The Moonlight Run 2012

All ready to race! Here goes nothing!

I took part in my first official race tonight! Nysha and I did the Moonlight Run 6K this year, and we both had a really fun time! I did much better than I thought I would. I was shooting for around 45 minutes because I've never done an actual race before. I was also a little nervous with coming back up the hill at the end of the race, so I wasn't counting on having a very high score. When I crossed the finish line near the end, my time was 37 minutes! I could not understand how I got that time, but hey, I'm not complaining.

The run itself was really good. The way down the hill at the beginning was awesome because there was this huge mass of people all running together down the hill. I felt bad leaving Shauna behind, but I sped up a bit going down the hill. As soon as I got to the bottom of the hill, it's like someone killed the lights. Other than the few people around me that were using headlamps to see, all I could see was black silhouettes around the others around me.

I had a couple scares while I was on the trail. I had forgotten about the rocks on the path while you go under Whoop Up Drive and I started running over them. They're pretty big rocks, so I'm glad I didn't roll an ankle or fall into them. Another spot further up the trail gave me a scare too. As I pulled out onto the grass to pass a group of people, I noticed a park bench right before I slammed right into it. That would have been a really bad crash!

I started feeling it in my legs when I hit the Helen Schuler center where the last turn around came up. I told myself I wasn't going to stop until I at least got to the base of the hill. I made it the whole track plus a 1/3 of the way up the hill before I stopped to take a break. I had a cramp building up in my side, so I needed a break. I stopped four or five times on the way up the hill and then kept on going when I got near the top. It was such an awesome adrenaline rush near the top of the hill when you hear all the people in the crowds cheering everyone on. What an awesome feeling crossing that finish line and seeing my time! I'm really excited about signing up for the Moonlight Run again next year and any other races I can find in between. Nysha and I had a really great time tonight! She did really good on her race as well! She had planned to walk it and finished it in just over an hour! I'm really proud of her for her doing so well!