I was really looking forward to this race for a few reasons: it was only a 10K; it was staged at the Naval Stadium in Annapolis, which is fairly close; and after the race I was having lunch with good friends in Annapolis!
Saturday I finally went on a run (as I did not quite manage Friday after work). I ran 3.5 easy miles at about 8AM. I think I actually slept in till 7AM. Anyway, it felt pretty good to use my legs after being ‘off’ them running wise for a week and a half. After the run I cleaned up and prepared to go do a bit of furniture moving from the townhouse to the house. It feels nice to slowly get stuff settled there. Saturday afternoon I lounged around reading and catching up on a bit of TV on the DVR. We had a nice easy orange chicken with rice dinner that was prepared out of a mix in a box. It was quite good and I will definitely make it again!
Sunday morning I got up at 4:30 planning to leave for 5:15. I am not sure what happened but it was 5:00 before I knew it and I ended up leaving at 5:25.Oh well. It was early Sunday morning and there was very little traffic. The race start was 7:00 – good think I double checked because I had thought it was 7:30! I had an uneventful drive to Annapolis with thg only back up being at the exit for the Naval Stadium. I was parked by about 6:30 and basically ready to go. I wanted to use the port-o-potties but the lines were way too long. I figured I could last 6.2 miles.
This race had a half marathon and a 10K option. I had originally thought about doing the half, but figured the 10K would be good coming off of the Columbia triathlon. I’m glad I took the shorter option. It was 75 degrees at 5:00AM! Yikes!! The start had both groups combined and we went off right at 7AM just outside the stadium in the parking lot. We took a tour of the parking lot before heading out onto the street where things for me at least quickly heated up. Not a big surprise, given the above mentioned temperature! I really liked this run though. It was hot and sunny at times but there were a few spots of breeze. We went down a cool street that reminded me of Old Town Alexandria with little shops on either side. We did go over a couple of bridges. One was quite flat and one was hard. The breeze above the water was quite nice! After the final bridge, the 10K folks split from the half marathon folks. At this point I a little more than a mile to go!
It had been so long since I’d run a standalone 10k (I ran two in 2000 and I think that is it) that I had no idea of a time goal, especially since this year I’m coming back after some time off last fall. I though 1:02 would be good and give me 10 minute miles, 1:00 would be great, and anything under would have been fantastic. Well, according to Mr. Garmin, I ran 6.3 miles in 1:02:38 at a 9:57 pace. According to the timing chip (which was a funky little thing) I ran 6.2 in 1:02:30 at 10:04. Given the heat and humidity of the day I’ll take it! Overall I was 31 out of 129 women in my age group and 357 out of 1443 of all women. Funny, this was the “Zooma Women’s Annapolis” but there were actually a few men entered! But...the first overall finishers in both the 10K and the half marathon were women...and not men! So out of all participants I was 394 out of 1536.
But it was truly hot out. I saw several women on the side of the road with emergency personnel. I was so happy to only be doing a 10K! I am quite happy to report that I ran the entire race and did not stop until the finish line! I carried two flasks of heed in my fuel belt and drank about 2 ounces at every mile marker, including mile 6. And at the finish I quickly downed a bottle of water after finally getting to the port-o-potty. Then I had a banana and an orange. I also got more water and a snack box and had an apple, and some carrot sticks.
After this I checked out the vendors and found the cutest green (of course) girly t-shirt at the Zooma booth. I walked back to my car for some $$ and headed back for the shirt. Then I went back to the party area (where the snack boxes were being handed out) where I had more water while chilling on the grass inside the stadium under the scoreboard listening to a local band. They were quite good playing a nice mix of 70’s music, current music, and music of their own. Around 10:00 I got up to start preparing for the next part of my day.
After yet another potty stop (this time in the 'real' bathrooms there) I headed to my car where I had a cold Diet Coke waiting. I checked in with Jeff then headed out. My iPhone really is the best – especially when using the GPS feature. I needed to get to the Ledo’s pizza but also wanted to treat myself to a latte and looked for a Starbucks. I must have driven right past it but before I could turn around I spotted a Dunkin’ Donuts...their lattes are not as good but they do have lemon filled donuts. Once I arrived I went to the rest room to first change so I wouldn’t look so grungy arriving at my friend’s house. Then I actually ordered an ice coffee instead of a hot latte. The lemon donut was the best I’d had from a DD in a very long time.
Next stop: Ledo’s! I got there about 10 minutes before they opened so I checked in with my son who had camped out the night before prior to heading to the WMZQ-fest. He said they’d had a great night and were looking forward to a great day. After I got the pizza I was at my friends by about 11:40. We were waiting for her daughter and her kids and I think we finally sat down for lunch at 12:30. I was starved! I got to visit till about 4:00, and wait out a wicked thunderstorm in the process. It was a nice afternoon! I was home by 5:00 and ready to eat again. After dinner I caught up on yet more stuff on the DVR.
Next up: DC Tri – Sprint on June 20! That weekend, the team is traveling to Bath County, 3.5 hours away. But I, along with some other Zs, opted to stay local, even though we have to (1) drop my bike off the day before, and (2) I will likely have to get up at 3:00 AM for a 5:30 AM race start! The first wave of the Sprint is actually scheduled to go off at 5:30 AM. Yikes!! The first wave of the Olympic distance starts after the last wave of the Sprint.
Happy Training!
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