Sunday, May 2, 2010

Champlain Classic 15K

Happy after the race!

I woke up this morning to a pounding rain shower but it didn't last long and the sun came out. It really came out!  Temperatures reached the 80s.  This has been a bizarre week weather wise. So I got up and did my pre race stuff.  T picked me up and off we went.  We had a lot of catching up to do as we hadn't seen each other for quite some time.  I don't get too nervous until I am almost at the race.  I don't feel mentally nervous but my GI system says otherwise! We registered and got the last two shirts - XL. Oh well, hope someone can use it.

My race - the 15K started 10 minutes before T's race the 5K.  There was some nice excitement in the crowd.  Before I knew it the gun fired and off we went.  I did the first mile way faster than any other mile in 8:15. The rest of my miles were 9s with one in the 10s.  A lot of the race was on gravel trails.  We headed down one trail, crossed a road and headed onto another one. I had actually run on the farther trail last fall after an appt. in Shelburne.  We came upon the lake and it looked beautiful on this sunny day!!!  When we got back on the road, we saw the lake quite a bit.  It was hilly but any hill we went up we got to come down later or of course the opposite which isn't so fun.  I stopped at all 5 water stops which I am not usually good about doing.  I knew that it was much hotter than I was used to and I'd better do it. (In spite of this after the race I drank several cups of water and it was a  l-o-n-g time before I had to pee so I should have been drinking even more!)  I was feeling okay although I didn't think I was going as fast as I would have liked.  I was glad to reach the turn around - both to head back and I am always worried that this race maybe I am last!  I like meeting people and seeing that this is not true.  I had just decided that we were all settled into our places when to my surprise I started to pass people.  It was just before reaching the Mile 7 sign that I really noticed I was feeling tired. BUT I passed - and stayed in front of - 9 people before the end!  One woman I passed came up to me later to tell me how much I helped her because she was fading and after I passed her she worked hard to keep me in her sight!  I finally reached Mile 9 but that last .3 seemed to take forever!!! I felt good when I finished, tired but thrilled to have completed my first 15K.

Rounding the corner as I approach the finish



Closer



Yet closer



And there!


 Recovery food was bagels and cake!!! I love cake!  I had two pieces with lots of frosting!!! Terrible, right?  It's funny because I dreamed about being at a buffet with friends the night before and they were appalled at how much I ate and what I was searching for and couldn't find was cake. I know that is a pretty strange dream. What does it say about me?  Probably that I am not getting enough cake so I am glad I could rectify it today!

T won third place in her age group! :)  Then she won a pair of shoes that she gets fitted for at Fleet Feet! I just may get her back for more races!! (She has already promised to race next weekend with me!)

Age group awards were various fish - appropriate because Champlain is Lake Champlain
The 20 is because it was the 20th year of the race!


I ran it in 1:26:04 for a pace of 9:15.  I was 5/7 in my age group. I did better percentage wise overall than in my age group which is unusual.  I was 67/121 overall.  Then they also had age graded results which I always LOVE!!! I was 25/121 overall with these.  The winner didn't move at all.  But he was about 8 minutes ahead of anyone! Crazy!!! All in all a good race.  And of course a PR since it was my first 15K!

26 comments:

MCM Mama said...

Great job on the 15K! That's a nice pace for a warm race. Love that little fish!

Marlene said...

Woohoo, congratulations!! Faster than anticipated!!

Steel Springs said...

Awesome race! Congratulations! Way to keep up the pace at the end and pass people!

Monica said...

Fantastic time...especially the first mile. Wow! I can't even run that fast in my dreams.

Good job to you and T.

Julie said...

Good job on your 15K! You ran a fantastic pace and should feel pretty proud of yourself! I love the pictures of you finishing:) Congrats!

Alisa said...

Great job! I wish I could run consistently in the 9's!

Amy said...

wow - sounds like a great race, especially the CAKE!!! Congratulations on your PR, too!

Michelle said...

Great job! I love the pictures and the cake! Congratulations!

saundra said...

Woo Hoo! You look strong and happy! I had to click on your photo to see those hitchhiker thumbs you told me about: does not look nearly as obvious as my chicken wings :-).
As a lover of all things cake, I think it is a brilliant post-race snack!
Congrats.

Johann said...

Nice run! Congratulations on your 1st 15km!

Suzy said...

Congrats on your first 15K! Cake in almost all forms is wonderful and should be served more often!

Claudia said...

Great Run!! Congrats on your 1st 15km!
Love the Fish Medal!!
Bagels and Cake for Recovery food sound GREAT!!

TMB @ RACING WITH BABES said...

Great job on the 15K! I have always wanted to run one. And cake? There in no better post race food!

Molly said...

Bagels AND cake?? Carb heaven. I loved reading about the woman who came up to you at the end, love hearing things like that. Great job, especially in the heat!

In my race yesterday, water was an issue because it was so unseasonably hot, so people were sucking it down like crazy. I read on my run club message boards that alot of the hospitals had runners in the ER, one had 30 runners!

misszippy said...

Congrats! Sounds like you had a great one. Love those awards. Very cool. And cake? Yum!

I Run for Fun said...

Congrtaulations!!! You did so well. Aren't you glad you did the 15K? I knew you would rock it!

5 Miles Past Empty said...

Awesome job!!! You did great! I like those out and turn around races too! My race yesterday had about 2 miles out then two miles back where I could see that I was in fact NOT last! So funny the way we think when we are running!

Darlene said...

Great job in your lst 15K - I love cake!!
We spent several summers at CrownPt and boating on Lake Champlain.

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

Congrats on beating your goal of 9:30 with a 9:15 average! Glad you got that cake you dreamt about! Cute running shirt!

Heidi said...

Congrats, and good pace! That's funny you dreamed of cake. Must have been meant to be.

LookingUpAgain said...

Awesome job! I would love to chow down on cake after a race! lucky you actually got to do it!

Lindsay said...

yum cake!! i can't believe you only had 2 pieces :) (i'm a sugar addict)

congrats on a great race and the 'auto' pr!!

Anne said...

Congrats on running a great race...and that's a pretty awesome time! You totally deserved those 2 pieces of cake :)

Libby said...

I LOVE cake too :) Congrats on the race!

Jameson said...

WAY TO GO! I like the age group prize, as well as the awesome photos of you barreling towards the finish.

RobinLK said...

Congrats on the PR! Love the fish, and especially THE CAKE! As much as we talk about 'appropriate postrace food,' cake just sounds fun. :) And two pieces..good for you! LOL Only thing missing was chocolate milk to wash it down. hee hee!

HUGS from Orlando!