I dragged my husband and kids all the way to Pasadena at 5am today for the inaugural Pasadena Marathon. Remind me to never attend an inaugural race again. It was so ridiculously unorganized, they put the wrong directions on the information sheets! Only 10 porta potties for 8000 people! Paul and the kids stood with me in the rain for an hour as we waited for the race to start, but as soon as they called for the 5K racers to line up I sent them to the van to wait. They ran into the dark with chattering teeth and I headed to the start line alone. I quickly scanned the race bibs people wore and aligned myself with a few girls who had 5K race bibs tacked to their shirts so I would know when to start. After a few minutes they started moving forward, and slowly I saw the race crowd start to move. Heads bobbed above the plastic trash bags the experienced racers knew would keep them warm until the race, discarded in careless piles along the road as the runners broke out from the pack. Annoying road-hogging walkers who should have just done the 5K fun run and been behind us turned the starting line into an obstacle course, weaving and cutting for the first half mile slowed me down and gave me a chance to warm up. Suddenly I saw a break in the crowd and took off running. My body quickly warmed but my thick CTF hoodie felt great with the wind chill cooling my exposed skin. I hit the first mile marker and did what I always do, I looked around me for the thickest calves and tried to hold my pace to their's as they pounded the pavement, the runner's face invisible to me as I matched their gait. One by one they either disappeared in front or behind me, and soon I reached the turnaround. There was no mile marker for mile 2, or clocks on the course! I shook it off and focused on breathing deeply, congestion threatening my oxygen intake, but with such a short race you can't lose time worrying about breathing. You just run, balls out, hard, until you see the finish and then throw everything in you into that last quarter mile. Legs slamming hard into the empty road, spectators flashing by in splashes of color, smile for the camera and... it's over! As quickly as it started, it has ended, and you find yourself in a crowd of runners. I put my arms above my head and sucked in the cold air, took the snacks from the volunteers to give to the kids and poured water down my burning throat. I wore my medal proudly as I walked past the festival finish line and went straight to the car, where my own little congratulatory crew awaited. I was met with kisses and hugs, and a trip to Coco's! I had to wait all day for my official stats and am very happy with them!
Overall: 216 out of 748
Women: 91 out of 472
F 25-29: 19 out of 80
Finish: 29:41 Pace: 9:33
I am stoked I am 19th out of 80 for my age group! That is better than I have ever scored. Next stop, a sub 1 hour 10K!
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3 comments:
Great job Olivia! This is awesome news :)
Congratulations.. great job! keep it up.
Was this your first 5 K race? I did not realize you had not done one. Yes, it is different than a half marathon. I am a 5 K runner. I started as a senior in high school and then did it off and on until now. I have done the NF challenge 5K for 4 years and I think this year will be my 5th. I once ran dressed as a green m & m in the Seattle St. Patrick's day dash back in 201 or 2002.
Great job! Yes, it gets over quick. While training for my half marathon, on 3 mile days I tell myself it is easy and will be over very quickly!
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