Good Afternoon!
I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday.
The husband, Kena, and I woke up nice and early to get to the race this morning. The 9 miler started at 7:30 and the 5k started at 7:45.
I ate my usual race breakfast of peanut butter toast, and tried to find my lucky sports bra. What’s that you say? You don’t like to wear the same sports bra for every race? I guess I’m just weird. I found it only to realize that it was broken. Boo.
Undeterred I found a different bra and went to put on my contacts only to find out that one of them was ripped in half. How does that even happen?
Needless to say, I left the house feeling a little pessimistic about my race. I tried to get rid of the negative thoughts before I got to the finish line though. I believe that how well you run has a lot to do with where you are mentally.
We got to the start line with barely a minute to spare, and I didn’t have the time to worry about anything else. I knew we should have left a little earlier, but at least we made it in time.
Naturally, Kena was off like a rocket.
The race had a special category for Police Officers. We were running with teams from North Haven, Woodbridge, and a SWAT Team.
I told Kena not to run too fast because I didn’t want her to get a ticket. I’m not sure the cops got my sense of humor.
I was not too far behind her.
Why is it so hard to take good race photos? Have any tips?
The course was pretty challenging. There was a lot of hill climbing, and at one point we were actually running up rocks. Well, trying to run up rocks anyway. I didn’t want to twist an ankle. The weather was perfect for racing, slightly overcast, and about 65 degrees.
About half-way through I got to this flat section, and this is where I found the water station.
I tried to speed up a little here to make up for the slowing down I had to do to make it up the hills. Kena and I had talked the night before about how neither of us wanted to make a time goal because we had never done a trail run before.
She’s blurry because she runs so fast! She told me at the end that she matched her pace to the guy in the red shorts. He was one of the Woodbridge cops.
And then I brought up the rear. This picture makes it seem like I was all by myself, but there were definitely people in front of, and behind, me.
Here’s Kena making it to the finish line:
She came in 31st (out of 59) and finished in 29:12. I’m so proud of her. She rocked it just like I knew she would. She did really well on a challenging course.
I on the other hand took a tumble just after the two-mile mark. I fell, but I was determined to finish strong. I bounced right back up and took off running again. Except then I tripped again. I was able to catch myself that time, but I walked for about a minute to pull myself back together. Then I took off running again, and made sure to pick my feet up a little higher. My sister says it’s called lazy legs when you get to the end and aren’t picking your feet up quite as high anymore.
About a half-mile from the finish line there was this crazy steep hill that you had to climb. It was definitely a sadist who planned out the course, but Kena and I both loved the challenge. It only makes you stronger, right?
Here’s me finishing:
I finished in 50th place in 33:37. Not a bad time. In ideal conditions, meaning no rocks and roots jumping in my way, I can run a 5k in under 30 minutes so to only take an extra 4 minutes is a pretty sweet deal. I told Kena I’m catching up on here. Each race our times get a little closer together.
Here’s the damage:
Left leg.
Right leg.
I’m a little sore, but the husband says I’m hardcore now.
It’s not a race until you see blood. (Thank goodness that’s not true.)
They gave out a pretty sweet swag bag for this race too. I wasn’t even expecting a t-shirt but we got this:
I love that it’s a reusable shopping bag.
The Bear was really intrigued by all of my goodies.
There’s a moisture-wicking shirt, a nutri-grain bar, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a post-it pad, tea sampler, water bottle, coupons, pens, an anti-microbial telephone pad, 3 Gu packets, and a loaf of ciabatta bread.
Pretty random, huh?
I’m going to have some of the bread with dinner and then freeze the rest. And I’m excited about trying the Gu out on my next long-run. It’s the Jet Blackberry flavor. Have you ever tried it?
All in all I’d call the race a success. I definitely met my goal of finishing, and I feel like I finished strong.
We spent the rest of the morning at the beach with family. I love days off like this.
Sorry for the crazy long post. With the husband around I had someone to take pictures for me. (Thanks Husband!)
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Blogland!
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