scenic 10 (besides the course) is the after-party. They have plenty of food to choose from and the beer is flowing! I hung out with several friends, some new, some old, and watched the entire awards ceremony while just catching up.

Another year of the PF Scenic 10. Hope to be back again next year.