10K Race - Wahoo!

I ran my first 10K race this morning (6.2 miles).  I laid awake last night nervous as can be because I've never run that far before in a race and, though I'd trained for it, I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it.  I had three goals for myself that I thought were reasonable:  run the whole thing (no walking or stopping), finish between 55-65 minutes after starting, and run every mile at around 9:30 per mile.  Husband and the girls came along to cheer me on, which was great, and there were tons of people.  I think I remember them saying something about 600 people total.  In any case, 600 runners and then all the other people that come with that?  It made for a rather busy staging area.  The course was a very flat, nice run around the Reid Park area here in Tucson.  I thought I'd break down my thoughts per mile just so non-runners can understand how you can spend close to a hour running and not get bored to tears.

Start to Mile 1 - Music?  Check.  Stopwatch?  Check.  Shoelaces tight?  Check.  Is my flab hanging out?  Adjust.  Hubby and kids?  Wave!  Aaaaand, we're off!  Get out of my way, lady.  That guy is yelling "GET TO THE RIGHT!" so I guess I better move to the right.  Why isn't anyone else?  Wait, now we're going left?  Wtf.  Wait, we're making a circle?!?  Now we're going past the start line again!  Hey, wait a minute, is that guy running barefoot????  Omg, he totally is.  Isn't that painful?!??  Ugh, this song sucks, skip!  Why are my feet going numb already?  Scrunch up my toes, scrunch up my toes...ah, that's better!
Mile 1-2 - Wow, there's a lot of traffic on the street.  Oh, thank goodness that cop is down there stopping traffic from crossing in front of us runners.  Why are these people honking at the cop?  Idiots.  I think I'll keep pace with this girl in pink shorts.  Hmm, she's going too quick.  Not her.  I think I'll keep pace with this old man in a red hat.  He's staying pretty close to what I'm doing.  Ooo, a turnoff - off I go with the 10K-ers.  Hmm, maybe I should have taken the 5K path...
Mile 2-3 - Now we're on the running path around the park, yay!  No cars!  Why is this woman totally taking up this entire lane?!??  Maybe if I get beside her she'll move over...nope, now she looks like she's going to clobber me for being super close to her.  Pass!  Pass!  Yikes, she runs like an ape.  Old Man in Red Hat is getting a little further from me, I think I'm slowing down.  Yes, I am, I'm getting a little tired.  Ugh, I'm not even halfway.  Keep going!  Keep going!  I'll change the music over to something super high energy.  Ah, Cash Cash and Breathe Carolina, how I love your music...
Mile 3-4 - Hello police station!  Hello sewage treatment area!  Eeewww, a hill.  Oh well, attack uphill, relax downhill.  Wow, those golfers look extremely overweight.  I'm tired.  That guy's back is all sweaty.  Oh, hello lady runner, where did you come from?  Oh shit, you're on your second go of this part of the course because you're almost done.  How the crap do you get so fast?!??  Oh, how I wish I could follow you, you are so, so fast and I am so, so tired.  Gotta keep going, where's Old Man?  Ugh, he's way up there.  Move move move...
Mile 4-5 - Where did this chick with the horse butt come from?  How did she get in front of me?  Maybe it was when I was ogling the leaders...  Oh, what a nice stretch of the park we're in now.  Sweaty Back Man is totally getting passed...ha!  I wonder if I'll see husband and girls here?  Looking, looking, looking...no dice.  I wonder where they are.  I am so tired.  Well, just another mile to go.  I wonder if that old woman ever ran, she looks so happy to see the runners.
Mile 5-6 - This guy was doing so well, now he's walking!  "HEY, KEEP RUNNING, I'M FOLLOWING YOU!"  Conversation ensues, man says he's reached his limit.  I tell him go go go, you've got 10 minutes more to run and you'll be done.  He doesn't.  Wuss.  Old Man is getting closer - woo hoo, I'm speeding up!  Now I'm running that same stretch of course that I saw the leaders on earlier.  Water, water...ugh, I choked!  Ugh, water!  Okay, turning to the final stretch toward the finish line.  Start turning it on here, we've got to beat that old man...
Mile 6-6.2 - GO GO GO!   BEAT THAT OLD MAN!  YAY, YOU PASSED HIM!  GO GO GO OMG IT HURTS AND I'M SO TIRED GO GO GO GO!!!!!!  I'm DONE!  YAY!  I ran the whole thing!  Omg I am SO tired!  Old Man just ran into me!  Watch it, dude, don't be frisky.  Hey, there's husband and girls!  Hello family!

I hadn't run a race before with my music, and I'm so glad I did this time.  Definitely motivated me in places and kept my mind from going totally bananas.  I met all my goals:  ran the whole thing, did each mile at around 9:30, and finished in 59:02.  :D  L and E both ran in kids' races and did poorly (lol), but they still got prizes for trying.  Afterwards, we celebrated with a Beyond Bread lunch (taken home, of course, because I smelled to holy hell) and NAP.

I don't know if I'll do a 10K again any time soon, but it's fun to be able to say I did it and did it well.  Bring on another 5K any day!

Me kicking Old Man in Red Hat's ass in the 10K (1-22-2012)