Time: 21:14
Pace: 6:50
Award: 1st Place Overall Female
Not my best race but I had fun with this one because I got to take part in a great cause – appreciating the men and women who fight every day for our freedom. It was really cool to see all the men and women there who I could tell were proud, active military. My goal for this race was to do another sub-20 and I thought I had it with an extremely flat course and the clouds covering the sun early in the morning, however, the sun hit half-way through the race and it was brutal.
As I turned for the home stretch – around 800 meters, I did a quick look over my shoulder and realized there was noone within close distance to me. Once I looked down at my watch and realized that a PR was going to be out of reach, I slowed it down. I guess some might say that I ‘gave up’ but I simply didn’t feel like killing myself.
At the finish line, I was immediately told that I was the first female and I was surprised. I thought I had seen a tall long-haired girl that was a good quarter of a mile in front me when we first took off, but it turned out to be a long-haired fast man. :)
The award ceremony was held later that afternoon during a very nice ceremony honoring local military. The city of Myrtle Beach did an awesome job honoring all of our heroes this memorial day weekend and I was very glad to have a part in it. Not to mention the award was AWESOME! It turned out to be a 10 pound solid piece of crystal (or maybe glass, I don’t know) that I almost let slip out of my hands when they handed it to me because I wasn’t expecting the weight. A great ending to an awesome race!
My "oscar" of an award. I was so afraid I was going to drop it!
