I wasn’t planning to sign up for another August race, but the description for the Dreaded Druid Hills 10K was just too intriguing.

“The race you love to hate is back! What a better way to spend a Saturday morning running thru the hills of Druid Hill Park. This isn’t your grandfathers 10K – expect a challenging course that will test your love of racing, in addition to hill repeats thrown in the middle.”

Sounds fun, right?

I casually mentioned on Facebook that I was thinking about running the race, and luckily, I have a lot of friends who are equally as crazy as me. A group of eight of us headed to Druid Hill Park in Baltimore this Saturday morning, ready to run a 10K that basically promised to be a complete suckfest — in a good way!

I had zero expectations for my time. I have been running on the Naval Academy Bridge more over the past few weeks to get ready for the Annapolis Ten Mile Run, but I haven’t done any specific hill training since Boston. I also haven’t done any speed work in weeks (that’ll start up again as I ramp up training next month for the Philly Half.) Plus, it’s been roughly the temperature of Satan’s armpit over the last few days, so I was expecting the weather to be gross per usual. (Spoiler alert: It was.) I knew there was no chance in hell I’d be anywhere close to a PR, and I was more than fine with that. I was mostly just looking forward to a fun morning with friends!

Also, it was a good chance to take my new Hoka CarbonX racing shoes out for a spin! I splurged on these for my birthday last month. I’m planning to wear them in races only, so this was my first time running in them.

The race, put on by Falls Road Running Store and held entirely in the park, started promptly at 7:30 am. Tammi and I started off together — I told her I thought I’d be running at around an 8-minute pace. We ran the first mile in 7:56 and our second in 7:59, so I was pretty close. At that point, the race was mostly rolling hills, nothing too crazy. There was a nice long downhill between miles 1 and 2, which of course meant we’d be climbing back up those hills on our way back!

We hit the first major incline shortly after we passed the mile 2 marker. “Don’t let me hold you back,” Tammi said. I assured her she wasn’t and that she might need to motivate me up the hill, as she is a very strong hill runner. We stayed together up the hill and then she told me she was having trouble breathing and that I needed to go ahead without her. I asked if she was OK and she insisted me that she was. The humidity was just oppressive and I think that really got to her.

I slowed down in mile 3, logging an 8:32 per my watch, then an 8:16 for mile 4. Mile 5 was a nightmare, as we then ascended the hills that we ran down earlier in the race. I saw a lot of people taking walk breaks, which motivated me to do the same, and I finished that mile in 9:20. Oh well. I managed to pass a few men — not that I was trying to compete with them, really — and one of them cheered me on, telling me that I came out of nowhere. “That’s what I do,” I joked.

I was able to end the race on a high note — mile 6 was my fastest mile of the race, with a split of 7:35! Did I mention the race actually ends on a downhill? I love it when that happens! All races should be this way! I crossed the finish line in an official time of 50:06, just missing breaking 50 minutes. According to my watch, the race was a little short — I logged 6.08 miles, while Tammi and Kree both said their watches recorded just under six miles.

In any event, I’m happy with my race. I felt pretty strong throughout despite the hills and humidity — the humidity, in my opinion, was harder to deal with than the hills. (Though most of the course was shaded, thank goodness!) I finished third among women 35-39, and all finishers got pint glasses — can never have too many of those! I originally opted not to get a race shirt, since I already own so many of them. But then when I saw how cute the shirts were, I decided to buy one anyway.

Then afterwards, most of our group went to kickboxing class. Because, as I said earlier, we’re kind of crazy. Kree was teaching it and she wasn’t too tough on us (coulda done without the leg raises, though. Just saying. ;))

Next up is the A10 next weekend! My favorite race of the year!