Happy Thanksgiving! I got home Wednesday afternoon, and promptly threw on my shoes for my second run of the day. 6 miles in DC, 4 in Rochester. This weather is beautiful - perfect fall running weather! The mileage is racking up: 12 on Monday, 6 on Tuesday, 10 on Wednesday. I signed up for the Race with Grace 10k, which is my annual Thanksgiving Race in Hilton - this is the fourth year I've done it. And more exciting was that my mom was going to do it too! She was sidelined with ITBS last year, but has been running strong since her big half marathon in September, so we were good to go.
While I would be donning my racing flats, I wasn't aiming for anything big. Particularly with the volume of running, having run 10 miles the day before on Wednesday, I was not concerned with hitting a big PR. Still pretty stoked about my 39:50, and with this course being a little hilly, it was my goal just to beat my course record (42:15) from last year.
But I wasn't going to take myself too seriously. A friend of mine who I worked with in Santa Cruz lives in Rochester, and we got together last night and had a couple of glasses of wine. Was nice and relaxed - no problems falling asleep this time!
It's funny how different my race morning in DC looks compared to Rochester races. In DC, it's just me up early - it's very quiet, and I go to my races alone. I'm very much just in the zone. At home, it's more of a family affair. We have breakfast together, drive to the race together, etc. I kissed my mom good luck, and took my spot near the start. Last year, I was the 15th woman, and I was sure that even with tired legs, I could advance a bit. I didn't really know how my legs would feel - they seemed a bit heavy during my shuffling warm up. But when the air horn went off, I just took off. The pace felt fast, and it was - the first mile was 6:09. Whoa, back off lady, this is not a 5k. By mile 2, the pack had thinned out a bit - I was running with a few guys. I figured I should ease up a little, and came through the second mile in 6:20. Still fast, but it felt like I could sustain something closer to this pace for 4.2 more miles. This course is pretty quiet when you get going, so I was just trying to focus on my breathing and staying even. I came through the 5k in 19:58 - was clearly slowing down, but I still felt in control. There were more hills in this race than my PR one, and so I was trying to save a little for each of those. At this point, I had passed a few women and had my eye on another. It's hard to tell when someone is 50 yards ahead of you how long it could take to pass them. It took about a mile to finally pass her, and then I wasn't sure how much of a gap I had left between us. But the breathing and footsteps I could hear sounded like men's, so I was hoping that I had definitively passed her. I was starting to feel tired around mile 4 - 25:50ish, and was trying to assure myself that it was just 15 minutes left. I was torn between trying to pick it up - I could see another woman about 100 yards in front of me - or just holding steady. Each of my mile splits had slowed by a few seconds, and I was completely okay with that. I picked off a few more guys, and was just trying to hold steady. That last .2 is heading into a parking lot, and then a sharp last turn. I could see my dad waiting close to the finish, and was very happy when my time flashed up.
40:24
6th woman (out of 537), 2nd in age group
61/1133 overall
A course best by almost 2 minutes, and only 34 seconds off my PR. Yesterday's 10 miles and 2 glasses of wine didn't really hold me back!
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| The winning mother/daughter team |
And now it was time to wait for my mom to come in. She finished in 56: 35 - a big PR from her 1:04 at the NY Mini 10k in 2011! She was pleased and ran a very strong race. We hung around afterwards (since it is local race, we know a lot of participants), and not only did I place 2nd in my age group, but we won the mother/daughter category! That was the first time my mom ever won something. So, it was a big morning overall, and a lot of fun. My brother just came home in time for dinner, and then the whole family will be reunited. A fun day, and lots to be thankful for.
Congrats, woman! So proud of you. Maybe we need to have some glasses of wine the night before all your races. We can manage that long-distance, right? ;)
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