Alarm went off this morning at 4:10. My first thought was that it is totally unreasonable to be getting up this early on a holiday. My second thought was coffee. My third thought was to stop thinking and just get going.
We were on the road by 5:30 (amazed that the kids got up so easy) and made it to Oceanside and parked by 6:15. Parking was a BREEZE! Score one for this race. Easy parking = less stress.
How cute is my Mom in her headband! Love it.
Me, my bro and my SIL all signed up for the 5 miler. My Mom, Dad and LD all signed up for the 5k. This worked out perfect so that we had plenty of babysitters for our little crazies.
The 5 miler went of first.
I made my way down to the start and found Chacha! Have I told you all how much I love this girl? She is awesome. And a goal crusher. She wanted a sub 38 and ended up with a 37:10!! Goal CRUSHER. CONGRATS!
This was a really pretty, fast race. We started on Highway 101, had a slight downhill by the Harbor, ran flat along the beach, had a steep uphill at the Pier, then flat along the water to the finish. There is NOTHING like listening to the waves crash. If you close your eyes for just a second it allows you to relax and just run.
Now, you all know it’s normal for me to have a snafu, right? About 10 steps into the race I realized my shoe was untied. Hello dummy. Who doesn’t check their shoes before the start? Apparently me. That lost me about 10 seconds. And probably ticked off at least 20 people who wanted to run on the sidewalk. Sorry guys I pulled as far left as possible. Stay out in the roadway.
The rest of the race was awesome. I felt pretty good the whole time and just had fun. I said good morning to every neighbor on their porch. I took in the ocean. I loved it. Goal was to run at a short tempo pace, so around 7:20. Maybe 7:15 if I was lucky. 7:10 would be pushing it.
See that smile? That looks like fun right?
Crossing the finish behind the Turkey and still smiling.
My watch said 35:58, however, my unofficial time per the posting on the wall was 36:14. I have no idea how their could be a 16 second difference. Butttt I AM STOKED!
Short Tempo Pace: 7:20
Maybe Pace: 7:15
Based on unofficial time: 7:14
Based on my watch: 7:11
EITHER WAY I AM SO FREAKING HAPPY!!! YES YES YES!
I know some of you are rolling your eyes saying don’t focus on your watch, it doesn’t matter. I would agree when it comes to mileage but not overall time.
My bro and SIL both finished (we are awaiting their times since they started pretty far back) and loved the course too.
You just can’t beat the ocean. Look at that background. This is why we live here.
~
Next up was the 5k!
My no-shave November husband had a goal of 25ish minutes. I think the beard slowed him down a little. He disagrees. We all know the wife is always right.
He said he went out too fast (gee, we are so much alike) but he did great! His unofficial time is (watch) 25:39! PR!
My Dad ran with my Mom and my cousin Lindsey.
My Mom in the headband, my cousin with the black pants next to her and my Dad in the visor. Team awesome right there.
They started in wave 3 so we are waiting for their official time, however, this was my Mom’s first time finishing a 5k WITHOUT WALK BREAKS!!!!!!! I am so proud of her. She ran the whole time. GO MOMMA! My Dad paced her and they crossed the finish line together. So cute. My parents. They rock.
~
We are now back at the casa. Football is on, the table is set, and now all we have left to do is EAT.
Happy Thanksgiving Friends!
Haute Running Mama 