2013 Wicked 10K Race Report

I've never run the Wicked 10K before and had no intention of doing so this year until one of my co-workers asked me if I'd like to buy his sister-in-law's entry for half price, five days before the race.  I, of course, said yes (banditing other people's entries has been a theme for me this year) and was quite surprised when I was then able to con AZ into running it too!

If there's one thing I've learned about doing a race with AZ, it's that the boy cannot be on time to save his life.  He's going to be late to his own funeral!  This is how our conversation went down Friday night:

Me:  "I'll be at your place at 0645.  Be ready to go.  Traffic/parking is going to be a bitch and you still have to pick up your race packet inside the convention center."

AZ:  "OK, I'll be ready.  I just ate three plates of Chinese food."

Me:  "That probably wasn't such a good idea, but I'm on my second beer and that's probably not a good idea either."

So Saturday morning I arrive at his house right at 0645.  I knock on the door and there's no answer.  I wait.  I knock again.  No answer.  I text him.  "Answer your F'N door!!!"  This bitch opens the door in a pair of shorts and  he just got out of the shower!!  "WTF?!", I yell at him, "We have GOT TO GO!!!"

Twenty minutes later we're headed down to the Oceanfront.  Just as suspected, traffic is a nightmare, so I drop him off near the convention center so he can pick up his race number while I find a parking spot.

Finally we got our shit together.  Numbers pinned on.  Bathroom breaks taken.  Obligatory pre-race photo snapped.   Ready to go!

Our oh-so-creative costumes consisted of a gaudy, thrifted sweater vest (me) and a Star Trek shirt (him). 

It was a chilly morning and we were both ready to get started and get warmed up!  I very much enjoyed seeing all of the fabulous costumes and wish that I had time to snap some pictures while running.  If we do this one again next year, we'll have to put a little more effort into our costumes.  

I snagged this from the Wicked 10K's Facebook page.   

The run itself went great.  AZ pretty much let me set the pace.  We were shooting for anything under an hour.  Our splits were as follows:

Mile 1:  8:50
Mile 2:  8:53
Mile 3:  8:48
Mile 4:  8:54
Mile 5:  9:13
Mile 6:  8:34
Final .2:  1:57

Official time:  55:05  (There's a bit of discrepancy with my times, because I forgot to stop my watch after we crossed the finish line.)

We were both super stoked with that time and decided that we'd celebrate with a beer at the after party inside the convention center.

They were also serving chili (and veg chili!), but my stomach couldn't handle the thought of it that early in the morning .  AZ wasn't too keen on the idea either, but decided to give it a try.  I had a bite of his, it was good! 

I wish we could have stayed, enjoyed the three(!) free beers that they give you, and rocked out to The Deloreons, but I had a super busy day ahead of me and AZ was ready for a nap. 

The race was a success in my book!  Well organized (as all J&A Racing events are), perfect weather, great people watching, and an awesome running buddy by my side!  Two years ago I would've never thought that I could talk AZ into running a 10K with me.  Well, three 10Ks and a 5K later…

I think he’s caught the running bug! 

Up next:  The Turkey Trot 10K...and maybe the Surf n’ Santa 10miler???