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?

This was my 2nd time running this 10K and my second time being part of the Turkey Trot Challenge training group.

I really enjoyed this race last year (in spite of the snowstorm) so was looking forward to this year’s race.

happy because it was and still is my 10K PR (check out all the snow!)

The course was the same as last year:

I picked up by bib on Sunday so I didn’t have to rush on race morning.

A cotton tee shirt! what were they thinking?

But I did want to arrive early to get parking.  I parked in the bowling alley parking as I did last year and walked a few blocks to the Atrium where I could wait for the race to begin.

I checked my jacket and pants since I wouldn’t need them until after the race.

At least this year, it hadn’t snowed the night before but as usual for this time of year, it was cold – in the 40’s. And of course, you had to be careful not to overdress because you will get too warm.

I chatted with members of my training group until it was time to brave the cold.

The 10K started at 8 am followed by the kid’s one mile race & a one mile walk and then at 10 am the most popular event, the 5K.

pic from a previous year

Last year, I had problems with my Garmin so I made sure to turn it on early. I squeezed in to the crowd at the 9 minute pace group with Stan, Nancy & Jackie from my training group even though I knew that I would lose them quickly.I just tried not to start out too fast and to run at an even pace and to save some for the last mile.

Jackie is in gray to the right

For some reason, this race seemed a lot more crowded.  For my pace, it never thinned out.  I was running in a crowd the whole race. My legs never seemed to get going.  I just couldn’t run fast today.  And for some reason, my skirt/capris kept falling down.  This bugged me and I kept pulling them up. (I have run in them before but I think it was the race belt that kept pushing them down.) I’m not sure that this slowed me down but it sure was annoying.

near the beginning because I am smiling (& my half-zip is zipped up)

The course is pretty flat.  You run over the Green Island bridge twice near the beginning and then run through Troy before you turn around and run back.

There was a lot of crowd support.  There were even guys handing out bottles of beer.

I saw an old tennis friend who was volunteering and I high fived her. That was cool since I haven’t seen her in years.

There were quite a few water stops. I skipped the first one and even the second but I questioned my judgment because I was dying for a drink by the 3rd one.

 

Timing clocks were placed at every mile. I didn’t have to look at my watch to know that I was slow and had NO chance of a PR.  I wasn’t sure that I could even finish under 1 hour.

Finally, I stopped to walk at the last water stop and take a GU.  It was a little after mile 4.  I walked for a while.

This walk gave me a second wind, I think.

must be toward the end (I am warm now)

As usual, it seemed to take forever to run the last mile….

But as soon as I saw the finish line, I gave it everything I had (which wasn’t much at this point) & I crossed under 1 hour!!   (My chip time was 59:33.)

Not a PR but really not a decent time for me but I tried not to get too bummed about it.

10K Splits:

mile 1 – 9:18
mile 2 – 9:35
mile 3 – 9:25
mile 4 – 9:45
mile 5 – 10:02 (water & gu)
mile 6 –  9:32
.22 – 8:30

This year, unlike the previous year, I signed up to run a second race, the 5k about an hour later.

yes, that’s how they ran and faster than me

I got some refreshments but really wasn’t hungry so I just drink some chocolate milk. Then I went back to the Atrium to stay warm.

Boy, was it crowded… 5 thousand or more runners squeezed into a small building.

I wanted to find my friends and my hubby (who was running his FIRST 5k with a friend)….and rest my weary legs.

cotton shirt #2

I had already picked up my bib but I needed to get it from my checked bag. And I was so sweaty that I wanted to change my clothes.

I did find my tennis friend but I never found my hubby.

I got rid of my jacket and put a dry tee shirt under my sweaty shirt.

This was the first time that I had run the 5k race.  But it was just an out and back course.

Finally it was time to squeeze into the starting area. I found someone from my training group in the “gray” bib area and we chatted until the race began.

pic from a previous year

Of course, my legs were tired from having already run 6.2 miles (at race pace) so all I wanted to do was finish.  Of course, I was hoping to come in under 30 minutes but I wasn’t sure that was possible. I didn’t want to push it since I had a half marathon to run in a little over a week.

waving to the camera (already lost my hair scrunchie)

It was so crowded that I had no problem slowing down in the beginning. Like the previous race, it was crowded the whole race.

And my legs were not cooperating.  They wanted to run slow. And so I did.

I crossed the finish line around 32 minutes which was 31:28 chip time.

I got some more chocolate milk and then went back to the finish line to wait for my hubby.  Then I got a text that he pulled a muscle and quit the race.  I didn’t say “I told you so.” (He never trained.  In fact he had never even run before.) His running days are officially over.

5K Splits:

mile 1 – 9:58
mile 2 – 10:12
mile 3 – 10:08
.14 – 8:22

9.3 miles in the books!

last year 57:03

slowest 5k in years

So not to be a Debbie Downer…

The Good:

• The weather – not too hot or too cold. If the sun came out, I would have been too warm. It was perfect running weather.
• Race organization – considering the number of runners, it was very well organized.
• Race location – place to stay warm indoors with indoor bathroom and bag check
• Chocolate Milk at the finish
• Medals for both the 10k and the 5k
• 15K PR – each of my race times were disappointing but if you add them together, it was 1:31:01 which is a slight PR.
• Good preparation for my half marathon in 10 days
• Running 9.3 miles lets me eat more Thanksgiving food
• NO PAIN…no blisters…lower back and feet felt great.  Thumbs up to my Nikes! (and I didn’t wear compression socks.)

The Bad:

• my 10K time – considering I was in a training group for this race and I ran this course last year, I should have finished faster!!
• post race refreshments – I would have liked pizza or bagels or cookies
• same medal for both the 5k and the 10k (if you run both, you have 2 of the same medals)
• cotton tee shirts (in my case, 2 cotton tee shirts)
• my 5k time – the last 5k at the Stockeadathon 15k was faster and there were huge hills
• my hubby’s racing is over before it began
• for some reason, I didn’t push it…I was never out of breath..I never ran fast

Overall, I enjoyed the races.  I am glad that I ran them.  I think I will do both next year too.

After the race(s), I had to rush home.  There was change in plans.  Instead of going out to a restaurant, I was cooking dinner and BRINGING it to my MIL’s. (Hopefully for all my efforts, I will get to bring home some leftovers.)

Happy Thanksgiving To You and Your Family!!!

Happy Running! Did you run off that turkey?