Last two weekends of fun running
Last week I ran the Lilac 10k with Xin and BB. It was fun, even though BB beat me by 11 seconds with ABSOLUTELY no training! Oh well. C'est la vie. :p It was still a personal record (PR) @ 58:29 because it was my first ever 10k.
Yesterday I volunteered at the Sehgahunda Trail Marathon & Relay at Letchworth State Park. It was an intense event. I'm glad I was able to help out at the checkpoint/aid station, but I hope that next year I can find a team to run with. After that race, I headed to Buffalo to spend some QT with the grandparents and my aunt and uncle who happened to be visiting from NC.
Then in the morning it was up and at 'em at 4:15 AM(!) for the Buffalo Half Marathon.
I was soooo nervous because 1) I was doing race day registration and worried something would go wrong and I wouldn't be able to run and 2) it was predicted to be high 80s, and I don't do well in heat AT ALL. Just before the start, I found my friend Mary Pants and Amy, who were running the full. I'm so glad I ran into them, because they made the miles pass quickly. Plus my Garmin died right before the race, so their watches saved my butt in terms of pacing. We started slow to avoid dodging people, but picked up after the first two miles and settled into a 9:40ish pace. From talking to Mare, I didn't think I'd be able to keep up with them. But I did! and I'm so glad, because I felt awesome the entire race, and I think if I was on my own it would have been a struggle. At mile 12, we saw the 2:05/4:10 pacer just ahead of us. My previous half time was 2:05:39, so I was excited at being so close to a PR (especially considering my goal for this race was to MAYBE try to beat 2:15:00). And my friends wanted to finish before 4:20, so all they had to do was keep this guy in sight. I said farewell to my friends wishing them luck and picked up speed, all the while in awe of the fact that they were still going to be running another 14 miles. I was so ready to be done. It was hot, and my legs were starting to get tired and feel tight. I ended up finishing in 2:06:10 by the clock with a chip time of 2:04:21 (9:30 pace). Wooo. PR!
I got my medal, immediately guzzled some Gatorade and downed some orange slices. Then I stood by the finish waiting for the first full marathoner to come through the finishing line. He was predicted to come in at 2:18, so I had some time to chill and stretch and drink more water. As I was waiting, someone at the finish line asked to borrow my shoe, so they could test the timing mat with an activated chip. They walked my shoe across the mat to make sure it was registering. So officially, I was the first person (or shoe) to cross the finish line for the Buffalo Marathon in 2010. Look for my name in the papers tomorrow.
Then I went to the after party for (free!) beer and pizza and potato chips. mmm salt. (I carried my ID for 13.1 miles, and I didn't even get ID'd for the beer. oh well). I watched the awards, chatted with some people I didn't even know would be there, found out my official chip time, and got changed into some fresh clothes. Around 10:30 I started walking back down the marathon course from the finish. I cheered on all the awesome runners, some looking much better off than others. I saw my friends at mile 25 around 11 o'clock. Right on pace, and they looked awesome. I gave them some loud cheers and info about the upcoming water station, and told them they were eff-ing rock stars. I ran with them for a bit, but my birkenstocks and tired legs didn't allow me to hang on for very long. So I walked the rest of the way to the finish, and congratulated them on their first marathon when I ran into them.
Phew. busy day. I went back to my Grandparent's house for some yummy food and hung out for a bit. Now I'm back in Rochester, and need to pass out for the night. If I can manage, after my 3 hour nap this afternoon :p
Yesterday I volunteered at the Sehgahunda Trail Marathon & Relay at Letchworth State Park. It was an intense event. I'm glad I was able to help out at the checkpoint/aid station, but I hope that next year I can find a team to run with. After that race, I headed to Buffalo to spend some QT with the grandparents and my aunt and uncle who happened to be visiting from NC.
Then in the morning it was up and at 'em at 4:15 AM(!) for the Buffalo Half Marathon.
I was soooo nervous because 1) I was doing race day registration and worried something would go wrong and I wouldn't be able to run and 2) it was predicted to be high 80s, and I don't do well in heat AT ALL. Just before the start, I found my friend Mary Pants and Amy, who were running the full. I'm so glad I ran into them, because they made the miles pass quickly. Plus my Garmin died right before the race, so their watches saved my butt in terms of pacing. We started slow to avoid dodging people, but picked up after the first two miles and settled into a 9:40ish pace. From talking to Mare, I didn't think I'd be able to keep up with them. But I did! and I'm so glad, because I felt awesome the entire race, and I think if I was on my own it would have been a struggle. At mile 12, we saw the 2:05/4:10 pacer just ahead of us. My previous half time was 2:05:39, so I was excited at being so close to a PR (especially considering my goal for this race was to MAYBE try to beat 2:15:00). And my friends wanted to finish before 4:20, so all they had to do was keep this guy in sight. I said farewell to my friends wishing them luck and picked up speed, all the while in awe of the fact that they were still going to be running another 14 miles. I was so ready to be done. It was hot, and my legs were starting to get tired and feel tight. I ended up finishing in 2:06:10 by the clock with a chip time of 2:04:21 (9:30 pace). Wooo. PR!
I got my medal, immediately guzzled some Gatorade and downed some orange slices. Then I stood by the finish waiting for the first full marathoner to come through the finishing line. He was predicted to come in at 2:18, so I had some time to chill and stretch and drink more water. As I was waiting, someone at the finish line asked to borrow my shoe, so they could test the timing mat with an activated chip. They walked my shoe across the mat to make sure it was registering. So officially, I was the first person (or shoe) to cross the finish line for the Buffalo Marathon in 2010. Look for my name in the papers tomorrow.
Then I went to the after party for (free!) beer and pizza and potato chips. mmm salt. (I carried my ID for 13.1 miles, and I didn't even get ID'd for the beer. oh well). I watched the awards, chatted with some people I didn't even know would be there, found out my official chip time, and got changed into some fresh clothes. Around 10:30 I started walking back down the marathon course from the finish. I cheered on all the awesome runners, some looking much better off than others. I saw my friends at mile 25 around 11 o'clock. Right on pace, and they looked awesome. I gave them some loud cheers and info about the upcoming water station, and told them they were eff-ing rock stars. I ran with them for a bit, but my birkenstocks and tired legs didn't allow me to hang on for very long. So I walked the rest of the way to the finish, and congratulated them on their first marathon when I ran into them.
Phew. busy day. I went back to my Grandparent's house for some yummy food and hung out for a bit. Now I'm back in Rochester, and need to pass out for the night. If I can manage, after my 3 hour nap this afternoon :p