Santa Monica Classic Race Report (Read 415 times)

My second 10K today! The Santa Monica Classic was a beautiful run that started off in southern Santa Monica near the beach, then went north up a main street and then back down south to finish at the SM Pier. It reminded me of weather from the LA Marathon- a very hot day in the middle of a cooler week, but I wanted to run it pretty hard so I wouldn't be left out there as temps went up. We made the mistake of driving to the race- should've ridden bikes, but I didn't think I would have the energy after the race. So we fought tons of traffic, walked down 3/4 mile to the start, and had plenty of time to hang out before the race started. No chips, but of course they still had the guy with the microphone to annoy everyone! But, I just had a pop tart for a second breakfast, so life was good. My husband and I started the run together. At mile 1, he took off to his pace. I was feeling great, pacing myself behind a girl in a red tank. She was my girl. Miles 1-4 were a very gradual incline, and I found it difficult to keep up my pace. I ran the course last week and knew that a PR would be very difficult considering how flat my PR course was. Anyway, around this time I noticed that I had a friend running with me, a man in a white cap (honestly, I was huffing and was in one of those too-close-in-an-airplane-i-dont-wanna-talk moods, so I didn't even chat.) We ran together for a while, and I picked up the pace a little bit when I saw the 10K lead guys coming through. I hollered a lot cause nobody knew me and my husband couldn't laugh at me for getting into it. The red tank girl and I were going back and forth, and I was glad to see her! So I made it to mile 4 and the turn-around to come back south, and then picked up the pace for the last couple of miles, even though my glance at my watch told me I had lost a lot of time coming north. Oh well, it was a beautiful day and I was running pretty hard, especially considering this was my first race not running with my husband. So finally I see the pier, where the finish and expo are. Red tank is running with me now, looks at her Garmin and says we've got 1/2 mile left. It is so hot at this point, and I realize I should've gotten more water at the 2 water stops. So I find that last bit of energy and finish strong. I finished in 58:58, less than a minute slower than my first 10K. I was so happy to see that time considering the heat and the incline. And, I got a nice new Nike technical shirt that actually fits me! (I own no race t-shirts that actually fit me, so this is a big deal to actually get a return on my registration.) Hubby and I hung out at the expo for a bit, which was done very well, and ended up coming back to the beach later in the day to enjoy the hot weather a little more comfortably. Overall, the race was excellent. Great course, well-sponsored by Nike & Whole Foods, and only in its second year.

Good job Deb! it's such a bummer when it is so hot and you don't even get a chance to PR.. but you did great for your first race alone! I'm sure everyone really appreciated the cheering and hollering!

Great job Deb! I HATE running in the heat! Kudo's to you!