My first 10k

I ran my first 10k today.  Yes, that's right--I ran my first half marathon before I ran my first 10k. *shrug*  That's just the way it worked out!  The race was a lot of fun, probably the best race I have ever done, and it benefited the American Heart Association.  This is what I liked about it:

1. The course was great, because the first half is slightly uphill, and the second half is slightly downhill, with a big downhill finish.  

2. They had sponges soaked in cold water on the course!  Sooooooo refreshing on a warm, humid day like today.

3. They had free sno-cones at the finish.  This takes the prize for the best. post-race. food. ever.  Whoever thought of this idea is a genius.

Even though it was warm & humid today, the weather wasn't really that bad.  The temperature was in the low 80s, and it was overcast, so I only ran in direct sunlight about 10 minutes total out of the entire race.  This was my fastest race to-date!  I finished the 6.2 miles with a time of 1:03:50, which is an average mile of 10:17--almost a full minute faster per mile than the half marathon I did two weeks ago!  

Overall, great race, and I'll definitely run this one again.  It's also a great way to go out, because for the next 3 months, I won't run any races and won't even run outside due to the heat & humidity (which is my kryptonite).  My goal for the summer "season" is to work on increasing my speed and pace, for which the treadmill comes in very handy.  Then in the fall I'll start up racing again.

Annapolis Half Marathon

Well, I did it!  I finished my first half marathon.  S and I did it together, which was great (she beat me, but I attribute that to her youth and to the fact I hardly slept at all the night before).  

Why show a picture of us in the car, not at the finish or at least outside?  It is actually a pre-race picture of us waiting until just before the race starts, because it was pouring rain.  Pouring.  It rained for a good hour before the race and for about the first hour into the race, leaving huge puddles that we had to jump over or run around.  At one point on the course, a runner next to me jokingly asked where the rope swing was, because it certainly felt like an obstacle course (though nothing like this).  At least the rain kept the temperature down and the sun hidden away.

I beat my time goal of 2 and a half hours and finished in 2:27:02, for an average mile pace of 11:14.  Not bad considering the longest training run I had ever done was 10 miles, so those last 3.1 miles of the race were uncharted territory, to say the least.  

S and I drove over to Annapolis the day before the race so that we could do a little sightseeing.  It is a cute town, with a cute Main Street, and the Naval Academy is a really pretty place to walk around.  We even saw a wedding there and witnessed the bride & groom exiting the huge chapel.  That same wedding had their reception at our hotel, so it was a little noisy in the halls that evening (not ideal when you're trying to go to sleep early the night before a race).

Main Street; the harbor

Naval Academy entrance; Naval Academy Chapel with wedding guests in front

Thanks, S, for flying up here and doing this with me!  Can't wait for our next one, hopefully this winter in FL.