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.

Radio Silence

I haven't updated my blog in quite a while.  This is not because I have nothing to say, but rather too much to say and no words, strength, or desire to do so.

At the beginning of February, my husband suffered a heart attack.  Thank God he is ok and we caught it in time, but I was dealing with that for a while.

In the middle of February, I lost my mother to ovarian cancer.

Needless to say, I've been reeling.  How do I express what I've been going through in words?  I haven't been able to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) quite yet.

In the meantime, I do have some race recaps I want to share, and hope to get those up soon.  I will write about the heart attack and my mother's death when I am ready to write it all down.

ABB 5k Race Racep

My blogging is getting spottier and spottier---not because I don't have things to write about (I DO!) but because it's getting hard for me to carve out time to simply sit and write.  Between being a full-time mom, half-Ironman training, being a Girl Scout leader, being active in the school's Foundation, and the odds-and-ends that come up everyday, it's difficult to just sit and type.

But I do love to recap my races, mainly for my own nostalgic purposes, and I did one a few weeks ago that was truly memorable. I ran the ABB 5k in Houston, which was part of the Houston Marathon weekend.  I was out there with my family to visit my mother, who has ovarian cancer.  My kids had not seen her in almost a year (usually my mom comes out to visit 3-4 times a year) and it was important to us all that we go.  I saw that that weekend was the Houston Marathon and Half Marathon (a race I want to run one day) and that the weekend featured a 5k the day before.  I normally wouldn't care about it, but my 8 year old nephew, who lives in Houston, wanted to run a 5k with me. He had never run one before!  So, it ended up that it was a group of us:  me, and my 9 year old son, D; my sister and her two kids (who had all run the Oceanside Turkey Trot 5k with me in November); and my other sister and her son.

My brother-in-law picked up our packets for us the day before, so I have nothing to report on the expo.  As the race started at 8, we left the house by 6:15. I didn't know where we were going, and wanted to make sure we weren't stressed about the time.  We easily found parking in a nearby parking garage, and headed over to the starting area.  There were some fun booths set up for the kids, which some of our kids did while the rest of us waited in a LOOOOOONG port-a-potty line.

When the race began, we all started together, but soon I ran head with my son and niece.  My sisters and nephews ran/walked behind us.  The course was an out-and-back, and as it was in the streets of Houston, there was not much to look at.  No offense, Houston, but you're not the prettiest city.  Aside from one man set up with speakers blaring music, and a few random spectators, there was not much crowd support.  But what the course lacked in support and beauty was made up for by the people.  Everyone seemed to be in a good mood.  The weather was gorgeous, and while a lot of people were running this as a stand-alone race, others were also running either the half or the full the next day, and were using this as a warm-up.

Texas LOVES their state flag

As for us, we did ok. My niece started getting a few stomach cramps, so we took a few more walk breaks than we did when we ran together in November.  But we still finished in a great time, and the kids were so happy to get another medal.  We were handed the medals by service men and women, which made it extra special.

I would love to come back one day and run this again with my niece and nephews---and then run the half marathon the next day. Goals!