At the 11th annual Run for the Bay

So, in continuing my quest for athletic greatness, I participated in the Loyola Marymount University's Run for the Bay 5K yesterday.
First of all, the drive out. Even though LA's only about 50 miles away, I always leave about an hour and a half to get anywhere because the traffic is always such BS. Seriously, I can't believe it. No matter where you're trying to go, there are hundreds, if not thousands of people, trying to go exactly the same place. It's maddening. Anyway, everything seems to be going smoothly, the Mapquest directions haven't seemed to lead me astray ... right up to the point where I'm supposed to get on the 405 south.
(If you don't know the Los Angeles area, it doesn't really matter. Suffice to say, the place is built like a heart, only with several more ateries and veins and a bucket more plaque. If your heart worked like the LA traffic arteries, you'd be dead.)
Anyway, on this beautiful day, the exit to the 405 south is closed. There's a sign that alludes to a detour, so I take that exit, and promptly see a sign on the right side of the street that says detour. The arrow points somewhere over there *gesturing wildly somewhere up and to the left*. Well, "over there" is a random wild field, and I'm pretty sure it's not the detour to the 405 south.
I keep driving, and driving, and driving ... and right about the point I get to a residential district is about the point I figure I need to turn around.
So I turn around and head back to the highway. I get back on the highway I'd been on before, figuring if I can't figure my way to the 5K, I can just head home.
And just when I start thinking that'd be an awesome idea, I come across the 405 south exit from the other way. Spectacular!
I get to the 5K and sign up and have actually made it in enough time to do my pre-race routine of taking the goodie bag and T-shirt back to the car (OMG, do I love the free T-shirts. I realize they're cheap and all that, but there's something about racking up this evidence of my ability to walk 3 miles that is incredibly validating), and walking around and stretching.
Though I usually take my camera on these jaunts, I decide against it this time, figuring I can try to go for a good time, and if I see anything I like, I can just go back and take pictures.
So the race starts and I do my walk-run-walk routine, mostly in an attempt to get away from the annoying girly-girl chatter coming from the four girls behind me. The routine does the job and soon I'm on my way.
The LMU campus is beautiful and there's a lot to see ... but somewhere in the middle of this 5K course, someone has decided to send us down this long hill (not too bad) and back up the steepest mofo any poor bastard put on a college campus.
I get to the turning point, and the little girl (like 20, or so) who's there offers encouraging words:
Little girl: Way to go! Just head back that way!
Me: Right. Up that massive flipping hill.
Little girl: Yep!
Easy for her to be cheerful: She gets to stand there and wave people in the right direction.
SO I make the turn and head back up and trudge my way along the rest of the course, which takes us over all parts of the campus.
Toward the end, I'm on a stretch of road more or less by myself. I'm already hot and sweaty but figure I can run a little more. So I give it my all ... and about a minute later am just regretting the whole thing. So I swear softly and stop running ...
at which point a woman running the 10K being held at the same time completely laps me.
But as she passes, she says, "Keep it up, mama. I see you working!"
And I was!
To the point where I finished with a time of 46:18 (check it out here http://www.active.com/results/viewresults_multiple.cfm?filename=1275619_20060409021342.txt).
And I called, like, everyone to tell them.
My competitive spirit swelled: I beat my previous best time, I beat people who were younger (and more fit) than I am, and I was able to still stand at the end of it.
The only smudge on the shine of the day: Is it wrong that I'm thrilled that I beat a guy wearing knee braces?