Run Jilly Bean: Cherry Blossom Race

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Cherry Blossom Race

So, better late than never.

Do I look ready? I felt ready except I still didn't have a race strategy. And it was colder than I expected it to be.

Can you feel the cold? This was one of the few blooming trees we saw. I did see one cherry tree in bloom on the course, but I didn't stop to take a photo. Maybe a few more blooms would have distracted me a little more on the LONG second half.

But I digress. The race start was crowded beyond belief. I couldn't even get into my corral without considerable effort. I could see the 9:00 pacers but couldn't reach them. I thought I would catch up with them, but that didn't happen. They started all the corrals one right after another, so there was quite a bit of weaving and jumping over curbs for the first two miles. The scenery was gorgeous once we got going.

The back of the course along Hain's Point was windy and LONG. Are you hearing the theme? I didn't think I was ever going to see the turn-around point. But it finally came. I did like the extra touch of having the half mile markers at the end.

Oh, and the pacers, I passed them because they didn't carry the signs with them. Are you kidding me? I guess I was spoiled from the phenomenal pacers at Shamrock. So this race was much harder because I was doing the hard work of running and pacing. Oh, but I guess that's why I run races. No one promised it would be easy.

I did manage to have pretty consistent splits except for mile 2 where I was trying to get around people and find the pacers. Overall, I was very happy with my time. And yes, it was a cool morning.

All smiles at the end.

I had to throw this one in because the girl's face beside me cracks me up.

Loved the flags coming to the uphill finish. Have no idea what I was doing with my arms.

I will admit that the ITB was not happy with me, so I did find some ice and a new friend. Pam a teammate from Team Tough Chik, hence the fun team clothes.

And stick with me just a little bit longer. One of the cools things was the extra analysis they posted of your race. This was very cool for a tech nerd like me.