This was my third time doing this race so I was prepared for the course, the darkness & the potholes. The fireworks were usually before the race and you have to get ready to run right after they ended.  I remember that the race ended coming down a hill. I hoped that this year I wouldn’t trip on a pot hole and fall like last year!!.

I also knew that this race would be crowded so my plan was to just have fun with it.

The race started at 5 pm. It’s always a little tricky to run a race at night when you’re used to fueling in the morning. So I decided to carbload throughout the day:  oatmeal…bagel…waffles… chicken lo mein.

I saved time in picking up my race packet yesterday during lunch.

It wasn’t too COLD…in the 30’s . There was no snow or ice…YAY!! I just wore layers… turtleneck, t-sheet, green windbreaker, skirt with capris, holiday knee socks, Santa hat, red gloves. My hubby has a parking pass for under the mall so he drove me. We planned to go out to dinner afterwards.

As you know I have been recovering from another injury and haven’t been running much.  I probably should have sat this one out but the park is beautiful with all the lights so I thought why not just run it slow.

Several of my friends that wanted to run the race got closed out…this race is very popular. But I did run into several runners that I knew.  I was surprised to see my good tennis friend MaryPat.  I didn’t know that she was running it until I saw her standing next to me while watching  the fireworks outside before the race began.

The race started after the fireworks.  There was supposed to be a starting mat but I didn’t see one.  It was very crowded where I was standing and it took some time to get moving.  It was very slow going for awhile but was perfect for me.  I couldn’t run fast even if I wanted to.  I spent most of the race looking at the ground.  I was paranoid about falling again and I did see several runners who did just that.

(Some cute photos  here: http://cms.dailygazette.com/photos/galleries/2012/dec/15/last-run-5k/)

I just ran at an easy pace taking in all the scenery and the runners in costumes.   I passed the mile 1 marker at 12:xx but that was because it was so slow at the beginning.

I kept the same pace the whole race.  I ran the whole time even up the hills.  Mile 2 was around 22:xx which is more my speed.  Finally we got the the downhill part and I was very careful not to fall (even though my shoe was untied but it was too dangerous to stop to tie it & I didn’t want to lose any more time.)

I did manage to sprint across the finish line around 35:20 (I think).  Normally I would be depressed at such a slow time.  But I was so happy to have run a race and to have run 3.1 miles without stopping.

What was really cool was that there were fireworks going off as the runners crossed the finish line. I watched for a little bit but I had to go inside and look for my hubby.

Inside there was a band and refreshments including Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.  I headed toward the ice cream and then located my hubby who was anxious to head to Applebees for dinner.

Albany’s Last Run was hopefully not my “last” run but it was my last and 12th RACE of 2012.  It was the kind of race that you do for fun. And it was fun!

Happy Running! Anyone one else running a holiday race?