Every time I get up early - which today was 6 a.m. - for a race, I ask myself, "why am I doing this???" We were all pretty tired and moving quite slowly in preparation for the race, but it was nothing that coffee couldn't cure. We headed out at 7 for the "Sue & Connie's Run" in Rockville, MD, a fun four-miler that was mostly run in Rock Creek Park. There were five of us running - my sister, Jamie; her husband, Phil; their neighbor, Heather; and Heather's boyfriend, Chris. Chris was by far the fastest of all of us, finishing 11th in around 23 minutes. I was next, finishing 138th in just over 33 minutes. Phil, Heather and Jamie finished together in just around 40 minutes.
The course was great, starting with a steep downhill and mostly winding through Rock Creek Park over little bridges and along the park trail. That steep downhill unfortunately turned the finish into a steep uphill, but it was a good challenge nevertheless.
I had another pain-free run and was even able to speed up my pace a bit without trouble. I did the first mile in 7:54 and realized I needed to slow down in order to keep up a good pace. I did my second mile in 8:17, my third in 8:42 and the fourth in 8:50. Given the hills at the end, I was really happy with my time. I also felt pretty good throughout the run, which is most important at this point.
The backyard party is just beginning so the rest of the day will be dedicated to fun. I even got the chance to do a second "unofficial" test of my wetsuit, albeit in a much smaller pool with no swimming involved. I knew I wouldn't regret dragging that heavy thing all the way here with me!
Sport - Running (race)
Distance - 4 miles
Time - 33:43
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