Azalea Trail 10K

Saturday I ran the Azalea Trail 10K. It was overcast and humid. It was crowded. It was a blast! I ran the 6.2 miles in 51:15 - that's like an 8:14 mile which wasn't too bad since my first mile was 8:39. My first mile is always slower than the rest. I hate running the first mile in a race - the people drive me nuts, especially the ones who move up out of their time zone and get in front of everyone else who is having to run around and through them. I felt like I could have run faster, but just kept a moderate pace and picked it up the last couple of miles.

The Kenyans won the race. The winner ran it in 28:??? - who really cares? I was on mile 4 when when these guys were crossing the finish line.

The one thing I didn't understand was their use of the "chip" to track runners and their times. When you cross over the starting line it lets the computer know you've started the race and when you cross over the finish line it lets the computer know you're done. This gives everyone a more realistic time for their run, rather than everyone using the original starting time and spending 3-5 minutes just getting TO the starting line.

Yet the race officials listed our times by the original clock when the gun went off at the beginning of the race. Which puts my time somewhere around 53:00. I'm kinda confused. Either the chips didn't work or they jumped through a whole lot of hoops for nothing.

Anyway. . .had a good run and I had a cheerleader! That's right, my schweetie, Cindy, got up early to go with me and cheered me on at the start and the finish! Thanks Princess!

UPDATE: Because of schedule and the $90 to register for the Nashville 1/2 Marathon I've decided not to run it. I can run 13 miles here at the house that weekend if I want to and do my own Saraland 1/2 Marathon.

See ya 'round the bend,
Mike