On Sunday I ran the Annapolis Striders’ Cherry Pit 10 mile race. Held the same day as the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, it’s a nice local alternative for those of us that didn’t get into lottery-driven DC race.

It was also nice that I didn’t have to leave my house until 7:15am to make it with more than enough time to park, pick up my bib and stretch before the 8am start. (I didn’t even have to brave the restroom line, since I could stay home until close to race time.) I saw a friend’s Facebook status update that she was up at 4am to head to the Metro for the Cherry Blossom!

It was overcast and cool — upper 40s. Perfect running weather. Still, I was just planning on running at whatever pace my legs felt like doing comfortably. I wasn’t expecting to be as speedy as it turned out …

Miles 1-3 – Steady Incline

I started in the middle of the pack, and it took a couple minutes to spread out.  Once we left the High School and weaved around a couple others, we were out on Route 2 and started a long, gradual climb. I felt pretty good, but I was definitely looking forward to the end of that hill! (9:48, 9:19, 9:20)

Miles 4-6 – Weeee!

We turned off the main road and got to run past farms and wooded lots. Lovely. And mostly not uphill. (9:05, 9:11, 9:14)

Miles 7-8 – Are we there yet?

Once we turned onto South River Clubhouse Road, it got a bit uncomfortable.  This was where the toughest hills were. All those long inclines earlier in the race made them tough! I was a little tired but kept pushing through. (9:35, 9:25)

Mile 9 – Home Stretch

Phew, back on the main road — and pretty much done with the hills. Yippee! (9:05)

Mile 10 – Wait … I might be able to PR?

Yeah, I kind of suspected I had a pretty good pace going, but it didn’t really hit home until I saw my time with only one mile to go. And I turned on the jets.  (8:16)

Official time: 1:32:24 — a 70-second PR!

I even looked pretty good at the finish (and yes, I like to coordinate) …

Photo courtesy of Annapolis Striders / Jon Valentine

Maybe it was my best time, but not even close to any age group awards. Not surprising since this was part of the Striders’ Championship Series, so all the fast folks show up. Still, I was kind of jealous of the runner-up prize — second place got a cherry pie!

(Third got a case of cherry Coke. First got a trophy — not nearly as fun!)