Sunday Running - Nike Human Race

When I signed up for the Nike Human Race, I knew it would be a big production...crowds, lines, big music, etc. Since it was on a Sunday and wouldn't be considered the 'long run' of the weekend, we weren't supposed to race it, but rather run for fun.

I think people must have gotten downtown at 5:00pm when the corrals opened because 30 minutes before the race began the chutes were totally full. It didn't really matter to me where I started because I didn't want to get swept up into running too fast at the beginning. I weaved my way up past the walkers, past the 12:00 min/mile sign, past the 11:00 min/mile sign, until I was just behind the 10:00 min/mile sign. I couldn't sneak any further up because of the sheer number of people in the crowd. It was neat getting to hear Lance Armstrong, Matthew McConaughey, and Aaron Peirsol were in attendance. It was neat seeing everyone in red shirts, too. As much as I heard about how people didn't like them, I really like my shirt and plan to wear it a lot in the future. If you didn't know this already, red makes you run faster. It is a proven fact :).

After the start horn sounded, I spent most of the race dodging people. I didn't necessarily try to weave, but there were so many people in front of me that I had to or I would have been walking. My first couple of miles were 9:15-9:30, I guess. After the series of hills had done their damage on most of the crowd by mile three, it had thinned out enough so that I could settle into a better tempo for me (still not racing).

Can I tell you how many people suck wind on hills? You could definitely tell the difference between a casual runner and someone who actually trains by the way they climbed the hills. I admit it was hilly, but the continuous series of hills definitely was not liked by most racers. Whatever...I loved passing people in agony. I was also happy to see that there were some casual runners who opted to powerwalk the hills, who did not look like they were suffering. It was probably a good decision for them, rather than huffing and puffing beyond their fitness level and wasting all of their energy. There were plenty of people trying to 'charge' the hills and dying at the top.

I didn't race it in past mile three, but I think I must have been going much faster than I felt. I finished in 54:09 (an 8:43 average pace). This is definitely faster than my easy run pace, and with the hills, heat, and crowds, I'm extremely proud of my 'easy' effort. I really felt great at the end.

It was great to see friends out there during the race...Tara, Don, John F, Brent, Julia, Katie, Brendas, Linda, and others...sorry if I missed you. We stayed for a few songs of Ben Harper and loaded up on Bare Naked Granola samples and PowerBar chewy drop samples before going home.

Conley Sports and Nike put on a top notch event.