Feel Like A 15K?

Well, I do!  Or, I should say, I did! 

I met my friend, Patti, fellow 1/2 marathon runner in Altoona this morning to knock out 9.3 miles before celebrating Independence Day! Hey, we earned the good eats and drinks that we are going to partake in tonight! 

 It was a nice race.  Obviously, not nearly as crowded as the Pittsburgh 1/2, but lots of people there nonetheless.  I started out strong, and stayed strong for most of the run.  I finished in 1:28, according to my watch, but I actually forgot to stop it when I crossed the finish line.  Plus, my watch said I ran 9.4, which is a tenth of a mile longer than I should have run, so I am thinking that I started it early.  So, because of those things, I'm not exactly sure of my over all pace.  The watch said 9:27.  That sounds fabulous to me, so I'm sticking with that number...at least until the final scores are posted online!

I actually found this race to be harder than the 1/2.  I'm not 100% sure why, but I think at least some of it had to do with the heat.  I love running in the winter.  I'm a cold weather runner, for sure.  I would easily choose sub-zero windchill to 85 and sunny.  The heat just zaps my energy.  I also ran faster - almost 45 seconds faster per mile, according to my watch.  Over the long haul, that's not a shabby time shaving for a long distance in less than two months time, with a two week hiatus to boot!   Plus, about half way through the race, I had to pee.  Bad.  But there were no port-a-potties along the way!  I considered stopping at Sheetz or Kings Restaurant, but the thought of what that would do to a pretty decent time (for me - hey, I never proclaimed to be fast!) killed me and I, therefore, killed the idea of stopping.  I just kept trucking.

Close to the end, I ran past my old neighbors playing for the runners!  What an awesome sight!  I used to babysit them when I was in high school, but they are grown now (and I am old!).  Adam has a wife and a little boy of his own, and Jonathan is in college.  They're becoming musical sensations around here!  I see them playing all the time.  Very cool.  And it is their sister, Abby, whose blog I have referenced several times.  She's also a runner, and I gather a lot of tips from her.  In fact, I think her chia fresca helped not only to fuel my run today, but to prevent the nasty gastro-intestinal problems I had last time.  I drank some before the run, and although I needed to use the restroom when I got home, it was a very uneventful occurrence!  Yay!

 That's me in the background getting close to the finish line.  I think the woman in the right corner is much happier than I was to be done!  Go, lady!  Whoever you are!

Even though this was  local race, and it ended at 930 in the morning, which is hardly early, Greg and Andrew were the only people who came to see me finish.  That's OK.  I don't do it for anyone, but me.  God bless Greg, who stayed up all night working and then postponed his sleep to stand for an hour and a half in a crowd with a 3 year old waiting for me.  He's such a supportive and enthusiastic husband.  I don't know where I would be without him.  It was awesome to see him, and my little guy, Andrew standing literally, in front of the finish line, cheering me through the final steps!  

 When we got home, Greg went to sleep, and Andrew and I used the foam roller and stretched together. 

Then we iced our knees together too! 

Next year, although he doesn't know it yet, Greg is going to at least run the 5K that they hold simultaneously.  Maybe I'll have Jake up to that distance by next year too.  And Andrew can do the Lolli-pop run.  We'll make it a family affair!