Havelock Run 2008

Well the day finally came and the run is over!

I got up at around 6:45 and we left the house around 7:25. When I got to the starting line it was 80 degrees. The first mile I was pretty tight. My legs just seemed like they couldn't get going. I ran out on Havelock starting at 63rd Street and then all the way out to 84th. At first I was thinking 84th wasn't too far away and then I remembered that it was all of the way to the Lancaster Event Center. Oh my! I couldn't stay with a pack either and the open fields on the windy day were brutal. When I turned the corner onto 84th it was seemingly uphill all of the way as well as the wind blowing strongly, sometimes in the face and other times pushing you to the side.

I was getting in a bit of a rhythm though. Even though they don't like you to use a music player any more for safety I had to use one for running a race this long. That helped push me a long, with the music giving me the energy. When I turned off of 84th and headed down Adams, past the Mahoney Golf Course, it was more downhill and that was welcomed. Then I turned back onto 70th and then expected to get ready to turn down Fremont and the home stretch. Ummm...no. I had to turn into Mahoney Park on Fremont and up another brutal hill. Thank goodness there was a waterstand to give me a pickup. I worked my way into the park to the turnaround part and then headed out knowing that I would now run down Fremont to 63rd. I got another quick burst of energy traveling downhill but then another hill came and sucked a lot of energy out of me. I had to stop for 4 mini-breaks (10 seconds each) during the race. I hoped that I wouldn't have to stop but I think it was just too hot out. I hadn't trained in the warmth like that. Finally, 63rd Street came and I thought the finish line would be closer. It seemed like miles away even though I could see it. But I kept pushing forward and got to the line. Yeah! I finished it in 1:05.54, according to my watch. I haven't been that tired in a long time.

The officials stats that I just received by email were:

Congratulations on finishing the Havelock Charity Run!
The following are your personal results:

Name: Brian Reetz
Distance: 10K
Time: 1:05:56
Pace: 10:37
Overall Place: 506 of 664
Place in Gender: 314 of 364