26 July 2010

Personal Record!

I never thought I would get excited about running.

I know I "talked" about this recently, but the whole running thing still baffles me. But as I get more used to it, I get more goal-oriented about it (goals? me? shocking.)...

This past weekend was Wharf to Wharf, the super fun 10K we ran in last year, and loved so much we decided to make it an annual tradition. Once again, a group of us -- this year, we ultimately had 11 -- rented a house, loaded up the cars and the dogs, and headed down to Santa Cruz for the weekend. This year our house was a little more central, just a few blocks from downtown, and a little sunnier...rooftop access too!

After a fun weekend of playing, eating, and a little drinking...Sunday rolled around and it was time to run the race. I had tweaked my knee the weekend before, and wasn't too sure how it would hold up over the 6+ miles. I wanted to come in at under 10 minutes/mile....was a little nervous about it!

The gun sounded and Alisa & I jumped in right away. This was probably a mistake...it was so crowded it was hard to move around much. Our first mile was rather slow, largely thanks to the walkers who decided to place themselves right in the middle of the flow (and, in the 6min/mile pace group).

And, as an aside...this is just poor race etiquette. If you're going to walk, fine, but go to the back of the race. Or to the sides. But don't just walk, from the start line, when it is not necessary. Don't stop in the middle of the street without any concern for the pile up you may cause. Be cognizant of the other runners around you, many of whom have trained and went to the faster pace group because we actually wanted to run!

Whew, ok...we rounded up the first hill with some great speed that lasted throughout the race. The bands entertained us, and seriously, they are the best part of the race. Every few hundred yards there's a new band, and there are locals around dancing to these bands and cheering us on. So fun. they definitely helped us move on up the hills...and at the last mile, we were pacing at about 8 minutes/mile.

No wonder I felt like vomiting!

I felt awesome throughout the race, and think we could have paced a little faster if we had started a little further back of the pack....but overall, we came in at a tiny bit under 10min/mile, a PR for both Alisa and I and a great time overall. I was pretty pumped...my knees held up, we kicked @ss, and at the end I got to meet up with the Q's (who I hadn't seen since Amsterdam!) and have a beer or two!

Cannot wait until next year...goal time: under 1 hour.

2 comments:

Nicole said...

Well done! I've been running for the last few years and i love it :)

Lis said...

I'm in!