New Years 7.5 Miler Race Report

I was pretty excited to get out there New Years morning and run.

It was 50˚ F this morning at 10 a.m. at the start of the race. Last year for this same race it was 2˚ F. I did not run the race last year because I do not run outside when it is 2˚ F. I believe only polar bears and abominable snowmen should run after prey when it is 2˚ F.

My instructions from Coach Mary were simple: "go all out." Actually... it was worded a bit more colorfully than that, but in an effort to keep my blog PG-rated, let's just say for all intensive purposes it was worded with the aforementioned rhetoric.

My extraordinarily tall blogger buddy Alexa—yes, I am laying it on thick, I know she's tiny as a tree elf—agreed to come out to the race to snap a few photos of me enjoying my 7.5 miler scamper. In exchange, I am Alexa's official therapist. Of course, this means I will have to pay it forward sometime and go out to  one of her races and snap some action shots. I will have to snap fast though. Alexa's all business.
Alexa's an Ironman. Can you tell?

Here I am with fellow Y buddy Nick

"Hamming" it up at the beginning of my race. 

So fast that I am blurry and not even touching the ground.

The actual race was great fun. I felt like I was in much better shape than when I went out and ran my Thanksgiving Day 10k. That day was quite dreadful. It was cold, windy, and I was sick with a head cold. 

By the miles:

Mile 1: Realized that I should have warmed up longer, but unfortunately I saw about a dozen people I know at the race and spent a little too much time fraternizing, and not enough warming up.

Mile 2:  Feeling a little frustrated that I started so far back in the pack of runners. It took until the middle of mile two to clear some space for me to run. 

Mile 3: Thankful that I am finally warmed up. My 8:40 starting pace is gradually getting faster. I was running a solid 9:00 minute mile up some of the hills. 

Mile 4: Trying to stay positive and push my pace a little. Trying not to let my Thanksgiving Day run creep into my memory, when my race was essentially over at mile four because I felt so terrible. 

Mile 5: Have been running after the girl with the green shorts since mile 1. Still trying to catch her. 

Mile 6: Know that I have to keep my tempo up or turn it up if I ever want to catch the young running couple in front of me who seem to be casually going for an afternoon stroll. This was the hardest part of the run. Long, steady incline here. I was trying to keep my heart rate a little in check so I still had legs to make my final triumphant surge toward the finish and New Years Race immortality.

Mile 7: Pass running couple. Still gunning for green-short girl. Ran really hard the last quarter mile, but she ran harder. 

The Data:

151/357 Overall

119/242 M

AG ?  They could not read my age for some reason. There is a big question mark next to it. 

Overall, I am fairly pleased with the result. I mean, I would have loved to have won, but you know... it's early in the season and all. Kidding. I am really excited to see where I am come spring. 

There you go. It is all there. I can not fudge the data! 

More soon. Train Smart!