Meridian Gold Run for Education

Got another race under my belt yesterday (before the pony rides :), the Meridian Gold Run for Education. A 10K run around the Double Diamond area close to my house. Finally a close race I didn't have to travel for! But there were also half mile through mile and a half runs for the kiddies, and all sorts of elementary schools were represented raising money for programs. It was so cute watching those little ones running (some of them sprinting all out right from the start, and a few being carried by their parents). I got stuck in the parking lot after I got done with my race, waiting for them to pass. Good timing for parents who want to run the 10K, and then run a short race with their little kids afterwards.

I met a fellow librarian, although no longer co-worker, at the race- Turi, and this was the fourth run we've done together this season, and three of which just in the last month (Escape from Prison Hill, Reno Journal Jog, and the Tahoe Marathon were the other three). We decided on a 9 minute-mile pace (just over 6.5 mph- maybe 6.7?), and kept it almost exactly at that until the last mile when we picked it up and finished in 54:46 (according to my stopwatch), but the official results said 54:15. That's about 25 seconds off from my 10K time I ran in Grass Valley with another fellow librarian, Chris. (Although I think I went faster on that race because there were a few hills compared to this flat course, and one of them I walked up for about a minute to minute 30.) We also passed Dave, branch-manager of the Verdi Library around mile 3- that was cool- I didn't even know he was running this race. He finished only a few minutes behind Turi and me. WCLS was well represented yesterday. :) It was a good run- a nice jogging pace for the first five miles, slow enough to keep up a running conversation, and I felt great afterwards. Here's a pre-race picture of the two of us in the cold (yes I had to wear a sweatshirt for this race too!).



This race was only $35, which is great for any race these days, and the goodie bag at the end was the best I've gotten yet! They gave us a shopping bag from Wal Mart right after we crossed the finish line, and then we passed through a "market" of sorts: first I got an apple, banana, orange, cinnamon mini-bagel, then a yogurt and a sports drink and a water bottle, then on to Jamba Juice! Yes, I got a small Jamba Juice, which was perfect post-race nourishment. Next came the "real" goodie bag with a water bottle in it, a frisbee, pencils, a ruler with a sharpener on the end of it, a kid Cliff Bar, and all kinds of coupons. Then came the medal and t-shirt. Talk about good prizes! That was almost $35 worth of stuff in itself. Anyway, this will probably be my last race of the season. Starting to get cold now, and there aren't any more races being offered nearby except for a 5K, but I think I'll skip that one. I feel good about this season. I've never run so much in my life! Thanks to Chris and Turi for the motivation!