BLUEBERRY STOMP 15K

I have only run past the nine mile mark one time prior to the Blueberry Stomp on Labor Day morning so I was curious to know how it would feel to run a 15K (9.3 miles) in a race setting. I gotta tell you, it was a good time. The start of the race starts with literally thousands of people lined-up along the main strip in the town.

It was a fairly challenging course with a lot of rolling hills but the course never had a really steep climb or a quick decline so keeping my pace was fairly easy to do. I think the most odd thing about the whole course, which was an out-and-back, was running in what felt like the middle of nowhere. Plymouth, IN isn't exactly a bombing metropolis but it was kind of odd just running past row and row of corn.

Coming back into town on the flip side of the course was a good feeling as the Blueberry Festival parade was going down one side of the street and the runners on the other side. Once again, thousands of people watching. The final mile felt like it took a long time because it was just one straight stretch.

I crossed the finish line in 1:14:38 so I beat my goal of finishing the race in less than 75 minutes. Actually I feel like I left a little bit out on the course so I'll have to learn from that as I increase the mileage in my races. Fortunately my nasty bout of poison ivy didn't effect my run. I credit that to a good tape job from our trainer at SMC and fellow runner Stacy Schlumbohm.

NOW, the best part of the race was the post-race blueberry donut and blueberry ice cream from the festival. The absolutely best tasting ice cream I have ever had! Shoot, I'd do that race again just to partake in the post-race ice cream!