Energizer Night Race

10 K in 1:01:58

5K split 29:22

6:09/K pace

I placed 531 overall, and 65 in my age group!

Not bad for my first race.

The day started rainy and miserable, and I wondered if it were possible to run at all. Considering Energizer is a night race...

Rain + Dark = I'm Not Doing It.

Then, by mid-afternoon the skies cleared and we even got some blue!

So I grabbed the race shirt and got ready:

I was prancing around quite excited, and quite early, and Two-Two thought I was taking her out.

Instead I sat on the couch, waiting for my friend to pick me up.

There was no parking close to the race site, so we parked at the furthest lot and took a shuttle.

I figured out the head gear the day before.

Thoughts while running:

(no photos because, well, I was a bit busy, and I don't have a small camera or one of those nifty packs to carry things)

"I've never seen so many bums moving in unison in front of me!"

"How does anyone run when you're packed like a sardine? This isn't running--it's shuffling."

"That girl thinks this is a HILL? She hasn't seen a hill."  <--- I run in a valley, so I'm going uphill all. the. time.

"That old guy is going at a good pace! Imma catch him."

It turns out the old guy went at EXACTLY my pace. It was perfect. He sped down the downhills, kept his leg turnover rate high on the uphills, and pushed through the flat parts. I kept pace behind him for the last half of the race, and I owe  him a lot of my success!

I'm super happy with my 1:01 for a first race, and how easy it felt. I was hardly out of breath by the end, so the last 500 meters was a mad dash so I could get panting.

Overall, I loved the enthusiasm and general hype of a race, but I hate running like a sardine.



The next day, a bunch of friends and I went out for breakfast at my new favorite place. Over breakfast, Jen and I decided to do a half-marathon training plan, but not sign up for a race.

We're going to try a nice steady increase in mileage over the weeks, and stay accountable for our runs with our blogs and the fact that we live together cuz she can smell it when I don't run because it doesn't stank of Sandy in the house.

Completely unrelated note:

Everyone saw him put strawberry jam on his potatoes, so now you know I'm not exaggerating!

What a loveable weirdo.