juana run

So after much procrastination and indecision, I went to the running store Friday night to sign up for the Juana Run 8k Saturday morning (saved 5 bucks vs signing up race morning, ha). The weather forecast was good and the course is certified and supposed to be mostly flat. I slept horribly - went to bed at 10, still awake at 11 when Maggie woke up, still awake at 1 when I got super hungry and had a snack. Finally fell asleep then woke up again at 4 to feed Maggie again. Arggh.

Anyway, I got there about 20 min before race start but the parking lot was already full. Another problem - I didn't actually know where the race start was (didn't bother bringing the map) and was going to follow signs from the parking lot. There was another car pulling out of the lot so I just followed it down the block and parked behind it, then got out and asked the people inside. They decided to drive closer to the race start and offered me a ride there - being short on time, I agreed and got into a car full of complete strangers.

I finally made it to the race start area but I really needed to use the restroom so I got on the end of a long line with 9 min to go. Then I found out the start line was actually another couple blocks away. Great. By the time I was finished I had to run over to the start to make it on time, but hey, I hadn't gotten a chance to warm up yet so that was my warmup.

Splits:
Mile 1 (6:35): This was faster than I had planned, but the pace felt comfortable so I went along with it. There was a very slight incline this mile. Unfortunately, right after I start running, I feel my heart rate monitor strap start to slide down...pretty soon it was around my waist and stayed there during the whole race. Aaargh! I had forgotten to tighten it when putting it on this morning. Great.
Mile 2 (6:44): Eased up a bit because the first mile was definitely too fast and I didn't want to blow up at the end. Another very slight incline here.
Mile 3 (6:39): Slight downhill now. As I pass the 3rd mile marker I hear the guy call out 20:0x and I realize I am actually going faster than in my 5k from 2 months ago!
Mile 4 (6:51): Okay, things are starting to get uncomfortable here. Now I really wish I were just doing a 5k, because then I would be DONE.
Mile 5 (6:57): I can really hear myself breathing now and I hate that! I am slowing down but I think I can still make it to the end okay. By the time I see the clock it's at 33:51 and I think I can make it under 34 so I try to sprint, although I don't think I actually sped up any.

Official time: 33:59 (6:51 pace)
AG (F30-39): 7/62
Overall: 78/467

I think a lot of local running teams do this race so there were some super fast people there...the winner ran a 24:34 (4:57 pace) and the female winner was 27:47 (5:36 pace)!!! Craziness.