I ran this race with blogger AJH 3 years ago and it was a tough hilly one but still fun.

Then I ran it again last year.

AJH is running it again and I was looking forward to seeing her.

This year, however, they changed the course. A different start and end..to me it looked hillier, too especially at the end.

All week I have felt that I was coming down with a cold…sneezing, teary eyes, head achey.   Yuck!

Also the weather forecast wasn’t great – snow flurries/snow but warmer (high 20s-30s).  I was hoping that the heavy snow would hold off till later in the day since I had to drive 1 hour to the race.

But when I got up, my cold was gone (must have been allergies) and the weather looked good.  22 degrees…heat wave! And no snow or rain…yet.

I left early for the race in case  it started to snow.

When I got there (at the new location), AJH was already there. (She is hard core – drove all the way form VT with her hubby.)

We chatted and hung out inside until the race was about to start.

I felt a little pressure to run fast since I won an AG award in my 2 previous Polar Cap races.  But you never know what will happen when you enter a new age group (AJH enters too.)

2011:  40:11
2013 – 41:40

I have not been doing any 5ks or any speed work at all. I was prepared for a slower time.

Andrea left me in the dust from the start but it was expected.

The race started going uphill and my legs felt sluggish. Luckily they felt better as the race went on.

I walked after the first mile when there was a steepish hill but then I didn’t walk again till near the end.

I just plodded along admiring the scenery and trying for a consistent pace.

At some point during mile 3, I was running next to a familiar face…a local lady(Sue) in my age group who runs a lot of the same races.  We chatted for a while then she ran ahead. She was ahead of me for quite a bit but I could still see her.

Unfortunately, the last half mile of this race is straight uphill!

I think I walked twice on that hill because I wanted to finish strong.

Believe it or not, I caught Sue, passed her and finished several seconds ahead of her!!! Yay me!

I crossed according to the clock at 40:10.

I was generally happy with the race.  I ran it faster than I thought I would.

We hung out and ate waiting for the age group awards.

There was soup and fruit and baked goods – I am a sucker for home-made stuff and ate quite a few cookies.

We moved up to a new age group and AJH won 3rd which meant that I was 4th… It wasn’t close. I am happy that one of us won and AJH kept up her winning streak.

Splits:

mile 1 – 9:39
mile 2 – 10:14
mile 3 – 10:12
mile 4 –  9:57

Garmin time – 40:03 (I beat both my 2011 & 2013 times.)

After AJH left, I was debating on changing my clothes and leaving or running more.

But the weather was too nice not to run.  It was now in the 30s.  So I decided to run to the Winter Carnival in town.

This was the first day of the event which is held every weekend in February.

I visited with friends who were volunteering.

The outhouse races were beginning but I didn’t stay to watch.

I ran around the lake and through the town and then back to my car.

I covered 4 miles in total – but there was stopping and walking and for the last mile even my foot started hurting.  Still I was glad I hung around and added some miles (in case it rained the next day.)

Next, I drove north  to Bolton Landing.

I had considered going back to the Sagamore to the ice bar but the parking lot was very crowded. (The nice weather must have attracted a lot of people.)

Instead, I parked in town and stopped at Bolton Beans for a latte and something to eat and then I stopped at another store. (I bought a bathing suit for 50% off!)

I would normally stop at the outlets on my way home but I had to get home in time to go to a  Chinese New year’s party (My wallet is relieved!)

Tomorrow there is another free race. I may do the 4 miler or I may just run on my own or I may REST… We’ll see how these old legs feel and what the weather is like.

Happy Running! Did you run or race this weekend?