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Placed third for women aged 20-29 and was, I think, the sixth woman across the finish line. Was a fun race and can't even be down about getting third again since I finished at a better time. Though, I still think(as I have) I can go faster, lol.
That said, I had fun. There was a pretty good energy to the whole thing, so, my attempt at writing a race report...
Maybe I just can't sleep well the night before a race, but time will tell. That is, I went to bed around midnight, woke up four times before five, and then rolled my arse out of bed completely around 6:30am. Having picked up my packet the day before, I took my time getting ready, eating a light breakfast, and was out the door at 7:15am. Chip pick-up was from 7:30-8:40am.
Parked(borrowed the truck) in the parking garage pretty much across the street from the race, arriving at 7:45am. Regret parking in that garage as it ended up being pricy and took nearly 45 damned minutes to get out of after, but that was the only low point.
Chip pick-up was a breeze, no line at that point. Wondered around a little, there were a lot of people, saw numbers in the 1800s so probably around 1900 total. The military pull of it, raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project and whatnot, was pretty clear. Lots of camo, USN and USMC shirts. Weather was amazing. The forecast has said rain and it'd rained the night before but it was just a little sunny with a nice breeze coming off the ocean.
Took a walk to kill time, on the way back was passed by an Army ROTC group showing up, running together in formation. They ran the whole race like that. By this time it was around 8:15am, so I decided to take a warm-up jog, killing another 15 minutes.
When I got back it wasn't too long before they had someone singing the national anthem and a few minutes later everyone started lining up around 10 til', though at 9am they told us there was a delay and it'd be another five minutes. So, started at ~9:05am.
Chose not to keep track of my time/splits, leaving the whole up to the chip, though at the first mile mark someone shouted something about us being around a six minute time for that. I tried to start slow, forcing myself not to think about those passing me as I'd pass them on the way back(we ran from 31st to 10th and back), but if the six minute thing is true, then I definitely screwed that up.
At the start I was standing behind these two girls and figured I'd keep pace around them, though after passing them up half a mile in, I mostly saw nothing but men with me for the rest of the race(aside from glimpsing two women who'd taken the turn ahead of me and all those still going when I was on the way back). Aside from the too fast first mile, I think I also screwed up a little in that as soon as I saw people on their way back, I sped up. I'd told myself I was going to wait until I actually got to the turn to do that, and then threw it right out the window, lol.
The way back both felt faster and tougher than the way there. I kept thinking 'once you see that damned pony corral on the beach, bolt!' but it just seemed to take forever to come and by that time I'd kinda worn myself down. Yet, when I spied the 3 mile mark ahead I sprinted and while I thought I was going as fast as I could, when this guy who'd been right behind me suddenly seemed to be trying to pass me, I managed to push a little harder and cross a hair ahead of him. I know the way these things are structured(separated by gender and grouped by age) it didn't matter much to beat him, but it was satisfying.
Finish time: TBA(I forget, lol, around 22 minutes. Not bad, but still can do better. Next time! :D)
Leaning down to take the chip off my ankle was soooo hard, lol. They collected them just a few feet from the finish, right before the Neptune statue. Got some water, though they just had baked goods that I wasn't sure I could eat for the food so had to wait for the Luna bar I had in the truck.
I mostly walked around for a few minutes after that, downing free bottled water, taking in the crowd, and chilling under the statue. Wasn't sure how I did overall, but figured it'd be nice to see/clap for the winners and stick around for however many people crossing as I could. Around 55 minutes in the more interesting runners seemed to be crossing, a guy in full combat gear complete with rifle(fake or unloaded, I'd assume), seven people wearing backpacks and toting these three logs who stopped before the finish and did some push-ups and other exercises with them then crossed together, the ROTC group, and another full combat gear guy. Think the log folks were my favorite, though watching other people cross was just really mood-lifting.
Granted, the whole thing was pretty great. About an hour after I crossed they started on the awards, though I felt bad as some people were still crossing. Lots of impressive times, was surprised I'd managed to make that cut though got a certificate and plaque to go with the dog tag-looking medal everyone got for finishing.
