First I was going to run the Valley Marathon, then after some job-changes on my husband's part I decided on the Valley Half. Then I fell down a few weeks ago and the Valley Half turned into the Valley 10k race for me. Still, I was happy to finally being able to just do the Valley-something in my VFFS!
My husband (who also ran the Valley 10k) and I dropped our daughter at my Mom's place the night before, ate some great sushi at Sushi Nami and hit the sack early. My alarm went off at 6am-I think. I pressed snooze until 6:20 and then we both ran around the house like crazy people getting ready to head out the door and hit the road for the hour long drive at 7am. We downed a Pepsi Max about 30 minutes before we arrived so I had a little energy kick that helped us both sprint around the university looking for the race kit pick up area. Finally we found where we needed to be and grabbed out little orange bags and headed outside to get pulled together.
I decided to try a 25mg Gu for the first time-I know, I know "Never try anything new on race day." Yeah, those words would haunt me later. But I figured. Hey, a 10k is a walk in the park so what the heck I could use all the caffeine I could get. My DH wanted to start in the back for this race, so we compromised on being near the back, but not dead last. The race started and off we went, walking then running as we crossed the mat. We had agreed to a 5:30 pace average. As we came up on a half kilometer I asked DH if he wanted me to lead, since running 2-abreast was next to impossible with the crowd. He said yes and off I went. I didn't see him again until the finish! He said he had to take a walk break around the 2km mark and lost me as I crested a hill. Still, I had a great time. The wind hit everyone hard as we crossed the dykes, but aside from that the route was well planned, the crowd was super supportive and there were plenty of aid stations. I found myself picking people off right up to the 9k mark when major stomach cramps forced me to a walk/run. Darn GU, should have taken a second one at the 5k mark..or maybe that Gatorade at the last aid station...ah well.
I had a few people comment on my VFFs. One guy ran up to me and asked if that was what I was wearing. I said "yes" and he said "OK" and dropped back. Guess he just wanted to check? A spectator yelled out "Nice Shoes" at the turn-around point. Another lady in a skirt caught up to me and asked about them, how I liked them, where she could buy a pair, running injuries, the whole gamut. She eventually passed me and then when I reached the track for the final lap before the finish I found myself next to her and we decided to finish it together. I kept looking behind me for my DH, but I couldn't find him. Turns out he was only about a minute behind me, but that was just far enough that neither of us could catch sight of the other. I got my medal and waited for my DH at the finish line. Sure enough there he was gutting out the last few meters. We high-fived as he crossed and then we went in search of food, drink and showers.
I've been to other post-race parties that had alot more food but neither of us was too hungry so we grabbed bananas and chocolate milk and headed for the showers. All that done we were both happy with our results. I managed a 1:01 in my VFFs and with a knee injury and he managed a 1:02 with next to no training. All in all much better than we expected!!
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