Zoo Zoom 10K race recap - pics coming soon!

Sunday was my first ever 10K race, the Sacramento Zoo Zoom! I ran the race with Matt and his dad, Jeff. We got there way early (7:15ish) because parking in Land Park can be a mess, especially with this many people. The forecast called for rain and gusty winds, something I was hoping and praying held off until we were done! (They did!) We hung out by the start line and watched the 5kers get going and that is when Sabrina (Matt's mom) notified me that there was a cut-off and that we had to keep a 14:00/mile pace so that we were in front of the people opening the roads up after the race. This made me beyond anxious! I was not mentally prepared to go quite that fast, and I am not sure Matt and Jeff were either. We didn't let it phase us too much though because we started the race at 8:35am with all of the other 10kers.

The start was pretty anti-climactic. We had decided before the race started to do 3 minute walk intervals followed by 2 minute running intervals. The first interval we did backwards though so we could get away from the crowd. The whole race we kept counting the people behind us because we were pretty close to the back of the pack. Right off the bat my IT band started aching. I thought I had rested it enough and foam rolled it enough and iced it enough, but alas. It basically hurt me the whole race. I was very disappointed by this and it sorta made me wonder if I can finish my 1/2 marathon on May 1st, but I guess that's another post. I digress...

We started pretty strong and I could tell Matt wanted to go faster and Jeff was struggling slightly. I was pretty happy with our pace, but could have been happier had my leg not hurt! We did the 3/2's the whole race, which was an awesome accomplishment! We had a great cheering section at the turn-around and then at the finish; Matt's mom and his little brother.

The finish was the part that made this race good instead of great. The race had a string of kid's races attached to it, well, at around the time we were finishing they started a kid's race which ended at the same finish line we were going to. So basically to get to the finish I had to dodge kids and their parents who had stopped inside the finish chute to take pictures and give hugs and all that. I was mad! I am sure my time could have been at least a minute or two faster had I been able to sprint at the end like I always do!

So, I raced and finished my 1st ever 10K! My time was around 1:25 and our average pace was about 13:49/mile. Will I ever do one again? Maybe. I am sure I will be more excited about racing once my IT band pain subsides, or at least improves. After the race we ate at Willie's. I am glad I had run 6.2 miles beforehand so I could eat all those fries and not feel too bad! I will be posting pics from the race sometime today or tomorrow. My next race recap post will be for the 1/2 marathon on May 1st. I am starting to get a little anxious!