Unimed 10k

 I ran my first 10k race ever here in Brasil. The race was sponsored by Unimed. I have a long history as a runner (over 10 years) and am well versed in 5k races. To be honest I was a little worried when race day came around. I did not get the chance to train as much as I would have liked, and feared I would run the last few kilometers as slow as a snail. In reality it felt pretty good aside from feeling slow in the 5th kilometer as some of the 5k runners started to pass me using up all they had left. I don't believe I tapered off as much as I expected considering I ran the first half of the race at almost the same pace as would for a 5k(essentially I raced two 5k's back to back).   The results can be found online at http://www.acorrg.com.br/resultados/r_unimed_14.pdf     I managed to finish at a pace that surprised myself. I finished 37th out of 118, my official time was just over 45 minutes, but I actually finished the race a bit before that. Due to the differences in the timing systems I delayed the stopping of the clock. The timing system I am used to in America has a chip that you tie into your shoelaces. There are then sensor plates laid across the start line and the finish line. When you cross the start line your time starts and when you cross the finish line your time stops. I should have known something was different for this race in Brasil when the time device was wrapped around my wrist as a bracelet. Well my Portuguese level was low, and I didn’t really register for the race ahead of time because I didn’t have a CPF number so I just went with the flow. That said, the timing device was not a chip at all so I can only assume that the clock started at the same time for everyone regardless of when you actually got to cross the start line (that defiantly added a few seconds). It turns out the bracelet had a barcode on it that was scanned after you crossed the finish line. Since this was about 20yards past the finish arch I started to walk, oh well. Overall I was very pleased with how I performed in the race, and I would love to train for another race soon.