Scott Procopio Gold Star Run for Honor 10k

Hi Guys!
Yesterday I woke up at 5 to run a 10k in my hometown of Saugus!  Yes, that's right, 5am on a Saturday, what was I thinking?? 

 I decided to try a different pre-race breakfast than what I've been having.  This was my 7th race, and I've had a bagel with cream cheese, coffee and orange juice before each one.  This time I had 3.25 English muffins halves with peanut butter, honey, and a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a mug of coffee.

I think this breakfast worked a lot better.  Bagels get digested pretty fast, so by the time I'm at the starting line, I'm usually feeling shaky (could be from nerves, though) and a little hungry, and depending on the length of the race, I feel like I need more energy.  This time I didn't feel hungry/shaky before the race, and I never felt like I was running out of energy on the course.

The humidity was at 87% and it was around 75 degrees.  Not ideal running conditions!

I ended up running into 2 friends from high school, Ryan and Josh, and they were both running the 5k.  It was really nice to see some familiar faces, and chatting with them really helped calm my pre-run jitters.  So, thanks guys!

The starting line

The course was not very scenic.  It went down some main roads in Saugus, and at mile 4, it lead us up a giant hill.  That was not fun, but I didn't stop to walk once, so I was pretty proud of myself for that.  I enjoyed the challenge!

I crossed the finish line in 58 minutes 19 seconds with a pace of 9:23.  For the women's division, I came in 19th out of 29, and in my age division 11th out of 16.  Not my best, but I had an awesome time running this race, and I loved the challenge of the big hill near the end.

This race was run in honor of Scott Procopio who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan in 2006.  The proceeds go to a scholarship in his name to help children of members in the armed forces go to college.

For more information:
www.procopioscholarship.com