Race Report: Embarcadero 10K

I'm very proud of myself. Despite waking up with a slight hangover (not having to drive to party last night = tequila shot + beer + margarita), I managed to get myself together and up to SF by 8:30AM this morning for a local 10K race. A very big accomplishment since originally, I was going to ride up with my friends (it's an hour away) but as I woke up when they wanted to leave, I told them to go ahead without me and I would try to meet up with them if I could.

And somehow, I did manage to rally to get up there in time. Luckily, it's a small race held by the local running club. I would guess there were about 150-200 runners there. So registration and all that was a breeze ($5 - what a deal!).

The course was an out-and-back on Embarcadero, starting at Aquatic Park and then turning around right at AT&T Ballpark. It was a beautiful day and perfect running weather so I knew it would be a good run. I started with my friends but as good ole Garmie revealed I was doing a sub-9:00 pace in the beginning, I quickly hung back and tried to take it nice and easy. (Funny how races totally mess up your perception of your running pace.) I hadn't been training for this 10K so there would be no racing, I just wanted to get 6 miles under my belt again.

Normally, this is a very tourist heavy route but it wasn't too bad today except for the last mile - where you go right by Pier 39 and all the Fisherman's Wharf stuff. I had to do a lot of weaving then. But the worst part is running past Boudin Bakery and smelling all that freshly baked bread - torture everytime!

Here are my mile splits:

1: 9:48
2: 10:15
3: 10:10
4: 10:14
5: 10:31
6: 10:20
7 (0.2): 1:56

Total: 6.2 miles, 1:03:12, 10:12 avg pace

Not a PR but I'm pretty proud of it considering my current fitness level. I just need to keep it up this time! No trips this month (yet) so hopefully I will get back on track.

We all received cute ribbons, too - check it out:

(I'm second from the right.)
Afterward, we went to Lori's Diner for a post-race brunch in Ghiradelli Square. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed the nice weather as well as the view of the triathletes doing their swim training at Aquatic Park.

On the way out, I picked up a Chocolate Velvet cupcake from Kara's Cupcakes to have when I was back home. Ohmigosh, it was delicious! The frosting was like chocolate mousse and the cupcake itself was so rich and moist. Yum! Perfect post-race treat.