10K - I DID IT!

I did it!  I completed the Hollywood 10K!  I didn't run in the four weeks before the race.  I still hate running.  But I did it!

I left home at 6:00am, anticipating street closures and parking issues.  I meant to park at Hollywood & Highland, entering from Orange...but once I took my 101 exit, I couldn't find Orange with all the closures.  Then, somehow with my detours, I ended up in Burbank.  There I was, driving past Warner Bros studios...clearly not where I wanted to be.  After a forty-minute excursion, I gave up parking in Hollywood, went to the Universal Metro parking lot, and took the Red Line one stop to Hollywood/Highland. (Why didn't I just do that in the fist place?!)

I finally got where I needed to be and waited.  Once I arrived, I was glad to be there...but throughout the night, I definitely considered skipping it.  A bottle of wine and four hours of sleep the night before definitely made sleeping in pretty appealing.  I knew I'd regret not going.  I felt fine, though, and I got more excited as we approached the start.

Then it happened!  I started running a 10K!  I thought I was doing well...then looked at my watch.  Only six minutes into it.  Not even a mile into my 6.2 miles.  Oops.  I did a bit of a run/walk for the first half, which was fine.  I reached the halfway-point turn-around at thirty minutes...and then I kept running.  I ran 20-25 minutes straight after that!  It was a slow little mini-jog, but I didn't stop that pace!  I only walked for a minute or two once I saw the finish line in the distance, so I could prepare for my glorious finish.

AND I FINISHED PRETTY WELL!  I almost sprinted the final thirty seconds or so.  I felt like a gazelle.  Or a Kenyan.  I ran and ran and I finished a 10K!