Being as this was my first race, I had several goals:
1. Finish
2. Keep a steady pace, and not come limping across the finish line.
3. Have a lot of fun, and really enjoy myself.

I'm happy to say that I met all of those goals and then some. Knowing that I am a slow runner, I placed myself very far back at the start. Since it was a run/walk event, I put myelf ahead of all the mothers holding small children by the hand and all other obvious walking teams. I was behind everyone else. I spent the first mile trying not to cry, because I wasn't feeling good, and I was getting passed by a lot of people, and I was generally just bummed. It seemed to take forever to hit that first mile marker, and the voice in the back of my head kept telling me that I had never actually gone 3.1 miles before in my life. Why did I think a race was a good place to start?

A little after the first mile marker I looked at my watch and realized I was supposed to take a walking break, but I really didn't want to. I knew that if I did, I would just take more and more, and that wasn't what I was hoping to do here. I just concentrated on running slowly, so I wouldn't burn out. I kept my eye on this girl dressed as a tennis player who seemed to be going the same speed as me, and just paced off of her for awhile. I soaked in all the costumes, the volunteers, the stupid drivers trying to run us down, all of it. Quick glances at my Garmin told me I was ranging between 11:a0 nd 12:00 min/mi and I was happy with that. I was starting to stay with the pack, rather than be passed by so many people.

At the 2.5k marker they had a water station, and that was funny. A woman dressed as something involving a large hat and umbrella (or maybe that's just her personal style?) ave me my water, and I drank about half of it down. That was a bad idea, as I started to feel kind of gross after that. It worked itself out after .5k or so, but I'll remember next time to walk the aid station.

A bit after the 2 mile marker I realized I was not going to walk. I was feeling good, staying strong, and only had a little more than a mile to go. My breathing was still on track, and I was looking way better than some of my feelow runners out there. It was around this time that I spotted my parents and husband. I actually saw them before they saw me. I was coming down a hill, right out of the sun, and couldn't have been more than 20 feet from them when I waved and there was a big flurry of sign waving and cameras and whatnot. It really bolstered me up. My husband yelled something, but I couldn't really hear him. I knew he was surprised that I was going to fast, so I gave him a thumbs up and nodded. I only hope he wasn't telling me my shorts were sheer or something.

Right after I passed my cheering squad was when the last final uphill (almost a mile long) started, and I realized something great: I was passing people! I had slowly been picking some people off since the first mile, but just as many people had been passing me. At this point, almost no one was passing me anymore, and I was passing groups of two and three who were just drained. One of the benefits of being slow I guess. :) I caught all the jackrabbits that started out too fast and were now walking. This one woman and I leap frogged all the way up the hill, and I tried to hang on for the down hill into the shopping center and finish line, but she had a killer kick. I felt this odd sensation....this sort of angry snake inside me that wanted to reach out and take her down. I told my husband about it after the race, and he said that's called competitive nature. Kind of cool.

My parents and husband were there again at the finish line, and I managed to finish looking preety strong, if red faced. It was great to see their faces, especially how surprised they looked to see me so soon. I had told them that I would take walking breaks, and that I would probably finish in about 40 minites. Instead I finished in about 35. Pretty nice start for a girl who thought she couldn't run.

Nothing. I met every single goal I set for myself. I also did the whole race without walking, and beat my projected finishing time by 5 minutes. I only wish I looked better in spandex.

Sat down on a chair, took off my timing chip, and got hugs from my great jockstrappers. They showed me all the pictures they took, and told me that the guy who won finished in a little over 15 minutes. Wowser. I drank my diluted Gatorade and got a cheese bread thing from the Panera cart. Decided not to stay for the festivities, so I slowly walked to the car, listening to my husband gush about what an awesome athlete I was becoming.


I'm a beginner, what more can I say? I haven't yet learned how to push my body and mind yet, and I don't really have an aerobic base.


I thought this was a really well run race. It started right on time, and was very well marked. There was a good police presence, which was nice, considering how Northern Virginia drivers are! It was fun to see the kids and some adults in costume, so it was a fun race for me, as a beginner. I like that it was Chip timed, so when they post official results, I'll know exactly how fast I was. That's nice for such a low key family event.

11/3/06 - Got the email with links to official race photography and times.