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!