3.5 mile race at Suny

Okay - first of all - I promise that this is NOT turning into a running blog. I know a lot of my posts have been about running. But that seems to be my life right now!

Second of all - Happy New Year!

And now - for my race report on my first run and my first race of 2011...

I awoke to a beautiful 40 degree day! Since we don't often see 40 degree days on January 1st - there was no way I was going to pass up an opportunity to race. This race was part of the Winter Series races organized by the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Club.

I drove over to the Suny campus by myself - not sure what to expect. All I knew was that I was planning to run 1.5 miles BEFORE the race started. I was scheduled to run a 5 miler today - so I figured I would tack on the 1.5 before the race and then run the 3.5 and bang! My five miles would be complete.

I arrived and immediately ran into Elisa, Suzy and Amanda all within in one minute of each other. All three of my running buds were running the half marathon so they were in line to get their running bibs. I chatted briefly with each of them and then headed out to get my 1.5 in. It's so funny how running 1.5 miles is so easy and so quick. (I never imagined I would feel that way).

I banged it out in 14 minutes, and then found Suzy and Amanda and we lined up to start. Since the course had us running the first 3 miles together, I was excited that I had some people to run with. The horn blasted and off we went. It's amazing how quick the time can go when you are chatting easily with some running friends. They made the miles go by in a flash. We also started chatting with a girl who was running her first race after she had broken her back four years earlier! She told us that she was tired of being scared and not trying stuff. So she was running. You go girl!

Anyway - at the 3 mile mark, we split off. Amanda and Suzy went on to run 10 more miles and I went on to finish my final half mile. I was feeling pretty good. I wasn't pushing myself too hard - and I finished in 34:51. Not great. But I wasn't really trying to race. I knew it was my long run day and I was just trying to get my five miles in. And I did. And I felt great. The balmy weather didn't hurt things either. It was so nice to just wear a long-sleeve shirt and running tights. No major layers! I felt free!

After I finished, I wandered back to the main lobby and was pleasantly surprised to find an array of goodies. There was soup, pizza, cookies, oranges and water, soda and coffee. It was so nice! I scarfed down 2 pieces of pizza, 3 cookies, 2 orange wedges and a few bites of soup. (I tend to get hungry after I run). After my eating frenzy, I headed home.

It was a great experience. I had heard that these Winter Series races are very low key. And it was just that. There was no running bib, no chip, no bells and whistles. But that's what made it fun. I definitely plan to run the 10K next Sunday - as long as there are no major snow storms!

Happy New Year!