Back at it

I ran my first road race on saturday. It was the CSC 2 or 4 mile race. CSC is a local community college. I chose the 2 mile race. Not really a fan of 4 miles. I can do 2 miles, 5k (3.1 miles), or even 5 miles, just not 4. And contrary to popular belief I've never raced any farther than 5 miles. "Everyone" seems to think that I've done marathons. Nope, never.....at least, not yet. It is in my future plans, but not during these years of raising little ones. It takes much more time & dedication that I can give right now.

Anyway, it was cold & icky outside. A cool 38 degrees. Kind of a rainy sometimes spitting snow morning. Not ideal racing conditions at all. I was so pumped just be out racing that I didn't care. I was nervous & excited all at the same time. Being my first race back after my last baby I was very unsure how I would do. As I took off at the gun I tired to hold back a bit. In previous years I had the habit of going out too fast too soon resulting in burnout later on. On the other had I didn't want to go too slow either. So I just ran. I'm very used to doing a lot of my running and training on a treadmill with my mp3 players jammin. This time it was just me, my legs & the voices in my head (a deadly combination I'm sure).

As I approached my first mile & turn around point I heard my split of 7:24. WOW! I'm very pleased with that. I've been known to run faster (downward of 6:30), but this was good for my first time in such icky conditions. Not to mention the hill I had to run up toward the end of that mile. (Sidenote: I detest hills, just not a fan of them, and thus poorly integrate them into my training). Going back I wanted to maintain at least that pace again wagering back & forth between not going too fast or too slow. My finish time was 14:54. Again I was very pleased. Not my fastest time, but not my slowest either. And if I can use this as my building point then it can only get faster from here.

WooHoo, Carmen is back in da house of running! I already have my calader marked for my next race. I'm excitingly rubbing my hands together in eager anticipation. The beast is getting ready to be unleashed (bwahahahahaha).

I have no pics. Again camera issues. Which there wasn't much to take a picture of. My time did give me the top overall female spot. Due to a mix up with the trophies there was no trophy to give me. The race directors will surely get me one (not that I need another one to sit in my basement), it was just not there & available to give me at the award ceremony.