I skipped the little pre-race attire ritual for this one and I probably would have ended up switching my outfit anyway since I thought it was going to be 60° and it was much, much colder. I was boring today and went with black running tights, a t-shirt, and a black running jacket:
Snapped this right before I left, it's a pretty forced smile I wasn't feeling it this morning.
Actually yesterday I had kind of a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Plus TOM, cramps, clouds. . . just overall NotSo happy.
(Also I said this once but. . . I'm a eyeliner whore)
Told myself, "just go out there and enjoy the music, run strong, don't push it too hard (especially in the beginning!)" I definitely didn't have all the anxiety this time because I took a lot of the pressure off, I guess coming off a semi-injury you need to give yourself a little slack.
The race atmosphere was nice, just cold. The boys dropped me off and then went home (only 5 mins away) for an hour. There's not much to say about the race, I went out there and did my thang :) One little annoying thing was that the mile timers were off, the race started a little late and that probably messed things up. Mile 1 (which was actually at 1.27 bc of some Irish mile within the race) had me at 16:xx, Mile 2- 21:xx. . . obviously not right. And I am still afraid to wear my Garmin in a race. I didn't know where I was at till I was coming in the home stretch and saw the clock at 27:55. Kicked it in and. . .
28:12
(7:03)
Not horrible, not amazing, overall I was happy and it's a PR since it was my first 4 mile race :D If I had known I was that close to sub-28 I may have pushed it more in the last mile, Cest La Vie. And I was the first female special education teacher (I sub, but I'm Sp. Ed certified and sub Sp. Ed classes over General Ed whenever I get the chance.) For winning I received 3 books on teaching children with special needs, but due to my current career change pursuit those will probably help Matt more (he is a general/special Ed teacher too).
Also I did feel the knee pain come back a little before mile 1 and I got really worried since it usually stays for the whole run once it starts. It lasted maybe a mile and then I felt pretty good for the rest of it. Right now, 7 hours later, I haven't iced or taken anything and it feels fine. Guess I'm gonna have to continue feeling it out for now.
One of the highlights of the whole morning though was after the race. I was waiting around for the award ceremony and for the boys to come back. While sitting there on my own, a very nice young man came over and started talking to me. He is part of the Rolling Thunder Running Club which is a running club for special needs individuals. As described by the website,
"Rolling Thunder Special Needs Program is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing challenged individuals with the opportunity to successfully participate in all levels of mainstream athletics."
I have seen the green uniforms of the Rolling Thunder at many races I have run over the past 10 yrs and I think it is such an awesome organization. And these guys aren't just out there participating in races, they are winning and placing in their age groups most of the time. So, Thank You Michael for keeping me company and for directing me to the Rolling Thunder website :) After checking out the site today I'm looking forward to volunteering with the organization in the near future. This line in particular stole my heart,
"Through competition, our athletes earn the respect they deserve as they develop the confidence and self esteem that they need to be successful in life."ETA pic:
Age Group: 2/ 86 Females: 10/ 828 Overall: 56/ 1315
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