Moraga 4th of July Run

Holy crap! I came in 4th in my AG! I remember telling Scott how the age group division for this race is 19-39 and how it kind of sucks to have such a large division. The race benefits the Campolindo High School Track Team, and who knew that there would only be 18 of us in that age division.

I was overly nervous race day morning and had a horribly nervous stomach. I'm normally not this nervous and it was only a two mile run! I think that because of the hot temperatures and because the entire family was running it just caused me to have extra nerves about logistics etc. I know there was no way to get a PR on this course unless I really booked it. Two years ago when I did this race it wasn't chip timed and finish times were not very accurate. I posted a 20:01, although I went back and read my race report and I wrote that I hear them call out 20 minutes as I approached the finish line, so it must have been pretty close. At any rate, I was pretty sure I wouldn't beat that time.

As we lined up all of a sudden the horn went off! What, really??? There was no lead up to it and I clearly was not prepared. This would be my first race with ForeRunner and I had clearly erred in using it. The watch had gone into "Power Save" mode. As I quickly tried to start it I completely forgot that the watch needs time to search for satellites. Argh! Needless to say I didn't get it started until about.06 miles after I crossed the start line. I told myself it was lesson learned and to get over it. I was mostly bummed knowing that there was no timing mat at the start only at the end, so my time would actually be a few seconds faster based on where I was when the gun went off. Oh well!

I felt good on the stretch of road as we headed out, I was maintaining a 9:30 pace, which came as as surprise to me, but I felt okay so I didn't feel the need to slow down. The only issue was that it was HOT, and I mean HOT! As we approached the portion of the course on the trail there is one short uphill section I did my best to charge up it but about halfway through needed to walk, as I got to the top and realized it was back down hill, I started to run again and take advantage of the momentum. I had passed a lot of people on the main stretch of road and as we worked out our pace on the trail I continued to play leap frog with a pair of probably 9 year old girls. Kids are famous for running and than just abruptly walking right in front of you.  I side swiped her twice as I tried each time to run around her. I love to see kids running but I wish that people would educate their kids on race etiquette. Scott had a similar issue when a young girl veered in front of him and slowed to a walk, since he was pushing the double stroller he basically ran into the back of her and she fell to the ground. He felt horrible, stopped to help her up and she seemed okay but she was crying. After the race a couple who knew her said she was fine but that the same thing happened to her last year. Parents really need to educate their kids about how to safe out there, especially if you aren't running with your child. So there was a lot of that basically going on. Some parts of the trail are shaded but some aren't and it was just hot. Since it was only a two mile course there was no aid station but given the hot weather, an aid station would have been really nice. I found myself having to take short walk breaks in the last mile to just bring my heart rate down and because I was having some stomach pain in that last mile. The last quarter mile was in full sun and HOT! Did I mention it was HOT! As I crossed the finish line I grabbed my warm bottle of water and walked back to the car. Later I would see that my heart rate was 186 as I crossed the finish line, and boy I sure felt it as I walked it off. It's probably the first time that I ever felt like I might puke. This is why I don't like running in the heat!

I headed back to the car to get the camera and my coconut water so that I could get back to the end of the course to watch Scott come in. Can I just say bringing my coconut water was the best decision of the day. It was cold and just what my body needed, I really felt so much better after drinking it. I was trying to estimate where we were time ways and when I thought Scott would be coming in. He for sure came in earlier than I had expected.. Scott hasn't run that far since his days at the Academy 10years ago and he certainly wasn't pushing a 6 year old and 3 year old when he did it. I had sent him off with a Gu and told him to take it around the 30 minute mark and advised him to pace himself and run slower than he normally does a 5k. You can imagine my surprise when he crossed the finish line at 43:42 with an 8:44 pace. Seriously, such a show off!

I'm not sure how many strollers were on the 5 mile course, but he was the first one pushing a stroller in!

Many lessons learned, I was 54 seconds shy of placing in my age group. Had I not been flustered at the start, had I not taken those walk breaks, I possibly could have placed. I'm not sure I left much out on the course considering how I felt at the end, but I have to remember to give it everything I have, every time.

Official Time 21:34, 4/18 AG, 168/290 overall.