10 on the 3(3)rd

We couldn't have asked for better weather for the Mid-Winter 10 mile Classic. 35 degrees, no wind, overcast. Perfect. Arriving an hour before the start, we went through the typical pre-race routine: got our packets and nice long-sleeve wicking t-shirts, hit the bathrooms, did a bit of stretching amidst the throngs of racers (691 finishers), went for a brief warm-up, met a fellow Bowdoin alum (it's a small world in southern Maine!), put on our timing chips, another trip to the bathroom, more stretching, final bathroom trip and then a quick jog to the start, just in time. Phew. The gun went off, and away we went! The first mile was a bit uphill with a few rolls, but despite that, with all the crowds of people around me taking off quickly, I went through a bit faster than I would have liked, 7:40. Oh boy. Time to take it down a notch. The next mile was pretty hilly, and that slowed me down a bit naturally, so I hit 2 miles at 16:00. OK. That's better.

Hmmm... Well, I felt pretty good. Maybe I could keep up 8-minute miles for the rest of the run. It was worth a shot. The course mellowed out a bit, and the next few miles went by relatively smoothly with me hitting 8-minute miles pretty consistently. Cool. I got passed, I passed a few people, I caught up to a few more, and the miles kept flowing. I also, as usual, managed to to get into these strange voids between packs of people throughout the race. I am not sure why, but this seems to happen to me often during races. My theory is that once I get at a comfortable pace, I can quite literally keep at that pace without much effort, and even if I feel I'm going faster or slower, I'm usually not and am steadily plodding along, as other surge and drop around me. Who knows...

I was feeling pretty tired by mile 7, but was still keeping a pretty even pace. At mile 8, I noticed my right arch feeling a bit tender. Turns out I had a nice nickel-size blister there. Ugh. Anyway, knowing I was nearing the end, I tried to keep up the pace and when we hit mile 9, I really wanted to pick it up... Well, most of mile 9 was uphill, and although I could see the big line of runners in front of me, I could not quite manage to pick many of them off. Oh well. I kicked it in as much as I could during the final stretch, even managing to smile when Snowman's "Happy Birthday" reached my ears right before the finish line. What a birthday morning :-)

My time was 1:20:39 (8:04 pace); 293 of 691 and 16 of 44 women in my age group. I'm pretty happy with that! Meanwhile, Snowman did awesome, putting out a great effort and finishing in 1:12:15 (136th). Wow! You can check out the final results here. If you're ever looking for a good mid-winter run, this is it. The Maine Track Club put on a great race!

After the race, both of us were feeling pretty dead. A bit more exertion than expected perhaps, with my pace taking more effort than I would have liked. After stretching and showering, we had some pizza and ice cream and headed south to Neal and Kendra's in Boston to watch the game. Snowman drove while I slept in the passenger seat. Boy was I tired! Anyway, hanging out with those guys was a good way to end the day, even if the game's conclusion left something to be desired. All in all, a wonderful birthday, complete with a good run, phone calls from my friends and family (thanks guys!) and a good dinner too! No complaints here :-)