1:04:40

2,838th of 5,003 total runners.
1,271st of 2,770 female runners.
528th of 1,045 ages 24-28.
Age - Graded place: 2,474th.

Didn't make it in under and hour; I finished 8 seconds faster than the last 10k. I'm still proud. I ran for nearly the whole course. Exception came when there was a bottleneck of runners. So, maybe without that I would have made in in under and hour. It was crazy to see a mass of yellow shirted athletes gathered in one place and then running on Wacker Drive near Michigan Avenue. I ran with Dave. He was ready for a leisurely run and just wanted to finish. I remembered about 1.5 miles in, that I had declared that my goal was to finish in under an hour. So, I ran harder. I pushed myself hard. Picked up speed and kept passing people up. Surprised myself. My feet didn't start whining until about mile 5. Dave trailed behind me through the entire race until the very end. With 200 yards to go, I sputtered and Dave blew past me. I had run with conviction and determination. I drove myself to the limits of my ability. I made good progress until I saw the finish line. Then, my legs gave in, they slowed, they ached, and just didn't put out enough to keep me on pace through the very last 200 yards.

Oddly, this is a scenario that has played out a few times in my life. I worked relatively hard through high school to get into Berkeley, only to fizz out academically while I was at Cal. I strode headlong into studying public health and working for non-profits, only to graduate without getting a job in either field. I apparently have a problem with finishing strong. Good thing to learn about myself. Hopefully the trait won't linger much longer. Finish Strong.