Race #8: Whole Foods Running School Half Marathon

 

I left the warm, clear skied Oakland, CA for the hot and muggy capital Sacramento to run my 8th race this year. A year ago when I created The 12 Race Challenge I set time goals for each race; and up until now I had achieved each one. My 14 hour work day limited my ability to train as consistently as I’d like so I was truly grateful to have ran at all.

 I arrived the day before to soak up some Northern Cali sun. I ate my carb load dinner at Olive Garden where I ordered basic pasta with non-dairy sauce and all you can eat salad for only $9.99 (I still had food to go for the next day) a win.

The race was sponsored by Whole Foods Market Roseville and an organization called the Running School which instills healthy habits in children. The race course was pleasantly peaceful and all of the race participants were very friendly and encouraging. It was by far the least populated race I’ve participated in which sometimes made the course feel lonely. There were stretches of time in which I was the only person on the path no one in sight behind or in front of me. The course directions were either non-existent or confusing which left me wondering if I was lost. Struggling to understand the course added at least 10 minutes to my time.

I maintained a 10:30 minute pace yet most runners were either drastically ahead of me or behind me. By 8:15 a.m the Sacramento sun came creeping out and instantly the race became more challenging. I talked myself to the finish line and once I crossed it I was greeted with a medal and complimentary continental breakfast provided by Whole Foods. 

After, I returned to my hotel where I relaxed and packed to return to my own stomping grounds.