winter running race and more!

yesterday i ran the first race of the season - a 4-miler in prospect park

when i left the house, trusty ole ny1 said it was 34 degrees so i thought for sure that the ice would be gone. not so! i almost fell on my butt 5 or 6 times between my apartment and the number pick up joint, which was a mere 4 blocks away (long blocks but still). i hit up the school and got my number, tee shirt and new chip. these new chips are disposable, which is easier but definitely crappier for the planet. given that it takes all of 5 seconds to get your chip clipped off, i'll take the earth-friendly non-disposable sort we used to have.

there were lots of people at the race - a few thousand at least. us team in trainers met up near bag watch and headed over to the start together. it was warming but by the time we started i was freezing my toes off. i also started in a fast corral - i was in the 5000s, where usually i'm in the back, and i felt slightly out of place. finally it was time to go and we were off.

i got passed by many folks, which i kept telling myself was fine. since i was in a corral with faster runners i had to put ego aside and let them pass - i knew right around the corner was the massive hill in prospect park and i knew better than to take off too fast up that thing.

on the hill i found myself passing a person here and there and once i cleared the hill, i fell into a nice steady pace. the first mile appeared to be very slow - about 12 minutes but i wasn't really bothered as the start is very slow and so is the hill. i felt like i was cruising as i headed into mile 2 and sure enough when i was done...it was around a 10 minute mile...ooops. too fast! i tried to put on the breaks and lightly run down the hill. i am super mindful of not thumping down hills with heavy legs lest it hurt my stress fractures.

once i hit mile 3 (still around 10:30's or so) i definitely started loosing a bit of steam but still cruised along, getting a little winded but pressing on. finally, i was at the last little uphill, finish line in sight and knew i finished somewhere in the 10:45/11 minute mile pace.

uuuuuug. i crossed the finish line and for the first time in a long time felt like i was going to puke. i had gotten food poisoning friday night and saturday was still touch and go, so i think i was still feeling a little weak and at the end of the race i grabbed some water and fled the crowds for a little non-claustrophobic air. after a few puffs and some space i felt much better grabbed and apple and headed home. there was a team in training gathering afterwards but i had a cooking class all day that i had gotten as a present to the boyfriend so had to take a rain check.

i got home and check my time and as it turned out my time was 42:53 - which left an average pace of 10:43min/mile.

today i managed to hop out of bed early...6:45 in fact...and go for a morning run. it was so temping to get back into the bed...but i rationalized back at my sleepy self, knowing i wouldn't get running if i didn't run then. i had set out my clothes the night before and so threw on clothing, brushed my teeth (which somehow wakes me up) and headed out.

i only had to run 3 miles - getting to and from the park was a little dicey because of all the ice and snow, but once i was in the park i was fine. i did a little down and back action and made it back home in no time flat. the legs felt fine, no aches and pains and when i was done i was happy to have gotten the run in. always feels better to be done with the running/exercising before the day even really begins.

sunday's mileage: 4.0
today's mileage: 3.2
season mileage to date: 31.1
up next: group run or equivalent wednesday