Race Report

It started off perfectly.  I left with My Girls (the three lovely and incredible ladies that I go up to Elkridge with every year) and we stopped at the halfway point for supper at our favorite restaurant.  Chris and her “girls” met us there, and all seven of us had the most fabulous meal.  I don’t think pork has ever tasted quite that good – stuffed with apple and asiago cheese, and drizzled with some kind of maple sauce that was to die for.

We parted ways – Chris and her girls went to spend the night with a friend in the city, and I headed up to the Lodge/Resort with My Girls.  We lounged in our room, visited, giggled, silently cursed the obnoxious people who were talking loudly in the hallway (seriously, do people have no sense of common courtesy?) and eventually fell asleep.

In the morning, we mocked the snorers, had coffee and cinnamon buns and cheese, and got ready for the race.  It was smoking hot outside, and the race was PACKED.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many people out for this race.  It was amazing.  And congested.  Which was maybe ok because it forced me to start conservatively.  I ran with Jan and Machon, and we wove our way around slower runners until the pack thinned out a bit, and then we settled into our pace.

Still, by the time we had completed the first loop of the 10k race, my legs were feeling heavy.  We took a quick walk break, and then kept on plugging.  5k-7.5k felt not so bad, but then we started hitting the seriously bad hills again, and what I could run through the first time I just couldn’t the second time.  After another walk break I made Jan and Machon carry on without me, but managed to keep them in sight until the very end.

I hit the last set of brutal hills – there are two super steep hills toward the end of the loop – walked both of them, but ran when I’d finished them and managed to pull out a strong-ish finish.  Which just means I managed not to walk at the very end.

Still, I managed to pull out a PR for this course and finished in 1:01:28 – not my best 10k time, but definitely my best on this particular course.  So I am thrilled.

I then had the privilege of watching Chris come across the finish line of her very first 10k.  I’m so proud of her!  And she pulled off an amazing race for a first time!

We finished off the day with a caramel macchiato, an outstanding deli sandwich (at, would you believe, Safeway?), a quick trip through Winners, and then home.

Pretty much the perfect weekend.