Buzz Aldrin signing his book for me |
So the race (the "real reason" I was out here). The morning of the race, I got up at 5 and planned to head out at about 6. The staging area was only a couple of blocks from the hotel. Had a very nutritious breakfast of Shakeology mixed with almond milk and a great protein powder from a company that has been following my Twitter, Silver Star Nutrition. Great energy! Headed out a little after 6, and walked a couple of blocks. People were getting ready. Running down the closed street, wheelchair racers doing their thing, stretching, pictures. Great times. It was really an amazing sight. So many runners, and everything was so organized. No sooner did 7:00 hit, than the lines started moving. My start time was 7:18:40. Yes, seven-eighteen and forty seconds. My watch recorded me starting it at 7:18:47. I'd say they were about right on. Simply amazing.
Final preparations for the start |
As the race went along, there were bands, yard parties, a slip and slide, a Dorito stop (I'm sure for those who might have had the munchies by then), belly dancers, kids with lemon-aid stands. It was really fun. I really tried to take in the whole experience while still trying to remain focused. It was a blast. It's really hard how to put the whole experience into words. So then we kept going, a couple of hills here and there. I felt really good. People were at times struggling on the hills, but I just muscled my way up. Then somewhere around 4.5 miles, I heard this "Rob!", from somewhere behind me. I turned back to look, and there was my cousin and her boyfriend chasing after me. That was awesome! Things were pretty clear around there so we ran together talking for about a block. What an energy boost when I was so close. After I left them, I had one or two more turns before the final climb up to the stadium.
Coming up to the stadium, I could start to hear the people cheering inside. A couple of little curves and we entered the stadium. What an experience! I've had a stadium finish before with Crazyleggs, but this was almost a full lap around the field to get to the finish. I can see why this is one of the top 10k races in the country. It's well organized, the scenery is amazing, and the people are great!
A little screen cap of the final stretch cam in the stadium provided by the local ABC station. |
Just finished! One of the rules of the race, smile. And smile I did!! |
So overall...finished 9840 out of somewhere around 50,000 with an official time of 57:34.99 (would have been under 57 minutes had I not stopped for a potty break at mile 3). 201 out of 434 men age 35. 6761 of 20946 total men. I'm really happy with my results for my first 10k. I had a goal of finishing in under an hour. I did that. I was ultimately going for under 50 minutes, maybe next year. This is one, that if I can find a way to get back next year, I will do again. Between the expo on Pearl Street, the people, the course and everything else, this is by far the best race I have been in.
If you'd like to the the route, how I tracked it, here's my MapMyRun page.
Thank you all for your support in what ever way you chose to support me. Oh, and stay tuned. More pictures coming once I order them!
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