It was a LOOOOONGGG Freaking Hill!

Ok, so the 10K is over. I finished. In fact, I finished faster than I thought I would and faster than I normally run in by basement.

And it felt GREAT! It was fun. It was challenging. It was a whole lot of things.

These are my observations:

1. I have no idea how to pace myself. I know, I know ... there is fancy electronic equipment for this, but I'm not so into electronic equipment. Or, an iPod with appropriately tempo-ed music would also do the trick, but I don't like things in my ears either. So my strategy was to just pick someone who looked like a person I could keep up with and I followed them. (Passed them, actually, in the end.)

2. It was freaking cold this morning. I wasn't prepared for my hands being frozen. But I figured as long as they were still cold, I wasn't working as hard as I could ... or the blood would be coursing through my body and they'd warm up. That thought gave me a little extra wind.

3. My treadmill didn't prepare me for the length and steepness of "The Hill." It was a mile long. And, I ran it all except for about a tenth, maybe two tenths of a mile at the very top. I just flat out couldn't run it. And I think I actually walked it faster than I was running anyway. Part of me is really disappointed with that. I won't say, "I ran a 10K," because I didn't. I will say I finished a 10K, though.

4. Running downhill is hard. I'm grateful for the old man who pulled up along side of me and encouraged me. He had an Ironman tattoo on his calf. I ran behind him for a while. Then passed him.

5. Apparently I was taking this more seriously than I thought I was. Once we started, I didn't want to get passed. And for the most part, I didn't. A brunette with glasses got me on the downhill. And a ponytailed blond got me in mile 5. But both were younger than me by a long way, I think, so that's how I'm justifying it. And then another woman got me at the finish line. She timed her sprint better than I did. 

5. My shoulders are killing me. Not sure if I held my arms differently because I was running outside or what. But I notice a difference.

6. I ate blueberry pancakes afterward. With lots of syrup. I would run a 10K every Saturday if I got pancakes.

7. Did I mention that it was FUN?

It was cool. You should do it next year with me. It was fun to have Ms. Copy T there to run the 5K with me. (Thank you!) We could be our own team -- I'll buy the Tshirts.