So I decided to run the Park to Park 10 miler this morning. I actually registered at Road Runner Sports last Thursday which was a great option because they just gave me my number and shirt right then and I didn't have to do a packet pickup this morning, which was nice. The race was SO organized and well thought out. I realized afterwards WHY it was so organized because it is co-directed by a woman, Maureen Roben (former elite marathoner now coach/race organizer). I'm giving all the credit for the details that made this race great to her because sorry guys you just don't have the same attention to detail as us women. I mean, I'm sure her co-race director, Alan Lind did a TON of coordinating and scheduling and millions of other things that go into executing a 10 mile race though a huge city, but I'm guessing Maureen added the finer touch. The things that stood out to me about this race were CLEAN porta potties and PLENTY of them. Also, tampons had been conveniently placed in each porta potty. Not that I needed one, but how thoughtful that was for those few woman that did suddenly need one! Our race numbers had a little tear off tag with corresponding number on them so we could tie them to our drop bags and when I went to find my drop bag at the finish they were perfectly organized in numerical order, layed out in neat lines and I found mine in about 3 seconds. Each mile marker had a worker yelling out cumulitive splits in loud, clear voices. Each intersection had police officers blocking traffic (and there were many intersections, as this race ran all throughout downtown Denver). Water stations had water and powerade with plenty of workers holding the cups as high and still as possible. I was quite impressed. As you'll read later in my report, I did have one little mishap in the last mile but I think I was just zoned out and a little delirious at that point, so I take full responsibility for my blunder (okay, I'll tell you now...I ran off course by 20-30 seconds...oops!) SO here's the sum up: Miles 1-4 - 6:02, 5:57, 5:59, 5:57 I ran with the lead ladies; Uli, the girl I went out with at the Skirtchaser last week, Bean from the Boulder Running Republic group and a couple others I hadn't met yet. Pace felt pretty comfortable. The first 4 miles were pretty flat, maybe a few insignificant rollers. Mile 5 - 6:14 Gradual uphill. Other women started to slow a bit but for some reason I decided to stick with this guy up the hill. There was a bit of a headwind and I think I just didn't want to lead a group, so I decided to let another guy pull me along. Mile 6 - 5:56 Pretty signinficant uphill but also some downhill that I cruised down to make up for lost time on the up. Wondering if I should have just stayed with the other women, pretty sure they're just 15-20 seconds back, but kind-of in a zone at this point. Mile 7 - 5:44 Garmin says 203 ft. gain, 203 ft. loss, so I guess it was a pretty flat mile. I think this is when I started seeing my husband Aaron. He drove out with the kids and had borrowed our friend's awesome sports camera so he kept stopping to take pictures of me. It was nice to see someone because I found myself running completely alone at this point. No men in the visible distance ahead of me and I didn't bother looking back. I don't like looking back. Mile 8 - 6:00 396 ft. gain 375 ft. loss, so not flat. Still alone. Mile 9 - 5:55 Still alone. This is where I got lost. I guess I was supposed veer left to run on the road that drives through Washington park but there were tons of morning joggers on the trail to the right and I didn't see any racers ahead of me so I just kept going on the trail, which added about .14 to my total race distance. I didn't even realize I missed the route until I was approaching 9.6 miles and there was no cheering or fast racers in sight. I kept asking the joggers if they knew if I was on the race course but they either had Ipods blasting in their ears or just had no idea there was even a race going on. That made me pretty nervous. Finally one aware woman jogger yelled, "NO, you're supposed to be up on that road!!" So I hollered "THANK YOU" and sprinted across the grass up to the road and immediatly started hearing finish line cheers. Mile 10 - 6:03 .14 more miles as I sprinted to the finish line. Garmin says my pace for the final .14 was 5:13 min/mile. As I was coming down the finishing stretch the race announcer said, "She has 12 seconds to beat the course record, can she do it?" I certainly gave it my all and ended up tying the course record in 1:00:33. Crazy how a 10 mile race can come down to the exact second. Next time I'll try to pay more attention and not run off course. :) I'm sure it was pretty obvious which way to go I was just delirious being in the last mile of my race and all. Aaron and the kids were there at the finish and we exchanged some sweaty hugs and high fives. We ate post race goodies together, the kids jogged a little cool down with me and played by the pond while we waited for the awards ceremony. I got $500 and a free Ipod Nano. Very fitting, I thought. I chatted with a few of the other lead ladies afterwards and was encouraged by the fact that a couple of them had been to the Olympic Trials in the Marathon in previous years and are running in the USA Marathon Championships in Twin Cities next month. Another confidence builder and fun race!
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