We have reached the finish line and I’ve WON!  I cannot believe I posted a blog everyday for seven straight days.  So it’s not as epic as say completing and Ironman or throwing a Pinterest worthy party for 20 five year-olds but, in the blog-o-sphere, it’s a pretty mediocre event and I’m going celebrate it.  Joi at Rx Fitness Lady was a divine hostess and I met some new friends like Veronica Watts, Confessions of a Single Mom, Embrace the Struggle and Beignet Mamas!

We have now come full circle and I get to blog about what I love most (besides my family) and that of course is RUNNING!!  Lucky for you dear readers, I ran a 5 mile race a couple weekends ago and I get to recap it for you now.

It all started with a phone conversation with a friend:

Her: I signed up for the Somers race.  It’s just a 5 miler so why don’t you do it with me?  You’ll probably win.

Me:  When is it?  I’ll totally do it with you. *nervousness bubbling up because I hate the pressure of possibly winning*

Race ready.  Game faces on pre-start.

Race ready. Game faces on pre-start.

I immediately check out the web site to get the facts.  I then check the race results from the previous year to see how things stack up.  Well…let me see…the overall woman winner in the 5 miler (there’s also a 5K which is 3 miles) won it in….oh wait, this must be a type-o because it says 28:57 and I think only a cheetah would be able to run 5 miles at a 5:47 pace.  Then I see her name is Mekdes Bekez and she’s from NYC.  Now why the hell would someone who can run like a cheetah drive 3 hours to little podunk Somers, CT to run a 5 mile race?

Turns out there’s a shit ton of prize money involved!  Another racing friend clued me into this and chuckled when I told him my friend thought maybe I would win.  Yeah, right.  I guess one of the running clubs in NYC travels down here for the race because there’s over 2 grand in prize money.  Very cool.  Pressure is off me and I get to see some serious runners in action!

$3,540 Total Prize Purse! 1st: $300 / 2nd: $150 / 3rd: $75
$200 Course Record Bonus! Medals & $20 to Each Age Division Winner!

There’s still hope because there’s age division prize money to be had!  I check my age group winner from last year and realize this is totally do-able.

Race morning, literally the first thing we see is a man who appears to be part of the NYC track club.  Why do we think this?  Well because he is 10 feet tall, looks like he weighs 75 pounds, is wearing a full Nike track warm-up suit and is stepping out of a cab.  ABout 5 minutes later he’s joined by 4 or 5 of his speedy friends and they take off down the road to warm-up.  Their warm-up is the fastest I’ve ever run in my life.  This is a very cool thing to watch.  It’s like a pack of gazelles floating through the streets of Somers.

At the finish line!  I wasn't able to capture the gazelles on film!

At the finish line! I wasn’t able to capture the gazelles on film!

The temps were perfect at the start, about 50 degrees and the sun was peeking out.  It was a fast start, of course!  The course was pretty flat and consisted of a double loop (if you were doing the 5 mile) so you got to see the leaders fly by twice.  And fly they did!  There were many speedy men and women who were not part of the track club as well.  I held my place of sixth woman overall with a finish time of 33:05.

This is how the winners stacked up:

5K (3 miles)

Men: 14:03 Pace: 4:32  (seriously?  A 4:32 pace per mile?)

Women: 16:16  Pace: 5:15

5 mile

Men:  23:28  Pace: 4:42

Women:  27:47  Pace: 5:34

My time was good enough to win my age group and it was the second time I’ve ever received actual prize money for racing!  It was a crisp $20 that I showed off to my husband later…

A medal AND prize money.  Today was a good day.

A medal AND prize money. Today was a good day.

Me:  See this sweetie?  Now I’m winning actual money for racing!

Him:  That’s great dear except it cost you more in gas to get to the race.

Good point.

 

What’s your favorite sport?  What impresses you most about the top athletes in it?

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