Don’t faint with shock, I’m actully writing a rae report the same day it happens…lol.
The race wasn’t to start until 6pm but registration was from 3:30 to 5:30. We didn’t plan on heading out until around 3:30 so I slept in and then relaxed for most of the day. Well at least I tried to hubby. Didn’t understand my wanting to head down to the race so early so we had a bit of an argument about it. MEN! Not being a runner he just doesn’t understand wanting to be there early enough to check in and relax.
Anyhow despite not agreeing with me we left around 3:30. By the time we stopped for gas and the bank we didn’t arrive at the Round Up Center until 4ish. That was perfect. There was a small crowd so I got checked in quickly and then was able to tour the venue checking out the sponsors and booths. I won some pink undies from the Joe Boxer booth…cool beans. We wandered around taking lots of photos. They’ll be on flickr later. I have to review them first and weed out the ones that are a tad blurry from me running too fast…lol.
It got pretty crowed and the lines got long as time passed so I was really happy that we had arrived there when we did. We checked outside a few times to find the weather was back to a wet snow. Dang it all. It had been sunny when we drove to the race. I debated digging out the rain coat I had packed in my tote but opted not to. People were dressed in everything from practically nothing to long johns and layers. The outfits were awesome.
Finally it was time to run. They lined us up by the start area. The start was inside so no chance to “beam up” my Garmin, oh well there would be mile/km markers so it was more of a timing device anyhow. A few speeches and we were off. Amazingly the sun was shining. There was evidence of the snow but with the sun out it was actually quite warm. The start took us through the Stampede grounds and headed south then west towards the Talisman Center. A lot of the 10K was along the paved pathways along the river. With the sun shining it made for a pretty run and about 15 minutes into the race I opted to take a 2 minute walk break so I could remove a layer. I was already overheating. Running without my shirt was quite comfortable. That was to be the only walk break I would take.
I kept a pretty steady pace slow and steady. that would get me through the race. The kms came and went with ease. I had been nervous about running this as it was my first 10k in about a year and a half. I was amazed that I was doing so well. I was pretty much at the back of the pack with just a handful of runners behind me. I was at about the 3k mark when the lead male runner passed me going the other way. Wow! After that it was a steady stream of runners headed back. That was cool as it allowed me to get some great photos of everyone. I also enjoyed all the hi-5’s I got as I carried on my merry way. I even got a “you look beautiful” from someone. Somewhere around the 4k mark the runners kept saying “you’re almost there” …lol. It may have been a lie but it was a nice lie. Somewhere in Stanley Park area I finally made it to the turn around point. I think it was about 45 minutes and 5k into the race. Awesome, right on pace.
The second water station was there but I opted not to indulge. I had hydrated myself well all day and well frankly if I had taken any I likely would have had to pee. With the outfit I was wearing that likely would have cost me precious time. The run back went equally well. The legs were doing great and the knee was not bothering me at all. Somewhere around the 8k mark I headed down the last underpass and felt my right knee turn to jelly. It was only briefly and thankfully I did not collapse. I recovered quickly and continued with no problem. There was a light sprinkling of rain that came and went in mere seconds. Luck was with us in so many ways for this race.
There were still a handful of runners behind me as I head towards the finish. I picked it up a bit as my goal time of 1:30:00 was quickly approaching. Round the last corner and there was the entrance to the finish. In through the door and I saw the clock flip over just as I crossed the mat. 1:30:03 is what my Garmin read as I stopped it. Soooooooooo close and soooooooooooo awesome. It had been a hard finish and a volunteer saw me falter so she quickly brought me a large glass of water. Somehow hubby had missed my finish so no finisher photo. Oh well.
I got myself a well earned Bud Light and chicken burger as well as a half banana for my post race food. My leg started to fail me so I found a bench to sit on while I ate. That helped. Once the last runner was in they let us know how much money was raised and awarded top 3 prizes for male/female for the 10k. The 5k was a walk so no prizes there. Then it was time for the costume contest. With so many great costumes I wasn’t going to go up but then I saw only 4 guys went up for the male so what the heck. There ended up only being two of us for the female costumes so based on audience support/cheering I won. I got a great plaque and some Joe Boxer undies. I needed some new stuff as since losing all that weight most of mine are getting too big…lol. After that was the group costumes.
We only hung out for maybe 20 minutes longer after that. I was tired and could here the hot tub calling my name. All in all it was a great night. Thanks again to everyone for all your support. By the way my goal was to raise $1000 and I hit that target right on. Acutally as the company I work for will match some of the donations that amount might be closer to $1500. Oh yeah I’ve signed up to do it agin in 2010.
Flickr Site – http://www.flickr.com/photos/dawn-pinkchick/sets/
