Last minute race..

..on the south shore of Long Island, literally. Less than a half a mile from the ocean, but buffered by dune and buildings. I was glad to be there, especially to hear the announcer say "Long Beach is back!" - after hurricane Sandy's assault.  It was misty and windy, but around 40 degrees. I would say we had 10 mph gusts at times. We ran into the wind the first 2 miles, and I was delighted to get helped along a few times by gusts on the way back. I did walk for 30 seconds around mile 2.6 - but that gave me the rest I needed to keep my pace under 9:00 for the rest of the way.  I remained slightly uncomfortable after that, my heart rate really higher than it should have been, but it was the first time I was out on the road in 3+ weeks, and then racing, no less.

I finished under 40 minutes for my first 4 miler. I'm pretty happy. The crowd was great - it was interesting watching the 5-6 minute pacers pass us on the opposite side of the road at about 1.5 to 1.75 miles in. Boy. They were fast. And I smiled when I saw a woman in the mix. Awesome.

I came in 5th in my age group. It would have been nice to have placed, but I'm just glad I decided not to wimp out because of the weather. It really wasn't too bad.

My Magellan shut off during the start of the race, I guess I had it on too long before I hit the start button. Also, it defaulted back to the setting I had it on for just lifting weights, so it did not record my splits. At least the date and time is now correct. Runmeter seems like it did it's job well, but I was concerned during the run that the tall buildings would screw with the gps signal. And it looks like it paced me faster than the actual chip timing. That could have been the result of the signal, I suppose.

Another thing that made me happy was how fast I recovered from the run. It might have taken me a minute or two to feel completely comfortable with my heart rate after crossing the finish line - and getting out of the car after a 40 minute ride home was unremarkable. Granted, it wasn't a 13 mile run, but I felt energized and not stiff at all. As I sit here typing, I'm feeling almost a second wind.. serene and relaxed, my breathing feels deeper and effortless. Could this be a runners high after the race? I think this has happened to me before. I love the feeling. It only means I should perhaps push myself harder when I train, if I want to feel it more often.

Ok. I think it's a Chipotle and Target afternoon. In the rain.

Official:
143th/400 
49th/209 women
5th/18 age group
34:52
8:46 pace


Runmeter Data
Magellan Data