Run to the Shrine 10k 2011

I know I haven't kept up on this exercise log, but I need to record this race so I have something to compare it to next year (assuming I run it again).

The pre-race facts:

• I am about 7 weeks pregnant (if you're a reader of this blog, this is highly priveledged information, so don't go blabbing!).  I wasn't even planning to race hard when I signed up for the race, but now I really wasn't sure how 'easy' I should take it.
• I hadn't slept all the way through the night ALL WEEK.  If Jake wasn't knocking on our door, then I was tossing and turning, waking up 2-3 times a night- for no apparent reason.  Very annoying.
• Between the fatigue, and morning sickness beginning to creep in, I decided on Friday afternoon to go get me some B6 and Unisom, which I used for a few weeks when I had morning sickness with Jake.  After reading on the internet extensively, I decided to go ahead and take a whole unisom that night to try to ensure a good nights rest.
• For the first time, I slept almost 8 straight hours!  BUT, I still did NOT want to get out of bed.  This has never happened to me before on race day.  Even when I ran the 8-mile Aloha Run just a couple months after Andrew was born.  It was weird, and a little disconcerting for me to be neither excited nor nervous.

The race:

• I got there plenty early, it was cold.  I grabbed my bib and shirt and got back in my car until about 15 minutes before the start time.  Got out, visited the bathroom, and tried to stand as much in the sun as possible, while waiting for the start.  This meant I was pretty far back, but I didn't care, I still hadn't decided how committed I was to this race.
• The first mile wasn't flat, but it was pretty easy.  I almost definitely should have run it a bit faster, my split was about 10 minutes, and given the course, there really wasn't any way to make up time later.  But, like I said, I still wasn't sure about this race.
• As we winded up and up towards the zoo during the second mile, I decided that I really should be able to keep up with the new moms pushing joggers packed to the gills.  So that's what I did, and actually started to feel a little more like myself.  We got to the zoo parking lot (semi-flat), and I picked up the pace temporarily through the water/aid station, since I was carrying my own water (and drinking every 5 minutes).
• During the 3rd mile I took my long-sleeve layer off and found a nice easy pace chugging up the hill along switch backs.  That's pretty much how it was for miles 3 and 4 to the shrine.  The closer I got to the top, the more people I passed, only because they were walking.  But, I was surprised how long it was before I saw the leaders racing back down.
• I made it to the turn around, just after mile 4, again in a parking lot, so a little flatter.  It had been about 50 minutes or so.  It felt great to be able to stretch out my legs and pick up the pace again, so I did.  And since you can move a lot faster downhill with a lot less effort compared to going uphill, I tried to maintain a pretty fast pace down the hill, without pounding too hard on my legs and feet.
• The last few hundred yards actually take you off the main road of the zoo and onto the pedestrian paths through the zoo.  I think we ran past the lions and monkeys, but just kept thinking I could probably pass a couple more people if  I knew where we were going, or if the course would straighten out a little.  There were LOTS of twists and turns.  Finally, about 15 feet after a hard right? (how weird that I can't be sure now), was the finish line.  I realized at the last second, literally, that Scott was standing there with the camera.  Oops.

My watch time was 1:05:16.  (The clock time was about 30 seconds slower.)  And that includes almost 2 miles of a sub-8 min/mile pace (coming downhill).  I figure I must have been pushing 14 or 15 min/miles up the mountain for 3 miles.  So, I think I probably gave up a minute or so in that lazy first mile, but I also think I ran pretty well the rest of the race.  We'll see how it goes next year.