This is a long weekend for me (happy Thanksgiving to any Canadian readers) so I decided that I would do a race both Saturday and Sunday, allowing Monday as a day to fall apart. Saturday's race was a small 1 mile race. Rob, one of my Alley Pond teammates, coaches the track team at his elementary school alma mater, Pope St. Clement. So there was a boatload of club members showing their support. The short course brings out some of the walkers and we had a bunch of runners. I've never raced a mile before. So I was a little nervous. I did a 1.7 mile race last weekend at about an 8:00/minute pace, so I felt pretty sure that I could manage a sub-8:00 mile, but beyond that, I wasn't sure. I started out fairly quickly and then tried to rein in my pace so that I could finish the darn thing. The legs started to feel leaden about half of the way through and I was sure that I had slowed down too much. I got a second wind about two-thirds of the way through and felt pretty good. I tried to kick it in the last 100 yards, but I didn't have too much left. I was stunned to see 7:20 as I passed through the finish line. This ended up being good enough for 1st in my age group and I took home the small trophy in the front. I really enjoyed racing the mile and pushing it to what felt like my limit. Sunday's race was the Get to the Point 5k in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I highly recommend this race. It's a local race organized by the St. Stanislaus Athletic League and attracted a little over 300 runners. It passes through the streets of the neighborhood with obstacles only seen in NYC (there was a bus stopped in the middle of the course in the first mile which we all had to run around). There was at least one noticeable uphill. But the main reason to do this race is the post race party. The race organizers really get some serious sponsorship and are able to put on one heck of a shindig that is open to all runners and included in the $15 race fee. Tons of food and drink (including beer for those over 21) and raffles and free stuff just tossed into the crowd. After filling my plate, I sat with a few of my fellow AP people, including Gerry and Jessica, one of our newest members, and Josh, her boyfriend who we'd like to be a member (hint,hint). Josh ran the course in under 20 minutes, so it was no surprise when he collected a trophy for 3rd in his age group. But I was shocked when my 25:51 ended up being good enough for 3rd in my age group. Really nice trophy. Gerry had dropped a word to the announcer that it was Jessica's birthday, so, of course, they dragged her up on stage with two other people who shared her birthday and the whole crowd sang for them. Then they gave her a six-pack of beer. What more could you want?
Name: DebbieJRT Home: Bellerose, New York, United States About Me: crotchety cross stitcher, trying to channel my inner athlete See my complete profile
