(At packet pickup on Saturday afternoon)
The Annapolis 10 Miler was this past Sunday. I signed up to run the race last year, but unfortunately Hurricane Irene blew into town and the race was cancelled. The hubs and I headed down to Annapolis on Saturday afternoon for the race expo and then had a yummy lunch at Galway Bay Irish Pub, which was our first meal at a Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives location.
The weather wasn't great on Saturday. It was pretty humid out with spots of rain and sunshine. It didn't even come close to foreshadowing what was in store for us on Sunday morning.
On Sunday morning the alarm went off at 5:45am and the hubs was able to get the pups outside before the skies opened up and dropped a torrential downpour on our house. Then the thunder and lighting came and I thought, "awesome, maybe this whole A10 thing just isn't supposed to happen."
I never had any intentions of PRing or all out racing the A10. I've got my first 20 mile training running next weekend and the last thing I wanted to do was to race all out and be too tired this week. The goal for this fall season is not a fast 10 miler or half marathon, but a strong 26.2. However, I did want to run a smart race in the high 8s and/or low 9s.
The hubs came with me to this race because he was actually babysitting his friend's 10 month baby during the race so her mom could run. I wasn't worried about running, I was worried about the hubs babysitting a baby all by himself for a few hours!
Mother Nature was not in a good mood on Sunday morning. It poured on and off the entire morning, but the rain slowed to a minor drizzle for the start of the race, but with thunder and lighting in the distance. Somewhere around mile 1 the skies unloaded again. Honestly, I remembered running over a flat bridge and not only was it raining buckets of water, but hail was coming down too. I don't think there were worse running conditions than at that point. Getting pelted in the face with stinging rain and hail while getting pushed around by wind was absolutely brutal.
My feet were so heavy from all the water that it felt like I was running in my Hunter Boots. Most of the streets in downtown Annapolis were flooded near any water drains, so the runners were forced to the sidewalks in order to avoid running in mid-calf deep water. It wasn't ideal at all.
The rain would swell and then stop for the first five miles of the race. There were a few minutes of rain on the back half of the race, but the real weather wonder during the last five miles was the sun and heat. Yes, you have to love a race in which its brutally cold and raining in the first few miles, but then the sun comes out and it gets wicked humid.
It's like Mother Nature was bi-polar on Sunday morning!
The last five miles of the race was a series of rolling hills, including a high bridge, but I like hills and actually ran negative splits on the back half of the course. That's what I was most proud about during the race!
Final time: 1:31:50 and that comes to 9:11 mile average. I'm a bit bummed to be over 9 minute miles, but I know how slow I was moving in the rain during the first few miles, so I'm not too upset by the time.
I was pretty pumped to see the hubs and the babe prior to the finish line. I may or may not have told the hubs that he's never looked hotter. Dude was holding a smiling ginger baby at a race. How is that not attractive?
The hubs, babe, and I camped out before the finish line waiting for the hubs' friend to finish. Look, I know all babies are sweet and adorable, but this kid is actually the coolest kid in the world. She didn't nap, eat, drink, or poop while hanging out with the hubs for a solid 2 hours on a Sunday morning. More importantly, she didn't cry or get fussy at all. The hubs didn't have a stroller because it was raining so hard and the ground was so muddy, so he camped out in the car during the downpour, but the rest of the morning he walked around and carried a little girl in his arms. He didn't even complain that he had to carry a diaper backpack.
While waiting for our friend to finish I got to watch the hubs dote on this little girl. The highlight of my day was watching the hubs' friend see us before the finish line and she came over and carried the babe across the finish line. The babe was laughing hysterically and clapping as she crossed the line. It was so cute.
Final Stats:
Overall Time: 1:31:50
Overall: 1627/3900
Average Mile: 9:11
Place AG: 52/185
