Annapolis 10 Miler

Time to Run in the Annapolis 10 Miler!
The race is one of the more popular running races in the Metro DC area, and one leg of the "Triple Crown" of 10 milers. (The others are the Cherry Blossom and the Army 10 Miler.) The Annapolis 10 Miler differs from the other two in that there's a true post race party, with beer at the finish line. And the give-aways to runners (at least the ones that finish) are fabulous!

I joined Carol in the morning pre-race at packet pickup, but missed her at the starting line (bummer).

I was not quite sure what to expect. My running has been light lately, with something in the range of 4 to 6 miles being my "long runs". I planned on taking it easy, implementing a run-walk plan as I would do for a long training run.

The race held up to its reputation as being hot. There were 5000 runners and the residents of Annapolis greated us with sprinklers in hand to keep us cool.

I kept up a decent 10-minute pace for the first half, slowing to about an 11:15 pace the second, partly due to the hillier second half.

I was glad to have felt better than I expected and managed to finish in about 1:43. As expected, the finisher give-away was fabulous: a women's (it's so nice when gear is separated for men and women!) long-sleeve run pull-over. (And I lost my timing chip pre-race, so I won't have an official finish time, so I'm going off my watch...)

Great race, great day, time for a nap....