Mile 0: Proceed to the starting line
This is the craziest thing, standing under a traffic signal in the center of the road, with two thousand+ people in front of me, behind me, and merging in from either side. Five and a half minutes until I cross the starting line, an easy jog to get there.

Miles 1-3.1 (27:34): Dodge the people
There are SO many people in this race. There are TONS of people in this race. I ran on the grassy shoulder as much as I could, flying by the crowd. I quickly realized my garmin was in bike mode (oops!) so my pace was displayed in miles per hour... I spent a half a mile trying to figure out what was what before I gave up - decimal places made it too hard! Tons of bands and DJ's here made it a great start to the race.

Miles 3.1-6.2 (26:08): Stick to the plan
The race plan for the morning was to warm up for 5k, then see how close I could come to a PR for my 10k. At this point the course climbs a long hill as you go through the golf course. I appreciated the encouragement from the metal band and the guys at the top singing bob marley. All is well, but as I begin to descend I get one, then another sidestitch, one in either side. Determined not to let them get to me, I threw everything I had at them - put a hand on it, open up my chest, change my breathing pattern, slow down a little. I'm passed here by a friend and wish him a good race. Half a mile later the stitches subside - yay! They really hurt =/ I see them giving out popsicles at an aid station and make a beeline for an orange one... yum. Feeling better, I pick the pace back up and continue on.

Miles 6.2-9.3 (24:56): Get 'er done!
It is starting to heat up, so I grab some ice water and dump it over my head. The wind picks up and I wish I had a draft. I hit the hour mark and calculate my chances of a PR - dwindling, but I pick it up anyway. No worries, I'm here for the beer. I keep a lookout for the support team (friends) at mile 8, but there is no sign of them. I finally see them at 8.8 miles, and they gave me a big boost! So close to the finish line, I keep it just hard enough to be uncomfortable. I finish up strong with a nice 100yd kick (I know, I know) and I'm done!

Nothing. Leaving this as a fun race, and I think it's much better this way. There is just so much to look at and take in the experience.

Walked briskly through the crowds to grab my goody bag (for the glass) and then proceeded to the beverage area to get a cold beer. Drank it at the meetup point and stretched out. Walked around the post race area, drank some more beer and caught a T-shirt someone threw off the brewery roof. Watched the F-16 flyby.


Not too concerned about that today =)


For me, this was a glorified training run with 10,000 friends. I had a great time, would run again. A+

For those who haven't done this race, you really have to do it! There are something like 27 water stations and 30 musical acts, from garage bands to DJ's to belly dancers! The post race activities are first rate, and there's free beer. Need I say more?