We got up late Sat morning (the race didn't start until 2pm, so we slept in a little - -- or tried to sleep in). At one point Steph was hovering over me in the bed saying "5 hours!". To say she was excited would be like saying it took a little math to get to the moon. She was electrified - alternating giddy, then terrified, they somber, then "everyone off the rollercoaster, time for the next group of riders", let's do it all over again.
We went to Subway for a late breakfast/early lunch. And got to the venue about 1pm. It had rained off and on all night and all morning. We were wondering if the race would be canceled if the weather got dangerous. Since the temp was unpredictible, I had brought us some clothing options (long sleeves, workout pants, short sleeves, extra socks). The rain continued to swell and subside once we got there.
We went to the registration table to get our numbers, and Steph was tickled to hear some of the high-school kids in attendance grumble that "there's no way I'm going to run 3 miles". We got our numbers and shirts, and she was just too thrilled to finally get a number pinned on her shirt. I had her crumple it up before putting it on, so she wouldn't feel like she was running with a pizza box on her chest.
Shortly thereafter, my mother and aunt showed up and we all sat in the car and watched the rain come and go - wondering how cold and wet we'd be by the end of the race. As the start time neared, we went on a short jog to warm up our legs, and make our way to the start line. Soon runners were congregating around us under the pavillion in front of the school. We were chatted up by a female runner (never got her name) that was running both the 5K and the 10.5K. I kind of got the impression that she was going to be one of the lead group (more on that later), and was a little worried that she may have made Steph a little more nervous - but Steph was in full-on "let's go" mode.
We lined up on "the crack" (yes the starting line was a crack in the asphalt), and Steph and I stayed about 3 rows deep and on the edge so we wouldn't get steamrolled at the start - - turned out to be a non-issue since everyone spread out so quickly at the start.
I was pacing us with the GPS, which I'd set for Steph's goal of 27:00. She'd told me that if she got a head of pace like she'd tended to do in practice to just let her go and not pull her pace back down. If she hit the wall, she'd just deal with it. We needed to be running about an 8:40/mile pace for her to meet her goal....then they started the race.
No race strategy lasts much past the starter's gun. When they said 'GO!', Steph was paying attention, and she rocketed off the line. We almost instanly fell into a clear running area and had plenty of room to run without being crowded.
The dirt road at the first part of the course was not in too bad shape, but it did make for a messy start. Then we hit the hill at the end of the dirt road. I didn't remember it being there last year, but obviously it was. We trudged on up the muddy hill and before long we were on the blacktop again and best of all: it wasn't raining.
When we hit the 1st mile split, we were WAY ahead of pace (about 7:50 for the first mile!), but I let her run her pace. Shortly after the 1st mile, we were passed by a runner, and I think that was the only person to pass us.
When we got to mile 2, we'd slowed down a good bit (8:30/mile), but we were still ahead of the overall pace. By the time we got to about 2 3/4 miles Steph was laboring, but she didn't quit. The last mile was 9:07.
When we got in sight of the clock, it was reading 26:10 - - she'd done it. When she saw the time, she picked up pace and we crossed the tape @ 26:25 (as evidenced from some pictures).
Overall it was a great race.
Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12191083@N02/sets/72157604470893007/show/
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