The Leprechaun Chase is a unique race in which the girls have a 5 minute head start...the concept is that the guys will be chasing the girls and whichever gender finishes first wins a free glass of beer. This race starts at 4pm which is a difference from many races. This basically gave me all day to worry. Plus, you really have to think about nutrition...what to eat and when. I had cereal for breakfast and a bagel with peanut butter for lunch. I was feeling very good physically and my training the prior two months had went really well. So, I shouldn't be worried, right? Ugh, I wish. Because of this, I thought if I didn't PR and place high, there was something wrong. In addition, I scanned the list of registered entrants and the field was ridiculously talented this year. It was going to be REALLY tough to crack the top 10.
After getting our kids settled with their babysitter, Philip and I headed to Ashland about two hours to race start. We swung by and picked up our friend Jenny and hopped on the interstate for the quick drive to the SAC Museum. (Cool venue, by the way.) After arriving, we picked up our packets, settled in for a bit and did some stretching. As always, it was hard to decide what to race in...I never want to be too hot or too cold. Plus, since I run on the treadmill for the majority of my training runs, I don't have a very good ability to just look at the temp and know how many layers, etc. to put on. It ended up being about 40 degrees, minimal wind, and sunshine. Beautiful racing conditions. I decided to wear a tank top, arm sleeves, and capris and felt good temperature-wise while I was running.
By the time we were getting lined up for the race, I was very jittery and nervous...but once the gun went off, I was able to calm down. A big group of fast girls immediately darted out. In my head, I was thinking, "Crap, am I even gonna make the top 20? Too early to call that, don't worry about that." I historically have an issue darting out with the top runners, hanging for a bit, then fading fast. Today, I tried really hard to listen to MY body and run MY race. I decided that I wasn't going to look at my watch at all...just going to run and respond to the course and what the race would dish out. I felt pretty good the first three miles and when I hit that third mile post, it was hard to not look down at my watch and check out my pace. I think there were some decent hills in the first half, but since I was feeling good I didn't really notice them. However, on the back three miles, I really started to take note. Luckily, we had some nice downhills to recover from the ups. As I passed the mile six marker (.2 to go!) I glanced down at my watch...39:12!!!??!! What the heck??? I had no idea how close the next girl was to me, so I tried to power it in. My final time ended up being 40:36, which is about a 2 minute PR for me. I wasn't able to make top 10, but finished 12th overall and 2nd in my age group which I was happy with. VERY tough field.
After finishing, I once again wanted to rip my lungs out. (I really need to make more of an effort to get outside.) I talked to some other runners who were in before me and congratulated my friends as they came in. Many of my friends ran faster than the year before and Philip ended up running 6 minutes faster than last year! He practically dropped a whole minute per mile! (Can you tell I'm excited?!) The post race party was inside the museum, so we didn't have to sit around in the cold. That being said, my sister alerted me that my lips had turned blue even though I had changed and was wearing about three layers. Huh?
Congratulations to everyone who ran and finished this race. The 10k is a difficult distance and the hilly course added to the degree of difficulty. And a big high five to Ben Cohoon who once again put on a stellar event. Cheers and happy running!
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