2.03.2008

Surf City 5K - 33:54

Yup, you read it right, 33:54 and it was raining.

At 7:15 am in Huntington Beach, CA it was 51 degrees with a wind speed of 3 and light, but constant, rain. It wasn't pouring, but it was definately not misting. I was soaked through at the end of the run.

All in all it turned out well. I set a PR, in the rain. That makes me happy.

Let's do a whole run down of the day:

I woke up about 5:45, I wanted to be at the parking lot, waiting for the shuttle, by 6:30.

I left the house about 6:15, later than I wanted, without my FRS (I like the diet orange powder mix) and my luna bar, which I forgot on the counter in my kitchen. My gas light was on, so I had to stop for gas. I ended up getting to the parking lot ~6:55 AM.

The shuttle was really a school bus, yes a big orange/yellow bus. She didn't really know where she was going and actually did a U-Turn, yes we flipped a bitch in a full length school bus on a residential street, and headed down to Main Street.

We got there around 7:16, after the race was supposed to start, but there were 3 Waves and we arrived 2 minutes before the last wave was going to start.

I passed up all the pace signs and settled myself at the back of the pack. And we were off.

I was cold and wet, but I kept going, telling myself I couldn't walk until the last mile. I saw a group of ROTC or maybe enlisted military, running, ~ 1.8 miles in, chanting their song, so I kept running.

Once I hit mile 2, I was set, only a mile left, only .75 miles, only .5, only .3 - oh wait, really .4, I forget that last pesky .1.

Then I was done. I avoided the first chip cutter and went to the second, then I was off on a quest for food. I hadn't had anything all day, except a cup of water during the race. It took me awhile to figure out where to go. I was wandering around the Expo tent for about 30 minutes before I realized that I had to go outside and around to the backside of the tent.

I grabbed an energy bar sample and a smoothie, both quite good, and I was off on a quest to find the shuttle back to the parking lot.

I boarded the school bus and exited at the civic center. It was here that I stepped in more puddles than were on the race course on the way to my car.

I was done, soaking the driver's seat, I didn't think about bringing a towel, or even a trash bag, and I went home.

Now I've had a hot shower and 2 cups of tea and I'm feeling warm. I've set up a space heater to dry my shoes and orthotics.

I'm off to get ready for a Super Bowl party. It's a good week so far.

2 comments:

Viv said...

Yaa Yas!! I heard the race conditions were not really that great so congrats on your 1st 5K back, and with a PR! :-)

Tammy said...

Congratulations on the PR!! Fantastic job, especially in those conditions!