Run For Literacy 8K

Flash flood right before the start. Lovely.

Holly and Sara, two of my awesome teammates who are also running partners of mine.

Waiting for the start and hoping the rain would let up before the race. No such luck!

A portion of 163 South was closed to traffic for the race.

What a run! Run for Literacy 8K (just under 5 miles) is a fundraiser for literacy programs in San Diego. It started in Balboa Park, wound its way down Highway 163 and finished at Pantoja Park on G. Street in downtown San Diego. My race day plan was to beat the people walking with umbrellas and strollers!

It was POURING RAIN, specifically flash flood conditions before the start. Met up with about 70 of my teammates under the awning of The Hall of Champions museum in Balboa park right by the start, one of the only dry places to wait! The first mile went well, was fun to run through the park, by the museums and 6th Ave in Balboa Park. Saw one of the team captions Joe along the way, as well as my hubby who was trying to figure out where to park! My shin splints were REALLY hurting so I unfortunately had to walk for a bit- almost screamed out in pain when I stopped to stretch! Ran the last mile, twisting my ankle badly in the process on a pothole in the road. But was fantastic to cross the finish line and see my coach and teammates cheering me on. GO TEAM!

Bib: 3123
Name: Kelly Moncure
Gender: F
Age: 39
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Overall: 1677 out of 2110
Women: 965 out of 1286
F 35-39: 152 out of 198
Age/Grade: 31.44%
Place: 1753
Finish: 1:18:54 Pace: 15:53
Tag Time: 1:18:54
Gun Time: 1:21:07

15 minute miles are actually pretty good considering I only ran maybe 3? miles of it, and spent at least 10 minutes of the time waiting in line at a Sunoco for a restroom!

NTC Park- In the RAIN!

It does not rain very often in San Diego, and when it does, it is MISERABLE. The city isn't planned out well for rainfall so there is a lot of flooding, especially where we had our 7 am run in Point Loma which is below sea level. This photo below is from when I tried driving on Midway Drive in Point Loma about a month ago, but really I was floating...very nerve wracking!

Notice how the flooded street is all the way up to the car's bumper!

I was scheduled to do 7 miles today as part of the A marathon group, and as I drove through torrential rain I was really questioning my sanity in doing so. We met at a beautiful park and were all sporting umbrellas as the coach and coordinator gave announcements, laughing at how hard it was raining and how soaked we were becoming! The coach said that we were WARRIORS for being there and that when we gear up at the starting line we'll remember this day.

I gotta tell you, running through the rain was not a lot of fun. It was more like a hail rain that went right in my eyes, in addition to high winds (did I mention there was a tsunami warning?) although admittedly I was laughing at how miserable it was. I kept repeating the breathing mantra, "My" (breath 4) "Name" (breath 4) "Is" (breath 4) "Kelly" (breath 4) which did make me feel like a warrior or a battered soldier. Kept running through flooded sidewalks making my sneakers soaked through and about 5 pounds heavier. Went about a mile and a half (?) when my calves started screaming and my achilles started in with the weird rubberband feel and I thought, uh oh, I gotta stop. Stupidly I didn't wear the heel lifts because I felt so much better but it's like antibiotics, you have to take the full prescription before stopping. I walked back to the start slightly dejected but also really happy that I had the experience, and with the runner's happiness. I actually felt great. Plus the rain had let up a bit and it was so beautiful there.

Since I was determined to finish the mileage, I went to the gym where I put on a set of dry clothes and cranked out 5 miles on the treadmill. Well, more like 4 mile run, 1 mile walk, but I'm still absolutely amazed and proud of myself for doing it.

Total Distance: 7- 7 1/2 miles : )