Yesterday a bunch of my girlfriends ran the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation (PCRF) race in Irvine.
Everyone spent the night at our house and then put our (smiling) game faces on at 5:30am.
Saturday night we made spaghetti, garlic bread and salad and went to bed early since the wake up call was coming bright and early. Cancer doesn’t sleep in and neither do we.
Some were more awake than others…
We left the house at 6am which was plenty of time since the race was pretty close.
The race was held near the Irvine Spectrum (mall) so there was plenty of parking… and shopping if you felt the urge at 6am.
Are my friends bad or what?! We’re gonna start a gang.
Jim, the lone voice of reason and testerone in the group, signed up for the 5k at the last minute. He won 3rd in his age group and got a Chipotle gift card. Way to go, you old man! Do you need some Bengay?
I ran the half and everyone else ran the 10k. The half started at 7am and 10k at 7:45 which was nice because everyone in our group finished within minutes of each other.
Ok, on to my race…. Me, me, me, right??
I knew it would be an easy, flatter course. The only thing was that since I’ve been sick lately, all my workouts have been a little energy-less. Regardless, whatever would happen in the race I was fine with. A PR would have been nice, but there’s always another day…
I started close to the front and the first couple miles were 7:10′s and then I settled into 7:30′s for the rest of the race. It was really pretty uneventful; I felt good and got into a pace following an older guy who was a great pacer for me. In the end, he left me in the dust though. bummer.
I started getting a little tired around halfway and took a gu at mile 7. Had I brought another one I would have taken it later.
The last mile I fell off pace a little and didn’t finish as strong as I would have liked (Also, the 10k, 5k, and walkers all funneled into the same last finishing mile. Me=not happy about dodging people. wanted to punch someone… in the name of cancer research, of course).
I finished in 1:37:49, (7:28 average pace) 3rd woman overall and 1st in my age division. For the age division thing I got a gift certificate to In-n-Out, but I don’t even like their food so I gave it to my friend.
After the race, 2 men who had ran near me came up and congratulated me which was nice. Like I really need an ego boost, right?
Since everyone did so well in their respective races, some PR’s and no injuries, mimosas were definitely in tall order. We went back to the house and had chips, guacamole, hummus, queso, all the important post-race food groups. I am positive this is how Ryan Hall refuels.
At 1 we had a reservation at Javier’s, an upscale Mexican restaurant at the Spectrum.
Christina, Jenn and sad Reese.
Baby Emma, Jenn, and Bri.
Jenn, Bri and I.
Reese and Jim.
We had margaritas, chips and salsa and grilled chicken ensalada for me. Twas all tasty.
The weekend was so much fun. I run 100% alone so I don’t run in groups ever, but if you’ve never done a group race before with friends, do it! It’s a lot of fun, it’s a totally different vibe than when you’re racing by yourself, just good times all around.
Have you ever done a race with a group of friends??
