Its Saturday afternoon. I stayed up late last night watching "Spirit of the
Marathon." What a great documentary! I cried like a baby at the end! I cringed at some of the runner's setbacks, I cheered for Deena, and my eyes bugged out at the air footage of the 40,000+ runners at the start of the Chicago Marathon, 2005!
Anyways, late night coupled with 5:45 morning and subsequent 6.2 mile race- I should be passed out right now! I layed down to relax, but my mind is still racing- and at a faster pace than I was this morning- for sure!
I have to say, after picking up my packet yesterday, my excitement was kind of deflated. It became clear that this was going to be a small race. The t-shirt was a disappointment, definitely, and so I was ready to set the bar low for the whole event. The fact that this was my first official 10k, that this would be the time I sent of to Disney when I register for the marathon, and knowing it wasn't anything I couldn't handle, kept me in the game.
We arrived at 7:30, I LOVE downtown Savannah. I love the historic buildings, beautiful parks, and the urbanicity of it all. This is my town, I'm proud of it, but the truth is I live in a whole nother planet called the suburbs. Its night and day- so any chance I get to mingle around this part of savannah I'm all for it!
This morning was MUCH chillier than I anticipated. I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt because its April and the weatherman said today would hit 80. I was pleasantly surprised as we walked from the car to the park and joined the rest of the crowd. There were several tents, music, and quite a jovial atmosphere. I actually recognized several people from previous races, including my DEAR old tennis instructor whom I just get a kick out of seeing her at every race. Saw my old Algebra prof, the staff from or local running store, etc.
No timing chip. Bummer. Like I said this was a small race so it makes sense but still, I like the officiality of microchipped time. I'm estimating it was about 10 seconds between the start and my running under the arch.
The run itself was beautiful. As is my routine, I relished and drank in the site before me, a road full of runners bobbing their heads and pumping their arms. I love being a part of it. Before the race I had convinced myself just to relax and aim for under an hour. I argued in my head that I should be able to do much better than that, but my distaste for pushing myself won out and so I let the bar sit low.
My time at mile 2 was 19:45. It was in line with the hour goal I set, but I wasn't pleased. I tried to pick up my pace, but knew I still had plenty of race left. The halfway is when I started really thinking I need to stop being a sissy and get used to some pain. Fleeting thought. When I hit 4 mile mark they called out a 35:23 time and for some reason I was impressed by this. I didn't really do the math in my head, but it was under 40 so I felt inspired. 2 miles left so I picked up my pace.
For the majority of the race I trailed behind a girl in purple shorts who aggrivated me the way she'd run, then stop and walk every two minutes for 20 seconds or so, then pick up and run again. I couldn't catch her for the life of me! How is it that my pace is so slow that people can walk and still stay ahead?! Well, I plugged on and sometime during mile four past purple shorts and didn't see her again. After that there was nobody to pass, everyone was THAT far ahead of me. I was starting to believe that I was going to come in last place (or second to last, rather).
I finished in at what the clock said was 54:44 which if my math is right, is about an 8:57 pace. Not bad, not great. I'll take it though. The comment was made about me as I passed the chute, "Look at her, she's not even sweating, she looks like she can go out and run it again, I wish I looked that good finishing." First off, uhh... yeah, there's quite a bit of sweatage going on, and I know my face is redder than an overripe tomato. I know she meant it as a compliment, and I thanked her, but in actuality, it was another reminder of how I fail to really drive hard and max out my potential.
Post race- tons of food! Yummy smoothies, the usual bananas, powerade, granola bars, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and pizza! Ha! Tons of doorprizes too- they picked every number but mine, but that's ok, I was very impressed by all the loot given away. Didn't stay for the awards cuz of the "I'm so over this-get me outta here" whining from the kids, and passed on the pizza (at 9am!) but we stopped at a local diner, sat outside (its beautiful today) and had us some french toast and chocolate chip pancakes!
Nothing profound to add, looking forward to the innaugural Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure 5k in two weeks. Running for Kari!!! I have a feeling that will be an awesome race! In the meantime, 10 miler tomorrow will put me back on my normal schedule and I am determined to kick it up and get speedwork in! I smell another PR!
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