This past weekend I ran my first real race in 10 years. It has really been since my cross country days that I did the whole shebang - pinning on my number, set out my race gear the day before, had pre-race jitters and post-race soreness; and Saturday was no different!
The weather man had been by nemesis all week long, calling for 45 and rainy. Not exactly my cup of tea for my first foray back into running. However, in true weather man fashion, he was WRONG! It was, yes, 45, but it was NOT raining! The clouds looked threatening, but there was not a drop of moisture falling from the sky. I did my usual breakfast and stretching, had a cup of coffee, and suited up to head out for the run.
After my warm-up jog down to the start line, I began to realize....there were a bazillion runners. Aaaaand by a bazillion I mean 11,000 - the largest St. Patty's race registration in history! Sheesh. I had visions of me, running turtle slow on the sidewalk, while they cleaned up the streets behind me saying "Maam - the race is over, we need you to clear the street"....
Thankfully, that did not happen. What did happen was a poorly planned race that didn't group everyone by their mile times, so I spent the first mile zig-zagging like a freaking cougar chasing prey in the outback, in and out of walkers, parents with strollers, slower runners, jeez! I am all-inclusive for exercise - but stopping in the middle of the race pack to adjust your ipod is not the place - I almost ran you over...and I was going 6mph (i.e. not even fast!).
5 miles is a good race to start out with if you are capable of running the 3.1 of a 5k but would like something a little more interesting. The length was just short enough to let me run without worry of tiring, but long enough that I could work out a good half marathon pace feel.
My hubby finished in 38 minutes. I was a wee bit slower, finishing at 52 minutes and change. Not too shabby considering my weaving tactics, I ran negative splits the entire race. Wa-hoo!
The half marathon is in 27 days. Yes, 27 days. Let's hope I can do this!
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