To be honest, I was not even sure what the elevation difference between DC and Albuquerque was until I looked it up this weekend after this race. The mean elevation in DC is 150 ft while the mean elevation in Albuquerque is a whopping 5,800 ft! No wonder I can't breathe!
As I mentioned last post, I only signed up for the Susan G. Komen Central New Mexico Race for the Cure 10K four days before this race because I really needed to get some good mileage in for my Wine & Dine training. I am so glad that I did this race because I think I would still be in the three mile range if I hadn't.
For this event, there was a 5K option as well as the 10K. Additionally, there was an untimed option. I signed up for the chip-timed option.
On Friday, I picked up my bib and race shirt and prepared my race day outfit. I decided to stick with the theme and went with a hot pink top and KT Tape.
The race shirt was a long-sleeved cotton t-shirt. The design is cute and I am in need of more long-sleeved shirts, so this was perfect.
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| Race for the Cure long-sleeved race shirt |
The race started at Wilson Stadium at Manzano High School. The 10K started at 7:00 am and there were probably less than 30 people signed up for this distance.
I predicted that it would be fairly small so I arrived with about 10 or 15 minutes to go to the bathroom, stretch and walk to the start line.
The race started promptly at 7 am and we were off to a slow and painful start.
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| Obligatory pre-race selfie |
Mile 1: 13:03
The first mile and half took us up Lomas Boulevard towards Tramway and it was all uphill, which is why my first two miles were also my slowest miles.
Mile 2: 12:46
Mile 3: 11:17
Once we hit Tramway, we ran along a popular running/biking/walking trail and I started to get into my groove. We hit the turnaround point a little past Candelaria Road and made our way back.
Mile 4: 12:14
The longest distance I have run in this training cycle prior to this race was three miles. At the four mile mark, I was started to fade a little and started taking some 30 second walk breaks.
Mile 5: 11:11
Somewhere around mile five an older gentleman who was on his Sunday morning run came up from behind me and gave me a few words of encouragement. Then he said that he was going to run with me for a little. At this point in the race, I knew that I was almost at the end but I really really wanted to walk. Instead, I had a really nice man pace me and gave me my fastest two miles!
Mile 6: 10:01 *fastest mile*
Once we reached Lomas again, the gentleman shook my hand and told me to, "Keep it up." From that point, it was all downhill.
The finish line was inside the stadium, and I am pretty sure I was one of the last people in the 10K group to cross the finish line.
Finish time: 1:12:28
After the race, I picked up some refreshments, and visited some of the booths set up around the stadium. The 5Kers seemed to be gathering at this point and it was fairly crowded. There was even a face painter and balloon animal maker. I was tempted to get my face painted but the line was too long.
After the race, I grabbed a breakfast burrito and coffee from Golden Pride to enjoy at home! I was so hungry!
I am really glad I ran this race. If nothing else, I got in my 6 miles and also am beginning to understand how rough the elevation is on me. I do have one big gripe about this race though. I cannot for the life of me find out how to get my chip time. Every other race I have run had the results posted to their website that day or the following day, and I cannot find it anywhere.
This is a problem because I paid extra to be chip-timed, and the only way I know what my time was is from my RunKeeper app. Not cool! I would have just gotten the non-timed option, saved the extra $5 and bought another burrito.
UPDATE: I sent an email to Komen Central New Mexico, and they finally posted the results. My official time was 1:12:32 for an average pace of 11:42.
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