Start time: 6:16 a.m. (sunrise!)
Distance: 8k (4.97 mi)
Previous times: 37:44 (2013), 38:21 (2012), 40:30 (2011)
PR for 8k distance: 35:18 (Turkey Day 8k, 2013)
Pre-Race
Not much to say about this... I didn't do early packet pick-up, and left the house late on race morning so I didn't even do my own race-day packet pick-up! (Thanks, Megan & Robin, for getting my stuff).
Race
I barely noticed that they were getting ready to start the race... that's the nice thing about a) running with friends and b) not having a goal for this race. Nothing to really worry about, just run it! A quick countdown and we were off. The first half mile of the race has a few rolling hills before it stretches out onto a long, straight, flat mile. I felt like I was running at a pretty good clip and had a fleeting thought of maybe PR-ing, but when I passed the first mile marker and the volunteer called out a "7:45" time, I knew a PR was already out of reach. No way I was going to run sub-7 for the remaining 4 miles. In a way, I was kind of glad because it let me just relax a little, run what I felt, and enjoy the race instead of pushing to go faster than I wanted.
The rest of the miles ticked by pretty uneventfully. I love this race since it weaves through a subdivision where one house always has a sprinkler running and spraying into the road for runners to pass through. They've changed the route over the past few years and it no longer goes up the "big hill" (it wasn't steep, just a long gradual incline). I'll admit I was a little disappointed! I kept looking for the hill and it never came.
The race swag consisted of socks and a pair of "finisher" flip-flops. Pretty sweet!
Finish time: 37:50, #3 Age Group
(though my watch said 37:40 - no chip timing for the start line)
No comments:
Post a Comment