Once again the Hudson Mohawk Runners Club sponsored a FREE race for its members and this weekend, they offered distances of 3M, 15K and 30K.

Since I have a half marathon in 2 weeks, I did my long run of 12 miles the day before and instead of the 15K, I chose the 3 miler as a recovery run.

This is the 4th time, I’ve run this race. As you can see from the pics below, it is more often cold and snowy than not. (Last year was the best weather year.)

These Winter Series races start at 10 am so you don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn.  However, I had an upset stomach and didn’t sleep well.  I still felt nauseous when I got up and seriously considered not going. Most of my friends had run the day before so they wouldn’t be there as well.

But when I saw how cold and lousy the week’s forecast was, I decided that I might as well give it a shot. I mean, I wasn’t planning to race it anyway.

I left kinda late but there was still parking spots in the lot.

It was cold but not as cold as it had been recently. I wore something similar to what I wore the day before but with a lighter vest and lighter gloves.

What I love about this local race is that you get to see a lot of people whom you know.

And I immediately bumped into many different running friends. We chatted. Some were running the 3 miler and others the 15k.  Some were even running the 30k.

Anyway we hung indoors until the last minute and then made our way outside.

All three distances started at the same location this week. As usual, I started not too far away from the front (since it is not chip timed) and let the speedy runners pass me by.

Right away, the 3 milers split from the 15kers and 30kers but the speedy longer distance runners eventually will pass you by midway.

For most of the race, I felt perfectly dressed. I was warm at times and unzipped my vest and took off my gloves but other times, when we were running into the wind, I was glad I wore all the layers I did.

I was familiar with the course since I ran it in December and just two weeks ago.  I remembered the hill at the beginning and then some rolling hills in the middle, ending with a slight hill.  Nothing too challenging.

The difference this race was the snowy conditions and the possibility of ice on the route. I knew that my time would be slower and that was fine by me.  I didn’t want to risk falling (with a Florida half in 2 weeks.)

I also felt sick to my stomach the WHOLE race. That and the wind made it difficult to run fast.

I am also usually pretty bored by this course because it is just a road and office buildings.  But I ran and chatted with different friends throughout the race.  Each one after a short period ran ahead and left me behind.

It didn’t bother me at all. I tried to run at my own relaxed pace. Of course, I’m not sure what exactly that was (since I don’t look at my Garmin until I’m done).

I was very happy that my legs didn’t feel tired at all and I couldn’t even tell that I had run the day before. But obviously from my finish time, I was not running as fast as I normally would.

Many of the runners that I knew were volunteering. It was nice to have them shout out your name as you ran by a few times to offer support.

Before I knew it, I saw the finish line, I took off and tried to cross under 28 minutes.

Nope, I did not – 28:12.

It was my slowest time of all the 3 milers that I have run on this course. And I have run 5 of them. (My PR is 26:49).

Still very content with my time. I did run 12 miles the day before. I expected to be slow.

I waited for Judy to finish but got distracted by a friend and missed taking her photo as I was chatting.

Eventually I went inside to get some food. They had delicious roasted red pepper soup, breads, fruits, cookies, hot chocolate, etc.  It’s great that there are such variety of post-race refreshments for a free race.

Believe it or not, I felt better after the race than before or during and ate all of the above.

I waited with some friends for the awards – you never know…The awards were for 10 year age groups and just top 2.

Although my finish time was slower than the previous races I’ve run here, obviously the speedy runners in my age group ran the 15k so I won an age group award – 2nd.

 

I was very happy with how I used this race as a recovery run. It was also cool to win a loaf of bread- my first in this year’s series.

Race splits:

mile 1 – ?
mile 2 – ?
mile 3 – ?
.04

Finish Time – 28:12

So why no split times, you ask?

I love my original Garmin – 205.  I’ve had two of them and recently I saw one on Ebay for $19 (with no tax or shipping) so I bought it.  Obviously, I forgot to set it up for pace per mile.

I glanced at my watch about once a mile and I know for a fact, that each mile was slower than the previous one. high 8s for mile 1, low 9s for mile 2, high 9s for mile 3.

Again, I made the right decision to run this race.  No pain. The legs felt great. I.LOVE.RACING!!

The only negative was:

I lost my favorite hat!!!  I took it off and put it with my vest, gloves and my extra coat. When I left, I forgot it. I went back later and it was gone!!! Boo!!!!

One more Winter Series race this year (Jan 27) and  I will be volunteering instead of running. At least, Ill get a hat.

Next Saturday, I signed up for a 4 mile race in Lake George. Fingers crossed for no sub-zero temps or icy roads.

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Since today is Tuesday, I’m also linking up with these ladies.

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I’m linking also up with Coaches Corner–Debbie, Susie, Lora, and Rachel!

and Wild Workout Wednesday with Nicole, Annmarie, Jen, and Michelle.

Happy Running! How you are enduring the winter? Did you run or race this past weekend?