today i ran in my first 10-mile run. i’ve run 10 miles before, but this was the first one with a start and a finish line and prizes and so on. i had registered for the annapolis 10-miler before, back in june when i was returning from japan and before my foot/leg started bothering me. i wasn’t sure if i should run this race since, you know, foot and all, but also because i hadn’t been running since it was originally injured back in july and this race required a 12-minute-per-mile pace in order to avoid disqualification; if you haven’t maintained a 12-minute-per-mile pace by the 8 mile mark, they could tell you to move to the sidewalks and you might not be counted as a finisher since they were going to open up all the roads to traffic again at 9:45. so, a possibly sore leg and not being used to the rigors of running meant that i wasn’t sure if i’d be able to finish this race.

on the other hand, the annapolis 10 miler race both starts and ends in the parking lot across the street from my house, and actually runs right next to the house on the way to the first mile marker. so, leg injury and stamina notwithstanding, it was the sort of race that i had to try if only because it was so convenient for me.

besides, i had already paid $60 to enter this race, and i wanted the finisher’s premium.

the worst parts of the race were scaling the naval academy bridge – i, and a lot of other people, had to walk up it before running down the other side. but other than that, there were only a few parts that had some hills that needed to be walked. doesn’t mean i ran the whole rest of the race, since my leg and being winded meant i had to do a fair share of walking, but i’m not unhappy with my performance.

the water stands along the route were managed by a boy scout troop, a church (“st anne’s holy water station”), a few were managed by midshipmen from the naval academy, and other volunteers. between mile markers 5-8, lots of people had sprinklers set up in front of their houses for runners to go through, or they were using a hose nozzle to spray over the runners, or they shot at runners with super soakers. a few houses did their own water stations, and at one part there were a few people handing out sliced oranges (i’m not sure if that was an “official” race station or just someone who was giving those out in front of their house).

overall it took me just under 2 hours; my nike+ timer i started when i began the race said something like 1 hour 54 minutes, but i’ll have to wait until the actual results are posted before i’ll know what my official chip-time is.

the best thing about being in a race that starts and ends across the street from your house is crossing the street after finishing and getting in the shower while the post-race party is still going on.

my leg still feels sore, more sore than it was before the race, but not as sore as it was when it was at its worst. i’m definitely going to keep my sports medicine appointment on tuesday because, hey, at least now i have something to talk about instead of before when all i could say was “well, my left leg hurt before, and now it doesn’t, unless i bend my foot in certain directions, and even then it still doesn’t really hurt that much.” i ended up with two blisters on my right foot (left side of my hallux, and on the tip of my index toe). i had a headache earlier, and was feeling pretty hot, but some excedrin and a nap seemed to take care of that. other than that, i came through this race pretty much unscathed.

so now i’ve completed a 10K, a .01K, and a 10mi. i’m kind of glad that i’ve resigned myself to postponing the marine corps marathon until next year – since getting injured back in july, i haven’t been able to keep up with my training (which was already tough enough because of the heat… homodachi posted the portland forecast for this week and it only made me jealous and made me want to move to portland for perfect running weather… meanwhile we’ve got an incoming heat wave, yaaay.), and after doing this race today for “only” 10 miles, i don’t know how i would have been able to run more than twice that distance for the marathon.

maybe i need to find a marathon to run in february/march. that’ll give me time to train in cooler temperatures.