Whoo hoooo! We ran a 10k!
On a beautiful, cool, sunny day in late May, Slick and I (Spinster Beth) ran the MCVET 10k. A first 10k for us both, but Slick has two half-marathons under her running belt, so this was just a little Sunday jog for her!
There was a 5k and a 10k. The runners were all fairly experienced, with a few people like me (newbies, slowpokes, meanderers). I came in twelfth ... from last! Out of 238 people. When we first got there, I looked around at all the runners and had a feeling I would be dead last. They just looked that good.
Also, these very serious runners ran both the 5k and the 10k. I heard a lot of the same names being read off at the winner's announcements.
MCVET is the Maryland Center for Veterans' Education and Training. A color guard (students from a local college) posted the colors, and a live choir sang the National Anthem. This is the 2nd time I was at a race where the Anthem was sung live, and I love to hear it live.The race was the best-organized of my experience -- four water tables, plenty of volunteers, and cops at every intersection.
The weather was absolutely perfect for a 10k; cool and dry, and the sunshine was just dazzling (I'm a little light sensitive, so any sun is dazzling for me). With the help of my new custom inserts, molded to my feet (thanks, Road Runner Sports in Columbia, MD) and a packet of Honey Stinger energy chews, I ran all but a half mile. I walked up the railroad overpass hill in the middle, both coming and going. The rest of it I jogged. (Amusing note -- the energy chews are endorsed by a certain cyclist who has been immersed in controversy regarding doping/not doping. The following work day after the 10k, my number came up for drug testing at work.)
I particularly liked the part where the Baltimore PD held up traffic at major intersections while I jogged ... slowly ... through ... the ... intersection ... holding them all up until I was through. I waved cheerily at all the frustrated motorists. If not for the headphones I was wearing, I might have learned all the latest swear words!
Here I come! The last bit was downhill, and I was so grateful to the race organizers for that little detail.
I look forward to running more 10ks! It was a good, accomplish-able distance, and this one cost the same as the 5k (which has a lot to do with why I chose the 10k!)
