Friday, October 12, 2012

Tufts Health Plan 10K

It was another day for running and this time I ran with women. I was invited by Reebok and FitFluential to run the Tufts Health Plan 10K in Boston on Monday as part of Team Reebok.



Thanks to my husband, we arrived at Boston Common with plenty of time to get checked in, cruise the expo, do some shopping, and say hello to the race spokesperson, Joan Benoit Samuelson, AGAIN.



We stopped by the Reebok Booth to check in and get our picture taken. They had fun signs for runners and supporters to fill out and a CrossFit game to play.


Before I knew it, the other FitFluential Ambassadors arrived. Reebok generously outfitted us all in Team Reebok PlayDry short sleeve tops. These shirts were perfect to wear with temperatures in the high 50s. 


With approximately 8,000 women (and some men) signed up for this race, the announcers started calling for the faster runners around 11:15. I hopped in the port-a-potty line one last time, got a good luck kiss from my husband, and joined the crowd. During the wait I happened to spot one of the ladies who has run this race for the last 36 years. Then Joan Benoit Samuelson wished all of us a good race and we were off.


Here's the video my husband captured of the start of the race:




I ran with my phone to take pictures because the course went through parts of Boston that I hadn't seen before. The first mile led us down Beacon Street before crossing over the Charles River into Cambridge. I know we looped past MIT, but I was more interested in watching the lead runners and looking for my FitFluential friends. We were pretty easy to spot in our purple Team Reebok shirts. People lined the streets everywhere including on top of an overpass and as we crossed the river back into Boston, the crowds on the sidewalks got even thicker. When I got to the finish line, Joan Benoit Samuelson was there to shake my hand (she finished in 38:21).


At each mile marker I had checked the time against my pacer bracelet, and had hit all of the 9:30 pace times. Since I used my Simple Hydration Water Bottle, I ran past all of the water stops including the last one staffed by men in tuxedos. My 56:23 finish time was a new 10K PRI finished 1485/5430 finishers. And for the first time, I ran faster every mile.




This was my first race in Boston and the second largest race I've ever run (biggest in Cincy). Picking up my bib and race swag was a breeze because they were so well organized. The announcements made throughout the day from the stage were very helpful (and that's how we knew JBS was there!) and we found all the volunteers to be helpful and friendly.  



Some details worth mentioning: Participants were offered pace bracelets. Even though I'm inexperienced with using them, I loved this and found it very helpful. They also handed out stickers to reflect the number of years you have participated in this race. I wore mine on my skirt and found myself looking for them on others. There was also a "changing tent" which I gratefully used.


Disclaimer: My race entry and Team Reebok apparel were compliments of Reebok. I was not compensated for this post and all opinions are my own.




16 comments:

  1. Great report! You are so lucky you ran into Joan again!

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  2. Enjoyed your race report and great job on a new PR.

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  3. Congrats on the PR! What a fun race experience. Love the Reebok shirts!

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  4. Congrats! What fun! I'm looking forward to meeting FFAs IRL next weekend :)

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  5. Congrats Amy! What a perfect day for running.

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  6. Mindy @ Road Runner GirlOctober 12, 2012 at 10:35 AM

    Sounds like sooo much fun!!! Congrats on a new PR!!!!

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  7. Congrats on your PR Amy! Hope to see you there next year :)

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  8. Clarinda @ Enjoying the CourseOctober 12, 2012 at 6:33 PM

    What is a pace bracelet? Looks like it was a beautiful race. Congrats on the PR!

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  9. I'm so bummed I couldn't do Tufts this year. Such a great race! You and JB are best buds now! ;)

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  10. It's a paper bracelet you can wear that tells you what your splits at each mile should be if you are trying to keep a certain pace. Some races have them as tattoos or people will write the times on their hands/arms.

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  11. Ha ha! That's right. Maybe I'll see you for Manchester next month?

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  12. Awesome job on your new pr, Amy! I've never run with a pace bracelet either, but it seems like it would be helpful. What a fun couple of races you've had lately!

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  13. Great PR!
    I'd love to do a race with a great group of women.
    Especially you FitFluential ladies.

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  14. What a great run!!! Nice job Amy!!

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  15. I don't think I'll get those splits next weekend. The hills are tough!!! See you there.

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