The race is a point to point style race so the idea is that you park at the finish and then buses drive all the runners to the start at the Mount Vernon estate (beware of annoying music if you click the link). I ran the race last year and missed the start because the lines for the buses was three blocks long and it took forever just to get to the start. So, I was really pushing for us to get there early. I drove to Dave's place at 6AM and we had a friend pick us up from there because she wanted to try to stick together. We arrived at the bus loading area at around 6:20 and it was already really crowded. The line moved quickly though and we hopped on the bus at around 6:40. Dave took a nice nap in my lap on the ride over while I was all hopped up on caffeine. (I rarely drink caffeine so the slightest bit gets me jumpy!) We got off the bus, headed straight to the (no-line!) porta-potties, which were surprisingly not disgusting. Then we met up with fellow fun-runners from our running group and mingled in the grass near the start. I headed for my second trip to the porta-potties and 5 minutes later we were off!
The first mile was mostly downhill and my friends took off (including the friend who wanted to stay with me). I stayed back and tried to focus on how I was feeling rather than the time (though I still got to the first mile marker at 6:00. I tried to focus on staying within myself and keeping an uncomfortably hard pace but not too hard that I was going to burn out. I also made a mini-goal to try to catch my friends later in the race. The beginning of runs are always more of a struggle for me than the end. Once I got sweating and got over the scary heat-factor I got into a nice groove. I love this race because the road is much more flat than the trail and when there are hills they are more gradual. After mile 6 it felt like home stretch. I kept thinking back to the marathon I ran last month when I was so happy to have 4 miles left. It really puts things in perspective. In the last mile we ran right past my work, where I start and end a lot of my runs. I have had a lot of home stretches on that route so it really felt fitting to end the race there.
After I finished I walked back so I could cheer Dave on and about 5 minutes later there he was! I don't remember what exactly I was screaming but he heard me and waved. He looked really strong and definitely had enough juice to kick it at the end which was really cool to see.
I came in at around 1:13. Last year I ran this race in 1:24:09, which was my fastest 10 miler until today. I think Dave came in at 1:23 which is an awesome time. I'm so glad I saw him finish a PR best since he's been there for me so many times at my races.
If this is any indication how the rest of the summer is going to go then I am very excited. What a great way to kick of the running season!
-Ali
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