Overall, a pretty good race, I think.
That said, I had fun. There was a pretty good energy to the whole thing, so, my attempt at writing a race report...
Maybe I just can't sleep well the night before a race, but time will tell. That is, I went to bed around midnight, woke up four times before five, and then rolled my arse out of bed completely around 6:30am. Having picked up my packet the day before, I took my time getting ready, eating a light breakfast, and was out the door at 7:15am. Chip pick-up was from 7:30-8:40am.
Parked(borrowed the truck) in the parking garage pretty much across the street from the race, arriving at 7:45am. Regret parking in that garage as it ended up being pricy and took nearly 45 damned minutes to get out of after, but that was the only low point.
Chip pick-up was a breeze, no line at that point. Wondered around a little, there were a lot of people, saw numbers in the 1800s so probably around 1900 total. The military pull of it, raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project and whatnot, was pretty clear. Lots of camo, USN and USMC shirts. Weather was amazing. The forecast has said rain and it'd rained the night before but it was just a little sunny with a nice breeze coming off the ocean.
Took a walk to kill time, on the way back was passed by an Army ROTC group showing up, running together in formation. They ran the whole race like that. By this time it was around 8:15am, so I decided to take a warm-up jog, killing another 15 minutes.
When I got back it wasn't too long before they had someone singing the national anthem and a few minutes later everyone started lining up around 10 til', though at 9am they told us there was a delay and it'd be another five minutes. So, started at ~9:05am.
Chose not to keep track of my time/splits, leaving the whole up to the chip, though at the first mile mark someone shouted something about us being around a six minute time for that. I tried to start slow, forcing myself not to think about those passing me as I'd pass them on the way back(we ran from 31st to 10th and back), but if the six minute thing is true, then I definitely screwed that up.
At the start I was standing behind these two girls and figured I'd keep pace around them, though after passing them up half a mile in, I mostly saw nothing but men with me for the rest of the race(aside from glimpsing two women who'd taken the turn ahead of me and all those still going when I was on the way back). Aside from the too fast first mile, I think I also screwed up a little in that as soon as I saw people on their way back, I sped up. I'd told myself I was going to wait until I actually got to the turn to do that, and then threw it right out the window, lol.
The way back both felt faster and tougher than the way there. I kept thinking 'once you see that damned pony corral on the beach, bolt!' but it just seemed to take forever to come and by that time I'd kinda worn myself down. Yet, when I spied the 3 mile mark ahead I sprinted and while I thought I was going as fast as I could, when this guy who'd been right behind me suddenly seemed to be trying to pass me, I managed to push a little harder and cross a hair ahead of him. I know the way these things are structured(separated by gender and grouped by age) it didn't matter much to beat him, but it was satisfying.
Finish time: TBA(I forget, lol, around 22 minutes. Not bad, but still can do better. Next time! :D)
Leaning down to take the chip off my ankle was soooo hard, lol. They collected them just a few feet from the finish, right before the Neptune statue. Got some water, though they just had baked goods that I wasn't sure I could eat for the food so had to wait for the Luna bar I had in the truck.
I mostly walked around for a few minutes after that, downing free bottled water, taking in the crowd, and chilling under the statue. Wasn't sure how I did overall, but figured it'd be nice to see/clap for the winners and stick around for however many people crossing as I could. Around 55 minutes in the more interesting runners seemed to be crossing, a guy in full combat gear complete with rifle(fake or unloaded, I'd assume), seven people wearing backpacks and toting these three logs who stopped before the finish and did some push-ups and other exercises with them then crossed together, the ROTC group, and another full combat gear guy. Think the log folks were my favorite, though watching other people cross was just really mood-lifting.
Granted, the whole thing was pretty great. About an hour after I crossed they started on the awards, though I felt bad as some people were still crossing. Lots of impressive times, was surprised I'd managed to make that cut though got a certificate and plaque to go with the dog tag-looking medal everyone got for finishing.
Overall, a pretty good race, I think.
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