Today we ran in, well, how can I put this, ok, how about using the word “slop?” That’s what it was. Cold, raw, rainy, slop. Not downpours, thank God, but I’d say steady rain.  When the temps are only in the 40s, it can make it seem downright miserable.  After the race, Lis said she thought it was the wettest race she’d ever run. I think she may be right. We’ve run in snow and rain before but this was just raw.

The good news is that Lis also ran in this. The bad news is that we didn’t meet up before the race, because of a snafu with my fancy iPhone. As in, she was calling me over and over, and trying to text me, and I was doing the same, and we were connecting.  When I finally was able to use her phone after the race and call my husband (who had not come to the race because of the weather and who could blame him?), he said I’d probably have to reset it. Good God. When I had a less fancy phone, this never happened. Technology doesn’t always make things better.

So, basically before the race, both Lis and I sat in our cars, separately, trying to stay warm.  I went looking for her where the 10-minute milers lined up before the race (I assumed she’d put herself in that category even though she’s faster) but I didn’t see her anywhere.

Today was not a great day for technology. She’d charged up her Garmin last night and then it froze itself, thereby draining the battery. She had just enough time to charge it up this morning so it’d get her through a half hour race.

I may have dressed too warmly for this race, but it was so cold out, I knew once I’d stop running, I’d be freezing to death. I wore my brand new Brooks capri tights (love them!), my Brooks ASRs (which have not seen running since last winter), and one of my heavier long sleeve base layers with a long sleeve jacket over that. Oh, and my $3 pair of gloves I bought when I watched my brother run the Philly marathon a few years back, which I absolutely love because they keep hands warm, but not too, too warm like my fancy running gloves.

I have to say – this race has become larger and larger every year. 1500 people signed up online, but the Cool Running results only show 1015 people came out today. Can’t say as I blame anyone who stayed home. This year, they even had a race mat at the beginning (yay! net times!!) and had people line up according to pace.  Well, there were signs for the 7 minute mile pace, 10 minute mile pace, and walkers, anyway. The rest of us just went by the honor system and I think people were pretty honest. I put myself right smack in the middle, thinking that’s where you should be if you’re in between an 8 or 9 minute mile. No giant slalom for me today, thankfully.

As I ran today, I thought of the motto for the Tufts 10K race, which is “Start Strong, Finish Stronger.” That was pretty much my motto for today as well.  Knowing how my ankle felt earlier this week, I didn’t think I would get a PR at this distance, and that was alright for me. I’m running for life, right?

My Garm showed my first mile was 8:32, and I remember thinking, “alright, that is exactly where I want to be. That’s manageable. Now just speed up a little bit.” My second mile was 8:32.  Not bad at keeping it consistent. My third mile was my strongest: 8:15. Now THAT I am really content with, considering I have not done speed work since July, and my ankle is still a bit bruised, and it kept reminding me before the race, “I’m not at 100% remember? More like 80-85%, so let’s not push it, ok?” (Yes, my body parts really do talk to me. LOL.)

I did stop briefly at both water stops they had (yes, 2 water stops for a 3 mile race. They do things well at this race, including the food afterward: chicken pot pie soup, hot dogs, fried dough, etc.) My brother told me it’s good to let your body relax for a few seconds, as it’ll help you keep running faster in between, rather than getting tired toward the end. He said that’s what he did when he PR’d at Boston, and seeing as he’s much faster than me, I’ll take the advice.  The only time I felt a bit tired was about mile 2.6, but then I saw a guy walking and I yelled out, “we’ve got less than a half mile left!” hoping to energize him to get running again. I have no idea if it worked.

This race is really flat, and it’s a 3-mile loop through the town of Newton. If you’re not familiar with Newton, just know it’s known for being one of the safest cities in the country. READ: it has $$.   Lots of the proceeds go to the Special Olympians of Newton. I saw a kid with Down’s Syndrome, walking after the race, and he had this really huge trophy in his hands. How cool is that?

Here are the stats:

  • Official time: 25:29, Garmin time of 25:27 (average pace of 8:26)
  • Offiical distance: 3 Miles; Garmin distance run: 3.02
  • Place overall: 371/1015
  • Division place: Female, 30-39:  28/131 (I’ll take it!)

Oh, and by the way, it’s kind of snowing/sleeting here right now. All those of you in warmer climates, I would so like to trade my cold, raw slop for your heat right now. Really.

So, since I didn’t get any pictures of the race due to the iphone’s technical difficulties, I have a few other non-related race pictures below. Some are of Ruthie because she’s just way too cute for words, and I know not all of you are on Twitter, where I post some others, and there are two of the clouds and lake near my house, which I’ve been running around in the mornings when the ankle hasn’t hurt. Enjoy! Also, thanks for reading (still, I know I’ve not been a frequent blogger lately.)

By the way, do you need to have the Nike+ system to run the 10K Race for the Human Race, if it’s actually holding one in your city? There is one in Boston next week and I’m thinking of doing it.  Please drop me a comment if you know anything about it! 

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