VB Run Like a Girl 10K

Miles: 6.2

Total Time: 74 mins

11:54 pace

There are a few things you don't want to do on a trail run- get a 'present' from mother nature, and take a nasty fall. I managed to do both. Welcome back to running, Stace.

I signed up for the Run Like a Girl, which raises money toward Ovarian Cancer research and a cure. This seemed fitting for me, since I just had ovarian surgery to remove cysts (I should get my results on Nov 15th). I'm only 2 1/2 weeks post-surgery, but I was really ambitious and signed up for the 10k vs. the 5k for my first run. Probably not the best decision, but hey- I'm me. :)
Weather was perfect; race time probably ran about 58-60 degrees and sunny. The first mile flew by, and since I was on flat concrete, I barely felt it. Then we turned onto the trail, which was hilly and included a lot of sand and tree roots. I took it slow, since I swore I wouldn't push too hard my first day back, but on one of the turns, I found myself face-down on the trail. WTH? I had caught a well-hidden tree root and fell hard. Embarassed, I jumped up, convinced no one saw me, and treked on. I ended up feeling it in the same knee I hurt during RnR in September, but I alternated running and walking until I hit the finishline at a personal worst 1:13:30. So that's what that feels like, heh.
I grabbed some water and reached for a banana, when two women came up behind me and asked if I was okay. Apparently they saw my fall ("You fell hard!") and worried about my knee. I convinced them I was okay, and the one lady hugged me and told me how inspirational she found it that I just got up and kept going, which really made me feel better about the whole thing. It wasn't until I got home that I found a large gash on my leg, but I know that I'm just fine. Only one way to go from here...