Coronado Valentine's Day 10k Race Recap

Wow.

This race was done a month ago, and I still haven't written about it.  So much has happened in the last few months----my husband's heart attack, my mother's death---that I have not been in the mood to update my blog.  But, I really write for myself, and one thing I like is a race recap for every race for posterity.  So, here goes.

My BFF, D, put on his bucket list over a year ago that he wanted to be able to run a 5k. Well, he did that, and then upped his goal to be able to run a 10k. As he was not a runner previously, I was thrilled, to say the least. Unfortunately, there are not too many 10k races in San Diego.  There are half marathons and 5ks all the time----but a good 10k is hard to come by.  So I was happy when I found the Coronado Valentine's Day 10k. I've had friends who've run it in the past and it always sounded like fun. I registered him and myself back in August for this race.  He would run it all-out; I would run it at a slow pace as training for my upcoming half-Ironman.

The day before the race was NOT a good one for me. That was the day my mother, who had been fighting ovarian cancer since last June, decided she was done fighting. While she hadn't entered hospice at that point yet, to say that I was ambivalent about running this race would be a huge understatement.   But I knew she would have wanted me to run it, and I wanted craved needed a stress release.  So run I did. Luckily D was able to pick up my packet for me----I was so busy the day before the race, what with going on a long bike ride in the morning and selling Girl Scout cookies at a booth with my daughter's troop in the afternoon. And emotionally I was wrecked.

The race started at 8:00 in Coronado, in Tidelands Park, and if memory serves me right I left my house a little before 6. It's only about 1/2 hour away, but I didn't want to be stressed with potential traffic. Plus, the website warned that parking was very limited, so I wanted to snag a good spot. And I did. I arrived in the parking lot with plenty of spots left to take.  My BFF and his friend came not too long after I did and already they had to find street parking.

The morning was cold, and I had only worn a running skirt and pink shirt.  But as we waited at the start line, the sun started to break through the crowds and it began to warm up.  Once the race began I had to do a lot of weaving in and out---so many walkers--and it took me a good mile before the crowd thinned out.  The first mile or so is done on pretty narrow walkway, so there's not a lot of room for the runners.

before the race

The course was simple---and out-and-back.  We ran past the Hotel del Coronado (always a favorite place of mine, as that is where I got engaged) and made the turn around at the Coronado Community Center, where we ran by the water for a while.  For the most part my friend D was ahead of me--I was taking walk breaks when needed--but at one point we ran together as he'd had a bathroom stop and I caught up to him.

As we neared the finish line there were lots of heart-shaped signs on the grass (yes, the end was run on grass) with love sayings. I wish I'd had a camera with me.  Very appropriate for the theme of the race.  Finally I crossed the finish line---not a 10k PR for me, but a race nicely executed for my long-term half-Ironman goal. The best part was that D not only got to cross running a 10k off his bucket list, but he wants to do another one!  This was a fun race to do, and I am considering talking my son into training to do it with me next year.

After, I was glad I'd run. It definitely released a lot of my stress and I got to have some fun to boot.