Category: Fitness

I am so happy to say that I completed my THIRD 10k over the weekend and it was my best one yet!

You may remember that I ran my first 10k last November with the Across the Bay 10k. It was a run over the Bay Bridge and was surprisingly fun for knocking out 6.4 miles of running! My friend Lindsey convinced me to also run the Sole of the City 10k with her in April… and that run didn’t go quite as well. Around mile 2 I felt kind of pukey with acid reflux and just overall felt like I was even slower than normal. I had done basically 0% preparation though… so there was certainly room for improvement!

Which brings us to my third 10k: the Wayfarer’s Annapolis 10k!

This was the first year of the Wayfarer’s 10k and the run looped around downtown Annapolis. When you register for the race, they ask you to set a personal goal and then if you succeed in your goal you earn a “Goal” patch at the end! They also had super awesome premiums – rather than the typical race shirt — that I wear once and then donate because it’s never very comfortable — they gave each runner a Vooray backpack (you can see mine here) and race patch. At the finish line, instead of a medal they gave out a special finisher keepsake of an engraved carabineer.

They had intended to also have a Wayfarer’s half marathon, but the day before the race they had to cancel it due to forecasts of thunderstorms. So, all the half marathon runners were invited to participate in the 10k instead.

As with the Across the Bay 10k, I spent the night at Lindsey’s house so that I wouldn’t have to wake up even earlier on the morning of the race. We ‘prepared’ by having an amazingly delicious dinner, glasses of wine, chocolaty dessert… and about 5 hours of sleep.

The race began at 7am, so we were up at 5:30, got dressed and ate our protein bars, and drove over to the Navy Marine-Corps Memorial Stadium. We look totally awake and ready to run, right?!

While it didn’t end up raining during our run, it was SOOOO HUMID! I have never been so sweaty in my entire life… my entire race outfit was wet and I could have wrung out my braids! The run was great though with some gradual hills and beautiful views.

Unlike the Sole of the City 10k, I felt great the entire time and Lindsey is always fantastic running buddy! Here we are after we survived the race:

My only goal was to feel good the entire race and beat my time from the Sole of the City 10k… and I did it! I ran about 5 minutes faster than our last 10k, so I very happily earned my “Goal” patch. I also earned the beer and Glazy Day Donuts they gave us at the finish!

Maple bacon! YUM!

After years of saying that I’d never do more than a 5k, I’m surprised at how happy I am running 10k’s. I think a lot of it has to do with the company… but I’m already looking forward to our next one!

I love a good 5k. It’s so nice to get outside in the beautiful weather and get in a workout without really feeling like it. Add in some alcoholic hard cider… and it’s even better! The Hard Cider 5k was held at the Hauser Estate Winery, home of Jack’s Hard Cider, about 15 minutes outside of Gettysburg, PA.

I talked my friend Annie into doing the 5k with me… with promises of hard cider. She’s not a runner, so we decided to walk the 3.1 miles. It seemed like almost half of the participants were of the same mindset, as there were a ton of walkers at this one!

We got to the location early so that we could do our packet pick up and decided that 9:00 am seemed like a good time to do a tasting.

In our defense, we started with a special seasonal release of Jack’s Hard Cider “Breakfast”… It was sooooo good and a great start to the day! We also tasted a bunch of other ciders and got a little buzz on before lining up for the 5k.

The weather was PERFECT and we had a great time walking and chatting. There was a killer hill at the beginning, but once we got past that, it was pretty manageable through the fields. I’m not a big trail runner, so I’m happy that I was walking it rather than trying to run the race.

At the end of the 5k, we got our super awesome medals — it’s a bottle opener! — and lined up for our free can of Jack’s Hard Cider. There was also a food truck festival at the finish line, so we got ourselves some yummies and decided what ciders we wanted to bring home with us!

I ended up buying this adorable Jack’s Hard Cider glass, a 6 pack of their “Helen’s” and a 6 pack of “Fireside”. I would have brought “Breakfast” too, but they only had that in a growler… which seemed like way too much to go through in a few days. We loved the event and have already decided to come back again next year!

Have you ever done a Hard Cider Run?