III Carrera Popular Subida Castillo Almodóvar del Río

I ran this race this morning. First things first: I came in FIRST PLACE in my category and FOURTH PLACE out of all women who ran!

This is the slip of paper I was given after crossing the finish line.

I look silly because that podium was super shaky. I thought I was going to fall off!

She came in third place in my category.

 This was NOT an easy race. Obviously, I knew there was an uphill part waiting for me. It is called "Subida Castillo..." for a reason. However, I thought that the rest of the race was flat and the uphill stint was just at the castle. Not true.

It was all uphill--my first hilly race. It was also the first time in a race that I seriously considered stopping. Once we had finished a truly steep part we had the final "subida" waiting for us.

The castle is truly beautiful so I had to include some shots of it.

This is us at about 10:15am waiting for the shuttle bus to take us to the starting line.

And off we go!

This picture is here to show you how high we had to climb. Actually, this pic is not even taken at the top where the finish line is!

If you zoom in you can see me running down there.

This was the heart-breaker running the last few meters.

I was seriously struggling to finish at this point.

But I made it!

Glad it's over because it was a killer on my legs but it was so much fun!

I was also surprised to find out that we were giving a race pack. I got a running shirt, a t-shirt (it's too big so the hubby will use it), and a bracelet. 

This was such a nice race and the weather definitely cooperated. Last year (I didn't run that year. This was my first time running this race) it rained and hailed!

It also turned out to be only 13Km, not the 16Km I thought when I wrote my previous race recap in October.

My next race is on November 24th and it is a half-marathon.

Half-marathon Recap: Córdoba

Here I am about 30 minutes before the start of the race.

Getting my warm up and stretching in.

There's my bib number. I almost didn't sign up for the race on time!

As you can see, the race is starting to fill out. This is about 30 minutes before the start.

I have a lot of space now but soon I won't even be able to move!

These are the people who run it in 1 hour and a little (or 1 hour 15 for females).

It was amazing how many people were there. It was such a nice day as well.

Here's a shot probably 5-10 minutes before the start.

Here's the track where the race ended.

There I am. My best time was 1 hour 39 minutes in North Carolina.

As you can see from the pictures above, I decided to run the half-marathon. Even though I had been sick all week and even though I'd only run twice (30 minutes both times) after marathon #2 in Ciudad Real.

It was an interesting race because I didn't experience any of my usual nervous-ness before or leading up to the race. I didn't bother taking pictures of my race pack or my running gear. Honestly, my husband had to remind me to even pick up my race pack! I know, crazy right?!

I woke up on race day relaxed and rested and ready to run. I had no preconceived notions or goals. It was just to run the race and have fun doing it. I felt under-prepared and way below my usual level of fitness...but what the heck, I ran anyway.

To me, I ran an abysmal race. But I actually came 3rd in my category (yes I have a trophy!), 10th in local results and 30th out of the 303 women who ran. I didn't think I would win anything so I left before they gave out trophies. 

We'd waited for the results for like 90 minutes. I was smelly and sweaty so we left. I looked online later that evening and saw I won a trophy! I called this morning and I should be able to pick it up this week sometime.

The race was exciting for the simple fact that there were TONS of people there. This year the race had record participation in that it was sold out! There were 4,000 people there ready to run Sunday. 

It was a really amazing sight to see. I also was able to position myself in the front. There aren't many women who run so all these males were trying to push me around.

Of course I stood my ground! It was cool to actually be in the front! I'll definitely have to do that for next year. Actually, Chema (the hubby) said he might try to run it next year. Now that would be an amazing sight to see!

My next race will probably be December 31st, a 9K...unless there's another race before that. I've never run a 10K before so this should be a lot of fun.

Today I plan on running a bit just to stretch out my legs. Although it's raining... This week I plan to run M/W/F and then do weights Tuesday and Thursday. I'm trying to get back into shape!

Overall, I'm happy with the results. Especially since I didn't feel at all confident running this half-marathon. I guess I'm more fit than I think! 

The last time I ran the half-marathon in Córdoba (2010) was my first ever "important distance" race. I had trained but I came in 20-something in my category. So go figure.