This is the 2nd annual for this race. I didn’t run it last  year but it’s in my town so I figured why not. And it’s a flat course.

Of course, I just ran a half marathon so it may not have been smart.

The course was a loop around the neighborhood where I used to run.  Now that we have the rail trail, I haven’t run here this year at all.

It was nice to run in a small race for a change. Last year they only had 38 runners.  This year there was over 100.

I got home late after playing mah jongg last night and decided to sleep in.  That meant getting to the race only 15 minutes early rather than an hour.

With such a small race, it didn’t seem to matter.  I got my bib & shirt and used the REAL restrooms. The negative was that they had run out of tech shirts and I got a cotton one.

I immediately ran into my friend Barbara.  She was running with her 13 year-old niece. We lined up together but she told me that she was going to run with her niece who may run at a slower pace.

Unlike my race in Florida, the weather was perfect.  Sunny, no wind, no humidity and cool (in the high 30’s but felt warmer.)

Goals?

Though I had just run 13.1 miles last Sunday, I kinda wanted a good race to redeem myself.  So my goal wasn’t to PR but to finish under 27:56.  That would make this 5k my fastest of the year.

Unfortunately, my body didn’t agree with my goal.

I give it my best shot on this flat course but I just didn’t have the speed. (Gone forever? Who knows?)

There were no mile markers but my Garmin did beep at the end of each mile.  I glanced down every now and then to check my pace but mostly I tried to run by feel. (However, I didn’t “feel” that I had slowed down for mile 2.)

Mile 1 – 9:01
Mile 2 – 9:15
Mile 3 – 9:03
.14 – 8:48

Finish time – 28:16 (Garmin time – 28:12)

So this 5k wasn’t a PR (under 27:11) nor was it my fastest of the year  (my 4th fastest.)

Remember how Barbara was running “slowly” with her niece?  They finished right behind me.  I had no idea they were that close.

We went inside to get food. There were only granola bars and apples.  We also checked the results.  Barbara finished 3rd in her AG and I finished 2nd. Unfortunately they only gave out medals for first.

I hung around a little longer and chatted with some of the other runners that I knew.

I am trying to keep up my base weekend mileage so I wanted to run some more. I drove to the rail trail that I have been running on often.  Instead of running on the newly paved part (I was afraid that I would be tempted to run too long), I ran in the opposite direction on the unpaved portion.

It was such a beautiful day.  Hard to believe that I was running without a jacket on December 12!!

When I got to the park (about 2 miles in), I didn’t want to quit.  I was running slowly and walking at times so it was easy to keep going.

I always wondered how the trail continued on to Voorheesville so I decided to find out.

I finally found the rest of the trail.  It goes about 4 miles.  I only ran about 1 mile but I definitely want to go back at another time.

By the time I got back to my car, I had completed 6.2 miles post race.  That meant 9.3 for the day.  Why stop? 10 miles sounds more impressive so I ran another .7 miles.

I also discovered that the paved part of the trail is almost is completed – no more trucks in the way!! Good news!!

And yes, I deserved this eggnog ice cream cone!!!

So I did enjoy this nice small local race.  I’m not sure that I would run it again.  Today there is a free HMRRC-sponsored race of 3 miles or 9.3 miles.  I would have chosen that race but I am going to NYC (yes, again) with my friends.

I am brooding less about my disappointing half.  This race helped take my mind off of it.

One more race for 2015. That’s next Saturday night. A fun 5k- running through the lights in the park.

Happy Running! How was your weekend? Are you having unusually warm winter weather too? Did you run or race?