I was hoping to meet up with some friends, but we never found them amongst the 35,000 other runners, so instead we just kind of waited around and people watched.
This was the first year running the race that I also lived here, so it was nice to know the course and know what to expect. It was also nice that we got dropped off at the start line, rather than a mile behind where the shuttles drop you (therein forcing us to make our way through thousands of people to get as close to the start as we could). So I wasn't as nervous yesterday as I usually am waiting for races to start.
At about 7:30 we headed out to do some warm up loops. That helped a lot because it was pretty cold out there with a tank top and shorts on (plus I was glad for the warm muscles at race time). By the time we got done with that, we decided to make our way up to as close to the front as we wanted to be. I was hoping to get in front of as many walkers as possible, because if you have run races this large before, you know how much of a pain it is to try to run and be surrounded by walkers.
We situated ourselves not too far from the starting line and got our iPods and Garmins/watches ready to go. We both decided that we weren't going to try to run with each other, I knew he was going to be faster than me (his goal was breaking 50 minutes & mine under 56) so we said good luck and when the gun went off, we were gone!
Immediately I knew that taking Thursday and Friday off running had been a good decision, because my legs felt fresher than they had in weeks. The first few miles were a cinch and I was speeding along at between 7:30 and 8:30 pace. I knew I shouldn't be going that fast, but before I could slow down, the crowds at the base of the bridge made that decision for me around mile 2 when everyone bottlenecked to make it onto the bridge lane.
So I kept trucking and weaving in and out runners, passing guys in skirts and a banana man. I was visibly annoyed for a good bit of the race at the dozens of runners who abruptly decided to stop in the midst of a throng of runners trying to push it up the hill, thus causing me to either run into them or side step my way around them, often running into someone else. Last year I decided that it couldn't be avoided and I shouldn't feel bad about it so I did what I had to do to make my way through. Hey, I was hoping to PR after all.
Mile 3 was the top of the bridge and I was still feeling strong. The crowds started to thin once I reached the top of the bridge and I was glad to have some breathing room. There was an older man running next to me with a red sweat band that had yellow wings on each side. Loved it!
Headed down the bridge and onto Meeting Street at about mile 4.5. Was pretty pumped that there was no Red Bull corral there like last year. (Yep, they were passing out Red Bull to runners last year around mile 4. Didn't really understand that...anybody seen Red Bull at races before?)
Meeting Street felt like it was going to go on forever even though that stretch was only about half a mile! I was looking forward to turning onto John Street because that was where I had told Matt, my mom & my bro to look for me. Finally, the crowd turned onto John and I made my way to the left side of the road. There they were! My mom with camera in hand and Matt and my brother Eric standing there looking like they were glad that I was finally coming through which meant that their duty was almost over :) But they did holler for me...which you will see shortly on THE VIDEO! That's right. I thought my mom was snapping pics but she was videoing, and she managed to catch me as I ran by! So you guys get the pleasure of seeing ChasRunner Kbo in action...trying to run, not knowing she was being videoed. Oh well, I look...okay.
The vid is kind of long, so skip ahead to the important parts (or look for yourself if you were there!): my brother Eric makes his debut around 1:05 looking thrilled to be awake, a GO HEELS to my mom from a runner at 2:10 (she had on my Carolina sweatshirt) and again at 3:33 and 5:04, guy in a blonde wig at 4:19, guy running in a shirt and tie at 4:37, around the 4:50 mark there are the two Steelers cheerleaders (male type, in skirts), and I make my grand entrance at the 5:31 mark! (Watch me busting it up the sidewalk in my hot pink new shirt pretending to be a runner.)
I don't know how I feel about watching myself run, much less letting you all in on the party, but I'm only on there for like 5 seconds, so what the hell? Enjoy!
So after I passed my posse, we turned left onto King Street and ran about three blocks before turning onto George Street and then another left back onto Meeting...with the sprint to the finish! I looked at my watch when I passed them and realized I was still in the 40s, so I was pretty excited that I would be beating my goal!
I sprinted it in to the finish and made sure not to stop my watch right as I passed the finish line, and instead, made nice for the camera :) pics to come this week hopefully!
I finished the 10k in a total time of 52:03 with an 8:23 pace and could not have been more thrilled!
Checking out my time!
Me, Eric and Matt
My momma & me!
Two whole wheat banana pancakes (made with Aunt Jemimas Whole What pancake mix and some cinnamon, nutmeg & vanilla), some strawberries, and an egg white scramble with spinach, mushrooms and peppers. I of course also had some more coffee. We spent the rest of the day walking around downtown, making tacos for dinner, WATCHING THE HEELS STOMP VILLANOVA (just sayin') and I made another breakfast feast this morning!
After they left this afternoon, I ran 12 miles at a pretty slow pace. My legs were sore, and I had a full belly so it wasn't the most stellar run, but it wasn't bad. Going to rest tomorrow and get into it this week for my final week before tapering!
Whew that was a long post! Thanks for hanging around. Stop by tomorrow for another lesson on grocery shopping on a budget! Hope everyone had a great weekend..I know I did! However, I am currently quite pissed that the Amazing Race is not on tonight because of the country music awards..not that I wouldn't watch that if I had control over the TV, but because, well, Amazing Race is my pretty amazing.
