Run to the Sun 8K

This weekend we ran the Run to the Sun 8K in Orange Park. The venue was the hilly River Road, which I suffered through in my first race on it (see River Road Resolution Run 5K post). The anticipation was getting to my dad when I was telling him that the course was hilly and anything but flat. He begged to differ saying it was hilly but not the rolling hills of Connecticut that he grew up running. We were prepared after three straight 10Ks for a shorter distance and prepared we were. The race started on a small road which took us to the dreaded River Road. It was as if I was shot out of a cannon, keeping my momentum for my 6:20 first mile. I started feeling the hills and by mile 3, I was ready to stop as "Hairy Plodder" passed me. I really wanted to stop. But I kept going, reaching imile 4 with substantial energy to finish the race. I picked up my pace in the last mile and came in at 38:00, slashing 36 seconds off my Ortega time on a hilly course. My dad came in at 36:50, which was 82nd overall in a field of 830 runners. I was 92nd overall and 4th in my age group. I was beaten by a superstar 11 year old and two 13 year olds. I closed the margin of time on my dad by 13 seconds. The sky was a clear blue and hot, repeating the same conditions of the Navy Run. I gained some grand prix points which put me in 7th place in my age group (if i had been credited with the proper points, I would be in 2nd place). My next race is probably going to be the Run for Cover 5k on May 3rd. I'm thinking of doing a possible Duathlon in Nocatee this weekend. The race consists of a two mile run, 12 mile bike, and another 2 mile run. My dad is passing on this race because he has a USTA team tennis match on Saturday, but I'm set on it if I can particpate. Stay tuned as my dad and I gain speed and climb the ranks in races! So long and keep running!