This is my third year running and also my slowest time yet! The wind played a role, and I think my body caught up to me after trying to assimilate back into the real world from vacation.
I woke up on Sunday feeling exhausted. I had gotten a deep tissue massage a few days prior, and while my legs had recovered well my half PR, I don’t think they did from the massage.
My in-laws, husband, and I got to the race around 9 am. I did and quick warmup, realized how windy it was, and made it to the start. By the time I knew it, we were off.
The first mile got out extremely slow. It loops around the park and you go back under the start line before heading to down the canal. My husband and a pack of four men was shortly ahead, followed by me. My byline of racing lately is always chasing someone but never running with anyone. I hit the first mile in 6:13 and wasn’t all that pleased. I knew I was sore and it was windy but it’s always hard not to compare to what you have run before.
During the second mile, my husband and the lead pack separated. I found myself running with another male chasing them down. The towpath is on soft dirt/gravel and runs along the canal. It was windy but not headwind or tailwind. It was a crosswind where I somewhat worried I would be blown into the canal. I hit the second mile in 6:08.
We made a 180 during mile 3 and headed back the way we came. I enjoy mile 3 of the race because you see everyone else running and seeing other racers always motivates me. I hit the third mile in 6:08.
The last mile was just trucking back to the start. I felt better than the start but not great by any means. I separated myself and was running alone. I could see the finish and I saw my husband had pulled away and was going to win which was motivating.
I finished in 24:30 and it’s my slowest time yet, but the wind was definitely a factor. This is only the second time both my husband and I have won a race together. There are plenty of grilled cheeses and tomato soup at the end of the race (instead of the traditional banana), which makes it more fun.
Questions for you:
Have you done a unique race recently?
Where is the best grilled cheese you’ve gotten?
Congrats to you and Tim on winning the race. Of course it is always nice to win, but I love that you both won and got that great pic together. Stinks about the wind and cold temps, but I bet that made the grilled cheese and tomato soup taste even better.
The best grilled cheese I have ever had was at a restaurant in Florence, SC- Southern Hops brewery. It was blueberry goat cheese on jalapeno cornbread. It doesn’t sound great on paper, but I’m glad I gave it a shot because 6 years later, I still remember that sandwich…