Easton 5 Miler

Last Sunday's race was not actually called the Easton 5 Miler...I think it was the Harvest 5 Miler or something similar to that.  Whatever it was officially called, that race rocked!

My sister, sister-in-law and I got there pretty early and the weather was cloudy with hints of sun and chilly...PERFECT race weather.  Really, if you race or even run, you live for running weather like this.  In New England, we get about a month of it...maybe a month and a half, so you have to make it count.

I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous going into this race.  My long runs have been topping out at 5.7 miles and I have had few miles in between.  Really, I have basically sucked at training in general lately.  The night before the race Bill asked me what my goal was and I told him 10 minute miles.  I think I used to run 5 milers at 9:50 miles, so that seemed about right.

And I was (almost) dead on!

My sister-in-law Meri and I ran almost all of the race together, which was a treat for me because shes about 30 seconds per mile or so faster than me.  We hung out together and got to chat and race, which made miles 2-4.5 fly by.  Mile 1 was actually a little painful due to our pre-race dinner of wine and pizza...and wine.  But after mile 1, we were good to go!  We paced the first 4 miles at steady 10:10s.  I felt great!  Meri left me at the 4.5 mile mark to burst ahead and I finished strong at 50:34, which put me around 10:07 miles. 

I have to tell you all, I am pretty pleased with this effort.  The weather was beautiful, the company was good, the course was pretty and I felt like I ran a smart (if not a teeny bit conservative) race.

I also had a great run at lunch today, which leaves me contemplating my next race.  I would love to hear some ideas!  I am looking for a pretty 5 Miler or 10K...

Back To The Races

I went for a run yesterday.  It was humid and my legs were exhausted from New Rules, but I went anyway.  Why?  Besides the fact that this blog is Run, Lift, Chant, Breathe, I have several upcoming races.  I haven't been running as much as I'd like to, but I do not think I should have any problem completing the 5K scheduled for this weekend.  It may not be my best time ever, but I can certainly run the 3.1 miles.


Next up is a 10K that I am a little more nervous about as it means I will have to find the time to increase my weekly mileage.  Right now I am clocking in at about 11 miles per week (two 3 mile runs and one 5 mile run)...to get into 10K form I will need to be fitting in, at the least, one 3 mile run, one 4 mile run and one 7 mile run [Meri and Chrissy, please be aware that that 7 mile run includes you two chugging along with me - sorry].  Ideally I would like to be getting in an additional 3 mile run during that training...we will see how it goes. 

After that is the Rome Boulevard Road Race - at my high school!  No link available yet but I believe this is a 10K with a 5K option [Tammy - feel free to correct me here]. 

              And here is the correction: Tammy said...

                  "the rome blvd race is a 5 mile race with a 2 mile fun run option! :)"

Finally, there is a 5K trail run.  I have heard that this is a tough, athletic course with big competition.  Just my thing...ha!  But this race is in remembrance of some very important people, and thus I am lining up with the others and hoping for the best.  I suppose we can move our long runs to a trail in preparation for this race...but that seems like a lot of planning.


Why am I laying this out for you?  Here is the deal.  The first 5K is this weekend, the next 10K also includes  a 5K and is on Labor Day (September 6), October 3 is the Rome Boulevard Road Race and the Trail Race is on October 10, 2010.  All of these races are in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  If you have started running, have been running, or would like to begin running and you want to sign up for any of these races, I will be there.  If you run at my pace or slower (I race at about 9:30 per mile), I will run with you.  Really.  I may even bring you a Run, Lift, Chant, Breathe swag bag for showing up.  I can get you links to training programs and I can offer advice.  I am not concerned with my overall time in these races and would rather be there to support new runners.  So there you have it.  Think it over and leave a comment or email me (email is in the "Contact Me" section) and let me know if you are ready to Toe The Line.