According to the race description: this is “one of the most scenic runs you will ever experience… See the uptown, downtown, historic buildings, parks and the scenic mountain views. ..Raffle prizes, food samples, and a fun flat course make this one of the best! Prizes for every age division. Commemorative photo and medal for every 5K and 10 Mile finisher! Breakfast is included!”

Sounds perfect….except that I had to run 10 MILES!!

I hadn’t run double digits in 3 MONTHS (the day of my half marathon.) I have been loosely training by running about 8 slow run/walk miles each weekend since then. And I have been too busy to run this past week.

But the goal of this race was running a race with Mary and escaping the FRIGID COLD of the Northeast was just a bonus.

Secretly I wanted to finish under 1:50 but since I had never run a 10 mile race before, it was automatically a PR, anyway.

Mary & I had gotten our race packets the night before and even drove the course so we were super prepared.  We even bought matching Lululemon shirts and silver bracelets for luck.

I was really psyched for the race. My first of 2014.

Getting up early was easy if you are from the East coast.  My brain was awake at 4 am and I didn’t have to get up until 5:30.

I had my new race breakfast of oatmeal and herbal tea and we took off around 6:15.

I knew that it would be warm during the race but without the sun up, it was chilly so I wore a jacket.

We arrived early, found a spot in the designated lot and sauntered off to the park where the race was held.  The atmosphere was very festive…lots of health-related booths.

There was a 10 mile race, then a 5 k and then a 1K. The 10 mile started at 8 am and the others starting at 8:30. In total there were about 700 runners but most were in the 5K.

Suzanne Somers was there and we got to meet her.

Soon, it was time to use the porta potty, take one GU, ditch my jacket at baggage check and head to the start.

We were near the front and planned to start together and then Mary since she was training for a marathon would slow down.

I myself was nervous since I pulled a muscle in my right hip/glute while sitting at the pool the day before (reaching back to adjust the chair…duh) and it hurt every time I bent or twisted. I was wondered whether or not it would affect my running. (By the way, my cold was almost gone…yay!)

Well, it did.  It hurt with every step.  I just ran and prayed that I wouldn’t have to DNF. The views on the course were breath taking.  I even stopped to take a photo which I normally don’t do during a race.

It was warm but felt good and in the desert, so VERY VERY DRY!! I made sure that I had water at every stop. Luckily there were many, at least 5 that I can remember (miles 2, 4, 6, 8, 9).

At one point, it got hilly and my back hurt so I was walking.  A lady came up behind me and pushed me up the hill.  She said “You can do it.  You’re almost there.”

After that, we ran and talked for a while.  It was nice and I forgot about my pain. Eventually, I needed to run faster and lost her.

Believe it or not, around mile 4, the pain went away (at least until after the race.)  Now, I could concentrate on my pace and enjoy the scenery.

Now that I was pain-free, I wanted to finish under 1:50:00.  That meant that I had to maintain a 11 minute pace.  Sounds slow and easy to do but it wasn’t it.  It was very warm and very dry.

I would be under 11 minutes and then I would stop for water and go over.  I ate Gu at mile 4 and mile 8 and that it is hard to do quickly and without walking.

And the only thing about the race that I didn’t like was the traffic.  I was running alone for the most part and when I came to an intersection, I had to stop and wait until they stopped traffic for the runners.  This happened several times. (I even witnessed a car accident.)

Anyway, I maintained my pace and felt a lot better during the last few miles of the race.  I was even passing people. That felt good.

I sprinted through the finish line and crossed at 1:49:55.  I was thrilled.

I grabbed my jacket and water and waited for Mary.

We headed to get our free breakfast (fruit & an egg burrito) until the results were posted.

Woo Hoo. I came in 3rd in my age group (Love being old!)

The Mayor who ran the race (and finished in 1:22) gave out the awards.

A two medal day.  What could be better?

We then headed back to La Quinta for a post race soak in the hot tub …

and a celebratory dessert:

So my first race and first destination race of 2014 was a success.  I had lots of fun and even won an AG award.  (The pain in my hip is slowly going away.)

Race Stats:

mile 1 – 9:59
mile 2 – 10:53
mile 3 – 12:14
mile 4 – 10:51
mile 5 – 11:14
mile 6 – 10:51
mile 7 – 10:57
mile 8 – 11:32
mile 9 – 11:29
mile 10 – 9:26

1:49:30 (Garmin time)

I liked that my fastest mile was mile 10!!!

Happy Running! Have you raced this year yet?