I am trying to make my annual mileage goal of 850 miles and I like inaugural races–it’s always nice to start a new running tradition–so, at the very last minute (meaning, 13 mins. before Registration closed on the last day of packet pick-up), I registered for the Inaugural Surfer’s Path 10K.
I had just run 12.5 miles on the treadmill on Friday night/Saturday morning (finished up at around 1:30am) and I was pretty sore this morning when I went on my run with Jenny. She was super nice and offered to head in our direction so I would be ever-so-slightly closer to the start line. But, of course, our neighborhood means hills! And, we did the hills. After .5 mile warm-up up and down the street, we started our ascent to the golf course, via the path that goes by a nice vista point overlooking the valley between our neighborhood and the Chaminade.
On our return from the golf course, we took the trail at the end of Park and then did a cool-down before heading home. All told, we did 4.17 miles with a total reported climb of 1195 feet!
I knew, starting out at the event, that I wasn’t sure how well I’d do in the 10K. I knew my legs would be tired and I knew the hill run would fatigue me even more, but I also knew that I would enjoy the run. I hardly ever run on the east side, but I still think it is stunningly beautiful. I’m also familiar enough with the route that I knew most of it would have a view of the ocean. Plus, the weather was phenomenal (just under 60F at start time–8am!). I went out there because I knew I’d like the course and it was a fun way to get in more mileage towards the annual goal.
I’m glad I did it. It was so pretty, I ran with a big smile on my face. I wasn’t shooting for a PR, but I actually came very close. It’s my best 10K in recent years, but apparently, I hit my fastest 10K back at the Almaden Classic in 2007 (8:06 pace with a total time of 50:23). Today’s stats are as follows:
Div Place : 66 of 436 (15%)
Gender Place: 22 of 291 (7.5%)
Age Place: 6 of 140 (F 40-49) (4.2%)
Start Time: 08:01:33
Elapsed: 00:50:31
Pace: 8:08
I wasn’t sure if I’d see Tom and the kids at the finish, but there they were! As always, I loved seeing them and seeing them gave me an extra burst of energy to finish especially strong (and happy)!
Hoping to do this event again, for sure. It was so nice to do much of the Wharf to Wharf course without the crowds!
As for my mileage goal, today’s run with Jenny and the event put me at 81% complete…I still have 156 miles to run to make it. With only 7 weeks left in the year, it’s a tough target, but I’m not ready to give up trying.