The Coke 10k is, in my opinion, the best 10k in the state of Mississippi.  It is also the largest 10k in the state of Mississippi!

As a newbie runner in the fall of 2011, MFH (My Favorite Husband) and I had started expanding my running distances and by spring 2012, MFH had helped me progress to the 10k (6.2 miles) distance.  I had seen a video of the Coke 10k course online and had fallen in love with the beauty of the race!  I begged MFH for the opportunity to run it and in the spring of 2012, we hopped in the car and headed north to Corinth to run the race.

Isn’t it pretty!?!

Ever since running the Coke 10k in 2012, I have returned every spring to run it…except for the one year #1 Son was graduating from Mississippi State University on the same day as race day.  I would be a pretty awful mom to chose a race over cheering (and bawling my eyes out!) for my son as he graduated from college! #VeryProudMama

Last year when I ran this race, I was not pleased with my running.  As a matter of fact, I was downright embarrassed with my finish time.  Yes, I had run hard but I had been forced to walk two times during the race and in my mind, I should not have needed to stop to run.

I finally admitted to myself that I had become a tad lazy and let my fitness slide.  Things needed to change and I spent quite a bit of last year with last year’s race in the back of my mind.  There was no doubt that I would be back and I was determined to redeem myself!

After successfully completing Pistol 100k this past March and a few weeks recovery, my new coach and I set to work getting the lead out of my rumpatootis.  Last year, my past coach hadn’t given me any speed work at all leading up to the Coke 10k, this year was different.  Intervals became my standard Wednesday workout.

It had been a LONG time since I had done any speed work.  It was needed.  It wasn’t much fun but it was needed.  Remember, I told you I had gotten lazy!

I started to see my endurance increase and my speed started to pick up!  I know, I was as shocked as you all are reading this!!!

This past Friday, I hopped in the car and drove up to Corinth, Mississippi for the carb load dinner that evening.  I spent the night with some amazing running friends I’d met on Twitter.  They had graciously invited me to stay at their brand new house (Thank you Allen and Melody!  You have a beautiful home and I love Maggie to pieces!!!)

I stopped by packet pickup and grabbed my stuff for the race in the morning.

A friend of mine who just completed the #AbbottWMM Marathons at London a week ago and her husband had left a great surprise in my race packet!  It was a pair of Goodr London Marathon sunglasses!  How awesome was that!?! I seriously wished they had been back from the UK.  I wanted to give them a huge thank you hug!!!

Met up with Allen and Melody at their house, chatted a bit then it was off to the pre~race dinner with lots of running friends.

It was so exciting that a whole bunch of #MScoffeerunners were able to make the trip up to Corinth to run this race!  We took a group pic at the dinner and again Saturday morning before the race.

I’m here to tell you, you will not find a better group of people anywhere than these amazing #MScoffeerunners!!!  #Blessed to know them!

*Can’t miss a trip to Corinth for this race without taking a pic at the Coke mural by Pizza Grocery!

I woke up at early o’clock Saturday morning.  I was sooo excited and ready to crush that course.  My head had gone through the course many times in the past few weeks remembering all the hills, that super flat mile that for some odd reason kicks my rumpatootis (it did again this year, too), the seemingly endless turns the last mile of the race, that one hill that takes me by surprise every year (you’d think I’d remember that hill was coming during the race, wouldn’t you?)…I was ready.  I mean, I. Was. Ready!!!

After the group pic, we walked over to the starting line.

The wheel chair athletes began 5 minutes early.  We had the pre~race prayer, the National Anthem, then the gun went off and so did we!!!

It was go time!!!

My new coach and I had chatted about the course and he had given me a general idea of that to work towards on different parts of the race and rough estimate of a target overall pace.  I was sooo please to come within 11 seconds of hitting that goal!  YAY, right!?!

Saturday was a well executed 10k and I walked away, with my coach’s help with a 1.15 minute improvement over last year’s race and, Gospel According to Strava, my 3rd fastest time on this course.  I’m a very pleased runner.

Thanks go to all of you who cheered and supported me for this race.  I’d forgotten how these shorter distances hurt!!!  There was no time yesterday to enjoy the scenery like I enjoy during ultras, I just gutted it out then entire 6.2 miles and this time sans walk breaks.

Huge shout out to MFH who is always my biggest cheerleader!!!

#IRun4Aiden