Race Day!

Today was the Ambulance Chasers 10K; my first race since 2010 and it was a great time. It's always fun seeing so many other runners out there ready to have a good time and that's the big thing about it--having fun. Amazing also to see the varying ages of all of the runners; from small children to folks who have grandchildren they were out there. The scenery never hurts either and one of the aspects I really enjoy about race day! :) It was definitely a hot morning and I honestly wasn't sure how I would do since I'd run the two days prior, but the competitive juices were flowing and I certainly held my own. The venue, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, was awesome as they started on the starting line for the stock cars and we did almost an entire lap (1.5 miles) before running into pit road and heading out through the tunnels. From there we ran around the speedway then into the drag strip, which was insane. I'd never seen one other than television and it's amazing how much uphill there is, which makes sense since the dragsters need to slow down once the race is down. It's good for the cars, but definitely not for the runners. I just put my head down and didn't even bother looking up preferring to look at my feet the whole way until making the turnaround and heading back down. From outside the drag strip we went into the concession area of the speedway and the shade was a very welcome thing before proceeding back down, through the tunnel, and to the neon garage area for the finish. Everyone got a medal, which was cool--I'd never gotten one before so it was a nice touch. Overall I was very pleased even if I did have a few hiccups like on the drag strip incline where I slowed a bit and at the beginning of the race. I might need to do like some of the other runners and jog some just to get loosened up. We'll see how many more races I do, but I think they could serve as indicators of how my training is going. 4-8 miles tomorrow!

Goal: 3 miles at 10K pace (8:00/mile)
Actual: 6.2 miles in 48:10 (7:46/mile pace)
Weather: Sunny, 82 degrees, winds from the WSW at 8 mph