I should have posted this long ago. I keep thinking that I've forgotten some of the best parts of this run. This was half #4 in the Adventures of MiniRow and the MACHine!
Held in Sacramento, on a beautiful sunny day on the first day of May, this race was chosen by Mac.
It started out in chaos as the parking directions that I pulled off-line was to a new parking venue. I should have known that there would be a little trouble when I saw that the line for the shuttle to the race start was long, and I was in the very back with no shuttle to be seen. With only one shuttle, every 15 - 20 minutes, I knew that I wouldn't make it to the start on time! Panicking, I called Mac and explained the situation. She said that the race start was being delayed by 10 minutes to wait for those of us who were not there yet. Okay ...
I told Mac to go, to start without me. She, being the good friend and running partner that she is, said that she would wait for me. She reminded me that the race was chip timed, so it did not matter if we started with the gun, or if we were a little late. After I was able to board the shuttle, I was able to find Mac, run to the porta potty for a quick prerace tinkle, snap a quick picture, and we were off!!! We were only off by 10 minutes.
Immediately, I knew that I had over dressed. I knew that the weather would be nice, I just didn't expect it to be *that* nice! After mile 2, I began stripping off my dri-fit shirt. Much better!
The first 6 miles of this run were amazing! I was able to run with Mac, and although we had startedd 10 minutes after the official delayed start, we were able to pass many runners. Our 10K time was sub 60. Perfect, happy runners we were.
I cheezed for all the photographers as is typical Row. style. I lost Mac at mile 7ish as I usually do. My "problem" is that I tend to start off too fast in the beginning, and fade by the middle. I have yet to learn to start off slower, and stay steady. I'll figure it out one day though.
Overall, I enjoyed the course. Despite the parking fiasco in the beginning, it turned out to be a nice race. The people were friendly. There was enough water at the water stops, except for one, but I carry my own water anyway, so it was okay. For those that ran the 5K or for family members that were waiting, there was a great venue at the park with things for the kids to do, food, etc. It was a really nice day. I was able to PR again at 2:14:58. Small improvements! =) I'll take them any way I can get them!
I would definately run this one again next year! Thanks, Mac, for pulling me along.
