Crack of Dawn 8K

Running. You either love it or hate it. For me, I think its a love/hate thing. What possesses me to spend my hard earned money on an event that only causes pain and sweat? I do it for the other thing it causes, pure exhilaration at completion. There are few things in this world that make me feel as good as running. Its tough to beat the feeling of accomplishment you get when you cross that finish line. Talk about a self esteem boost! I claim full bragging rights to my races. I may not be fast, but I ALWAYS finish. And that my friends is priceless.

So this morning I rolled out of bed around 4:17am. I'd laid out my clothes the night before. I pulled on my sassy spandex shorts, my Ragnar 2011 shirt, my reflective vest, socks, shoes, iPod, ear buds and most importantly, my purple bandanna. (The secret is out, I sweat). My good friend Shaleena, who initially informed me of this event, graciously drove me to the starting line. We arrived at the packet pickup around 5am. I got my timing chip and number bib. We then headed up Millcreek Canyon.

The sunrise this morning was breathtaking. We arrived a little early, so Shaleena and I chatted for a while then we said our goodbyes. She went down to wait at the finish line while I started to warm up. I made a friend at the starting line. I forget her name, but she had really cool reflective green NIKE shoes. It was our conversation starter. We had a delightful little chat before the race.

A few minutes before we began, the race sponsor had us do some stretches together. That was a first. I kind of liked it. Group stretches are always fun.

And then we were off. I wasn't quite ready with my iPod playlist, but I managed to get it going a few seconds after starting. This race was a bit different because it was all downhill...well mostly. I fell into a good pace and made my way carefully and steadily down the canyon.

As usual we all started in a clump and gradually spread out. For most of the race I was behind two people, a guy and a lady. I passed both of them but then the lady passed me, which I was okay with because I like to cheer people on. As for me, I just keep my steady pace.

The whole time I had it in my mind that 8 Kilometers equated to about 4 miles. Nope. Its 4.97 miles. I didn't find that out until I chatted with said lady who passed me. It was alright though, once you reach a certain point in running, you can pretty well keep on going for a while.

I said earlier that the race was mostly downhill. The only time it wasn't downhill was at the finish line. Once we got down the canyon, we turned onto Wasatch Boulevard and then turned again into the shopping complex which is a steep uphill climb. That. is. just. mean. Normally I like to sprint to the finish line. That was not going to happen today. It was all I could do to just keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep running.

 (Check out those calf muscles! Oh yeah!)

And at last I did cross the finish line. I think one of the hardest parts at the end is standing still enough for them to clip the timing chip off my shoe. My legs are so shaky at that point.  I found water, got my T-shirt (to add to my collection) and cue completion high!

So now here I sit writing this post after having a hot shower and carefully putting on my cushy slippers so my blisters can get some relief. It was a good race. I just may do it again next year.

PS - My official time was 57:44...that equates to an 11.6 min mile!! I am thrilled with that result.