It is nice to run a race that is only 10 minutes from your house.

course map

It’s always hard at this time of year to decide what to wear.  Too cool for spring clothes but with the sun, you get warm with winter clothes.

decided to wear purple

Believe it or not, it was sunny. I was so happy not to deal with rain.

But it was much colder than I had hoped.  It was in the 30s and very windy so in the 20s with the wind chill. I am really tired of my winter running clothes so I decided to go with the original outfit but add a black long sleeved half zip under my purple shirt and a windbreaker over it plus I wore gloves.

And I was cold!!! But I hoped that I would warm up while running.  (After last weekend, I knew I could handle being a little cold.)

At least there was a school gym to wait in until the beginning of the race. My tennis friend, MaryPat is injured & decided not to run the race. But I did recognize quite a few runners. I went back to my car to get rid of my race shirt & to grab gloves…brrr!!

women’s long sleeve tech one

I even bumped into someone I met on Facebook who snapped the pic below:

We chatted for awhile about racing, of course.  She is training for a half in 2 mos in Boston. It’s nice to meet a local runner.

here we are…I hate selfies!

Soon it was time to go outside and brave the wind & cold. I started near the front because I wasn’t sure if the race was chip timed.

I started at a fast pace for me but it seemed that everyone was passing me by….  Like the Runnin of the Green, this race attracts a fast crowd. (I never even thought about an AG award.)

starting off (with my pink gloves)

I was cold the whole race & I found it difficult to move forward when we were running into the wind. At least the course was mostly flat. But it seemed flatter last year. This year I felt like I was running uphill most of the time.  It was probably because I felt so sluggish and tired.

I was tempted to stop at the water stop which was halfway but since I wasn’t warm, I decided to push myself past it. I knew at this point I would finish under 50 minutes but I also knew that I would not PR.

looking happy only because I saw the photographer

I was definitely running out of gas during mile 4 and wished that I had run slower at the beginning of the race.

But finally it was over and according to my Garmin, I crossed at 48:14. (My slowest Delmar Dash – more than a minute slower than my PR.)

I was disappointed!! But I did my best. There will be more races.

I went inside and got some refreshments – birthday cake, bread, fruit, bagels, etc.

I hung out with runners that I knew while waiting for the awards.  None for me. I think I came in 4th.  But I did win the door prize!! Woo Hoo!

It has a lot of cool stuff in it:

My splits:

mile 1: 9:11
mile 2: 9:37
mile 3: 9:48
mile 4: 9:53
mile 5:  9:36

first half: 23:43  2nd half: 24:32

Yes, mostly positive splits.

My goals were to RUN THE WHOLE THING and finish UNDER 50 MINUTES!!!

I met my goals..YAY me!

Happy Running! Did you run or race this weekend? If so, how was it?