12k

The race wasn't exactly what we were expecting... not so organized and a little more of an obstacle course than your typical road race. We got a chuckle out of the course map before we began as there were many footnotes... run under the bridge and through the dirt path up the grassy hill.... over the bridge and down the handicap accessible ramp (with three 180 degree turns)... run along the bike path until you reach the 3 flights of stairs leading back up to the bridge... Last year they had trouble with people getting lost and missing a section of the course because it was pretty complicated, not well marked, and they didn't have any type of escort. Anyway, I was happy that this was going to be more of a workout effort than a real race.... the plan was to run 6:55 to 7:00 pace.

I ran a short warm-up about 20 minutes before the start, stretched and did a few strides. It was pretty humid and probably close to 60 degrees but I actually felt a little cold while we stood around waiting for the race to start (it finally did... 10 minutes late).

I felt really good from the start.. really relaxed. The first 4 miles went by in 6:44, 6:53, 6:48, 6:49. They were all on pretty flat roads... no cross country, ramps or stairs yet! Miles 5 and 6 were 7:05 and 6:59... it was somewhere in these miles that we had to run off the bike path into a frisbee golf course (the dirt path and up the grassy hill) and then a little later we ran down the ramp and back up 3 flights of stairs. I was still feeling really relaxed and controlled through these miles... it felt much more like a MP back-to-back effort that I had been doing prior to the half marathon. It was tempting after mile 6 to pick it up a little but I stayed on pace through mile 7... 6:50. I let myself go a little for a the last .44 and finished (on a huge downhill) at 6:17 pace.

I was 10th overall (99 runners) and the first woman in 51:23 (6:53 avg. pace) ... not a very competitive field =) But it was fun and probably a good training effort. My legs didn't get sore at all and my knee felt fine throughout the race and later in the day as well. It was a nice change in effort from the easy runs that I have been used to lately.