My first 10k!

It's hard to believe that a year and a half ago, I felt like dying after running minute-long intervals. Today, I ran 6.2 miles along with 2577 other people !!

It was a beautiful morning. My hubby went with me, which was soooo nice. I'm glad I didn't have to go alone. It was still dark out when we got there and the sun was getting close to coming up when they started the race. The temperature was 53F with only a light breeze. Perfect, really! Since hubby was there, he waited with me until shortly before the start and took my jacket. They did have a bag check there, but it was nicer to have it up until the last. Of course, it didn't take long before I was warmed up enough that it was the perfect temperature.

I, of course, placed myself rather far back, so it took over two minutes to cross the starting line. It was very interesting. Take a few steps, wait a bit, take a few steps, wait, over and over, then finally a clearing and we were off! It took a good mile or two before the crowd got into it's pace. Until then, I had to dodge walkers and, I assume, people who started off too quickly. Also, it was important to look out for potholes and cones (!?!) in the middle of the road. I'm not sure why they put them in the middle of the road at the start. Later on, I think they were there to keep the runners on one side and the cars on the other. But, they could have placed them after everyone started, really. I saw a couple people almost fall.

During the first mile, I did notice I was running a little faster than normal. It wasn't crazy fast, and it felt comfortable, so I let it go at that. In fact, I kept a rather constant pace. After about a mile and a half, my heart rate was up and it stayed between 175bpm and 180bpm for the rest of the race. I see that as a sign that I was pacing myself correctly. That is a range I can hold for a long time without big problems. When I picked up the pace at the end, I did get up to 188bpm briefly.

At around a mile and a half in, we started up a rather steep hill. It was cool, though, because at the top is perched Central High School, and the sight was really pretty. During the whole race, hubby was running around taking pictures of me. It was funny and nice. He got stuck and couldn't make it to the finish, but that is ok. I think he got about as much of a workout as I did!

There were three or four bands spread around the course. (Probably more placed elsewhere for the longer races.) It was fun and made the time pass more quickly. Although, I couldn't hear them play for very long, since I was passing by. The mood was fun and people would talk some to others.

I ate a Gu gel about ten minutes before the race then another around 4.5 miles. It seems to have worked ok, since I didn't get the extreme exhaustion I've gotten before after running these distances. At the end, I got a 1/4 bagel, 1/2 banana, water, a bar of some sort, and a bowl of tortilla soup.

All in all, I felt really good the whole race. At the end, I felt I could go longer. AND I crossed before the 1/2 marathon first place runner, which was cool. There was a policeman on a motorcycle leading the way for him.

My chip time was 1:06:13. I was hoping for better than 1:10, and I got it! There were 2577 people total who finished one of the three distances. 636 people ran the 10k. It was quite a sight to look in front and in back and not see the end of the masses. I ended up 404th over all, 58/91 in my division and 226/405 for females. So, I still had around 1/3 of the runners behind me. That's the glass-half-full way of seeing it! If I did this for winning against others, I wouldn't be doing it long! I did beat the gal with "slow" printed on her shirt. That was taunting me for a while!

So when is the next race??