I really hoped I could PR in this race but that wasn't to be. The weather and the cumulative fatigue from my marathon training combined to beat me down. However, it was a wonderful experience in a lot of other ways! So on to the race!
We arrived really early thanks to my husband's worry that it would take twice as long as Mapquest predicted. I had picked up our race packets the day before so there wasn't much to do. We got our numbers pinned on, picked up our chips (I had to show my husband how to attach his!), and dropped off our toys for the Amici Mentoring Program. Then we waited...
My husband in the car
I look thrilled don't I?
Finally, people started heading to the starting line. We convinced another runner to take a picture of us before we lined up. You can tell how thrilled my husband was with the weather, 22* and snowing!
Kevin, the owner of Elite Runners and Walkers announced that the turn around was a simple orange cone so we should be careful not to miss it. Then we were off!
I figured I would go out a little conservatively since the trail was fairly trampled and icy already. I started out feeling great at about a 9:45 pace. Sped up a little at the half mile point. First mile in 9:20. As I'm heading toward the turnaround I see my husband coming back towards me. We high-fived and continued running. I figured I must be close to the turn around since we ran similar paces at our last 5k. Turns out my husband must have been drinking some magic juice or something because I was still 1/10th of a mile or so from the turn around. I thought I'd somehow managed to miss it. Then it was there! I have never been so happy to see that turn around before!
Things were starting to feel really hard and my right hamstring was tightening up with every step. The ice meant I was pushing harder but getting slower. I felt like I was running on a treadmill. Forward motion was hard to come by in this race! My pace kept dropping and I hit mile 2 with a 10:28 average pace. I tried to keep it up and I'd get under a 10 minute mile and then slip back again. It was extremely frustrating watching a PR slip out of my hands but I just held on for dear life and reminded myself that a post-baby PR wasn't out of the question. I took a quick walk break to get some water and let my hamstring loosen up and then picked it back up but it wasn't enough to save my race. Mile 3 came in at a 10:29 average pace. The course was a little long according to my Garmin and I finished the last .2 miles in 1:54, getting as fast as a 5:48 pace over the finish line.
My husband was there shivering and waiting for me. I turned in my chip and we climbed in the car. My first comment was, "How did you do?" to which he responded, "You don't want to know". Of course, I HAD to know. Turns out 3 weeks of running turned my husband from penguin to speed demon. He finished in a respectable 26:25! I was very proud of him.... until he wouldn't let me live down him beating me by 5 minutes. Yes, I finished in a slow 31:43. Still a post-baby PR but disappointing nonetheless.
My husband finishing (in the middle)
Today was a scheduled 3 mile run for me so I decided to do it on the treadmill and see just how fast I could do a 5k in close-to-perfect conditions. I started at a 9:31 pace for the first 2.5 miles. I edged up to 7MPH at 2.75 miles and finished the last 1/10th of a mile at a 7:30 pace. I finished my 3.1 miles in 29:09 and felt like I probably could have done it faster. I promise a true PR is mine at the next race that's not on ice!
P.S. Can you tell how much I love my running skirt? If this blog ever gets a good following I promise to give one away! You have to try them! I have two, one red plaid and this grey preppy skirt, and I almost always wear them for races and get so many compliments them! If you are a woman and you don't run in a skirt you should definitely try it!
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