I ran this race last year so I registered again on a whim.

However last summer, I had run 4 5K races and a 10K. This summer – zippo. I was hoping that a race would light a firecracker to my running.

Luckily it was beautiful weather for a race. Sunny and cool (50’s) and little humidity. I opted to wear a summer outfit with compression socks and brought my DIY arm sleeves and a windbreaker.

I left nice and early but decided to use my iPhone rather than my Garmin GPS to locate the race. BIG MISTAKE!! It told me to get off the highway an exit earlier than I thought (I shouldn’t have listened.) and then took me on back roads to who knows where. When it finally told me to turn into my destination, there was no road. I think the Google maps had not been updated since Global Foundries was built. So I wandered around and found an entrance to Global Foundries. But then I encountered a road block for the race. They told me to go out and back to the next exit and go in the other entrance. GREAT! So instead of arriving nice and early, I rushed to get my race packet and put all the stuff they gave us back in my car and got to the start with 5 minutes to spare. Phew! No time to even use the rest room (yes, there were real bathrooms!).

There were a lot more runners than last year. Especially those running for the sponsor, Global Foundries (where coincidentally my stepson works.) probably about 600 or so. The race was chip timed so no need to start in the front. I started with my sleeves on but quickly got warm from the sun and rolled them down.

The course is very boring…you are running around chip plants but the loops let you see the fast runners and all those runners that are behind you twice during the race.

My goal for the race was to run as much of it as I could. There were some inclines but not what you call hills. At mile 1.5, I succumbed to walking at the water stop. Then I walked even longer at the same water stop which was at mile 2.5. In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t but who knows maybe I finished faster because of it.

I knew from the clocks and my Garmin that I could unbelievably finish under 30 minutes.

And I did… gun time 29:56, chip time 29:49

I was very happy.

I grabbed some food ..the usual food, bagels, etc and hung around talking to a nice lady who just started running a year ago and another familiar face from many races.

Did I win an award?

The lady that I crossed the finish line with was in my AG but she started 6 sec. after me.

Oh well. Maybe next time.

Split times:

mile 1: 9:29
mile 2: 9:56
mile 3: 9:54
.10: 7:45

(all under 10 min. woo hoo!!)

I am happy and I met ALL my goals for the race.

• Have fun – YES!
• Finish uninjured – YES!
• Finish faster than my last 5k run walk (39:xx) – Yes, by 10 min.!
• Finish under 35 minutes – YES, under 30 min.
• Run most of the race – Yes, just walked at both water stops

This race was just what I needed.

I was on a runner’s high so I stopped on my way home to run some more. More about that in my next post.

Happy Running! Anyone racing this weekend?