This was so fun. One must take a shuttle in order to get to the start line, and the buses ran often. However, I did have to get up at 3:30 to be ready. I got to the start line around 5:30 and it was an amazing view. I put a bunch of photos on Instagram. I got to watch the sun rise with 7,000 other people. There were no official corrals, but instead people staggered themselved based on projected time. This worked REALLY well. I moved toward the back with 2:30 people even though I was hoping for a 2:20 finish... I was scared of the hills.
The course moved along the cemetery and the scene was unreal. Again, more photos on Twitter and Insta. From there, we moved along neighborhoods before moving to the coast and Harbor Island. YAY! WATER! The one thing I noticed here was how disrespectful other runners had been, as there were cups everywhere at the water station, and that's always something that bothers me. All these volunteers are not looking to work even harder, they are there to help, and runners should treat the situation with engendered gratitude.
I was rocking out with my Aftershokz, so I could hear several people commenting about how perfect the weather was as they stopped to take photos of the Navy ships and other boats along out trek. I did the same things and posted them on Twitter. It was awesome. I managed to run my fastest 10k ever and was done with it sub one hour, a first for me. My pace continued to be strong (thanks to training in AZ heat), until we hit mile 10. It is at that moment we turn to head toward Balboa Park, and make a 450-foot climb. My quads were on fire and cramped a bit at mile 12, so after a bit of stretching and whining, I left everything I had out there trying to get to 2:20. Alas, 2:23 was the finish., and I'm not complaining.

The finish area was full of food, free stuff, and fun. Parking was easy to access, and I was off and running for my five-hour drive home. San Diego, I'll be back!