We did it! The run took place in Golden Gate Park, so we left the house around 7:10 am (we saw our neighbor coming home from a night out) and walked to the panhandle. From there, we took an easy jog down to the starting line. By the time we arrived, many thousands of runners and walkers had already lined up, but we ducked under the tape and lined up somewhat near the front. The area was crowded with walkers as well as runners (we could tell because they were wearing parkas, and some had strollers and other gear).
After about 20 minutes, they rang the bell and we started off. It took maybe twenty more seconds to get to the starting line, and another couple of minutes to wind through the walkers. We settled into a very fast pace - WAY faster than I should have been running (well, my first race). I started falling back, but Andy kept it up and soon disappeared from sight. I imagined him cheering me in after already finishing his super fast-person time.
Around the second mile, my sides began to cramp up and my pace slowed considerably. I focused on my breathing and slowed to an almost-walk. I was definitely struggling. Just then, I saw Andy running toward me. I thought he'd finished already, but he'd come back to check on me. I picked up my pace and we came in together in about 30 minutes. My finish time was 30:51, Andy's was 30:38. He probably could have come in 5 minutes earlier without me, but he joked that the race was all about me anyway. Looking back, I should have set a time goal (I think I could have come in under 30 minutes pretty easily) and stuck to a slow pace at the start, but I'm still happy with my pace (a 9:55 mile) and overall had a great time.
After gathering up our goodies, we walked back to the finish line and cheered for the elite runners as they came in from the half-marathon. The men's winner finished in just over 1:05. The woman's winner in something like 1:15.
Around 10 am, we walked down the Great Highway to the train and headed back, but I'd already caught the bug and I think Andy felt it too. We're already talking about signing up for the Chinese New Year 10k on the 25th.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Congrats!
I can understand how easy it is to get caught up in the faster pace at the start. Reeling myself in early on is one of the most difficult things I struggle with in races.
I haven't picked my first race for the year yet. A 5k sounds like the best place to start. Thanks for getting me thinking about the next steps.
Post a Comment