Runnin' Through the Park

I've run this race one other time and I think I've signed up for it twice before but

didn't run it---once because I ended up too exhausted and another time because it was
too darn hot.


I was pretty excited to run it this year because it had been a few years since I last
ran it.

I signed up after school started and was pretty excited about it.  The only downside
to the race is that it starts at 7 am and is in Rockville which means to get there in
time, one has to be in the car at 5:45 driving to the start.

This year Mark was out of town for the race, so I it was a little more stressful.  I
really appreciate his help in getting to the start and taking over driving/parking
the car and the little logistics.

This particular race is a point to point race which also meant that I had to get
back to the car at the end of the race.

So, I was a bit nervous...and having Mark gone the night before didn't help me sleep--
I woke up every hour and kept worrying that I would oversleep.  So at 4:30 am I was
out of bed, getting ready.

The weather was PERFECT!  It was cooler (in the mid 60s) and overcast, with the
prediction of rain.

On the way to the start, it started to downpour.  I parked the car and it was
raining steadily.  A few minutes before the start, the rain stopped.  It sprinkled
a few times but didn't start to rain again until I was on the subway and headed back
to the car.

The race was well organized, as always, and I think sold out.

It was a great race, but I forgot how hilly the first 8 miles are.  How did I not
remember those from before?

One fun thing about the race was that part of it was on the same course as the Al
Lewis 10 Miler I did in January---which had SNOW!  Totally different feel this time!

While I hoped to run the race in under 2 hours, I felt good about my time.  It was
the farthest I had run since the half marathon in NYC at the end of April.
It also has helped me to mentally prepare for the back to back half marathons coming
up in October!


Final time/place:

357  68/178   1438 Amy Trenkle           35 Washington DC    2:08:29 2:02:09  9:20

Splits:

Mile 1  9:02.31
Mile 2  8:47.25
Mile 3  9:28.96
Mile 4  9:10.08
Mile 5  9:03.75
Mile 6  9:13.77
Mile 7  9:06.17
Mile 8  9:43.59
Mile 9  9:08.27
Mile 10  9:28.35
Mile 11  9:55.52
Mile 12  9:35.77
Mile 13.1  10:25.86

Total:  2:02.09

Race #16 complete!


A celebration of iced coffee and Greek Yogurt from my friend Starbucks.