 posted Dec-01-2007 08:56 PM
  
Mayor Higgins Hot Chocolate Run for Safe Passage
December 1, 2007
5k
28F air temp with wind gusts between 15 and 30mph and wind chill factor between 10F-15F, bright sunshine142/850 overall with chips** (no chip—no time and some didn’t get chips) 7/109 women 40-49---- 22:10 gun time and 21:58 chip time
Not a PR but my goal was under 22 minutes and I did it (post-college 5k PR is a 20:16 in 1988----some day again?) Winning male time was a 15:29 (4:58 pace)
Winning female time 18:04 (5:48 pace) **1123 runners/1071 walkers Long version (acknowledging that shorter races seem to get more words than the longer ones as I look at my previous two race reports!) Sorry The morning started off at 5 AM to get everyone fed, watered and ready for a hockey game and then the various weekend plans. We headed to Springfield, MA in two cars so I could get to the race in time. I watched the first 40 minutes of CNYrunner son’s hockey game including a heart stopping moment when he was slammed onto the ice after a whistle. The other kid got a major penalty and my guy got right up and skated over to the bench. I could tell that he was upset by the crimson shade of his face. I was proud that he got back up and kept going, but my mother’s heart just about flew out of my body. Mr. CNYrunner is a former pond hockey player and he coaches and referees, so I know the deal. I also used to work at St. Lawrence University where hockey is Division I and the team members are either from Canada or Minnesota, but still…. My heart was racing and didn’t really slow down until much later in the day-----not a race factor, but I was pretty hyper. I gave my boy the thumbs up as I left the rink and drove back to my town and parked at a friend’s house. She lives a mile away from the race start and her whole family (4 kids and husband) all participated in this 5k. We trotted down to the start and picked up our chip cards (never seen race chips like these). This race has grown from about 400 participants 4 years ago to more than 1,500 in the 2-mile walk and 5k run combined. The wind was whipping up and I was pretty chilled. I told my friend I would see her at the finish and I went off to meet Dark Horse and Dark Colt. I suggested we meet in front of a church near the race start and there they were. Dark Horse is even taller than I realized (even with the helpful “to-scale” photo at the Beers house this summer). Bear in mind that on a good day, I am 62 inches. Dark Colt is fabulous and even cuter than his pictures reveal. I realize that a mother-type calling an 11 year-old boy “cute” is hardly cool, but I can’t help it. We all shook hands and chatted a bit as I tried to keep my teeth from chattering. I really wanted CNYrunner son to meet Dark Colt and run with me, but it was not to be. Hockey is all consuming and he does need to stay committed to his team. I promised Dark Horse that I would still try. He can tell you more about our conversation, but all I’ll say is that he is quite simply awesome and clearly quite caring when it comes to family. Back to the race…..the race went off just after 10 AM and even though they posted seeding and pace placards this year (I lined up at the 22:00 flat section), I still got caught a bit. That’s okay by me and I just did my best to keep it going. The marathoner in me has always been frustrated with the 5k even though this is the distance I raced in college. I just try to start fast, run faster still and hang on for dear life---that about summarizes each mile. This race goes up through Main Street and then curves up near Smith College and toward a town park, making a loop that starts going downhill back near the start area. The volunteers and spectators were great and braved some pretty fierce winds to cheer us on and direct us. First mile was a 7:20----Trying to find a good position here and get into some sort of rhythm Second mile 6:56----Self--talk mantra was “Surge, Surge” ---straight into the wind and all 107 pounds of me was trying not to play Kite girl Third mile---Includes a screaming downhill---here is where I practiced my coach’s advice---run like a child---loose at the ankles and scream down the hill---arms low, lean forward and fly Finish straight….Rounded the final corner and saw on my watch that I could scoot under 22 minutes. Did my best imitation of a finish kick and still got passed by loud booming IPOD woman, but still happy. It felt like someone threw a match down my throat, but the legs were fine and I started thinking I could have pushed even harder----another time! I told Dark Horse I would loop back onto the course and he saw me before I saw him. Dark Colt was moving along well and they finished in fine form---Dark Colt running the longest race he has run in a long time with a smooth striding Dad at his side. If the knee(s) were hurting, he didn’t say. We met up for a bit afterwards with our race mugs full of hot chocolate. All good. We chatted a bit more and then the bitter winds scattered the crowd soon after the winning names were announced. I met up with my friend and we ran back to her house via a 2-mile route. Six miles total for the day. A perfect Saturday all in all----some family activity, a race, a Boomer meeting and an afternoon of warming back up. I have $5 riding on whether CNYrunner son has a snow day on Monday. Thanks for reading all this and as always for the support and good humor! P.S. My son’s hockey team won today’s game. He plays again tomorrow morning at 6:50 AM….time to get some sleep!
[This message has been edited by CNYrunner (edited Dec-01-2007).]
IP: Logged |
but i completely agree! (and at 62" on a good day, i can dream back to the days when i was a 107lb kite, about 10 lbs ago 
