HMRRC winter series 15K race report.

When I woke up yesterday, the thermometer read 10 degrees. Yikes! I had 14 miles on the schedule and was planning to run 9.3 of them at the local winter series 15K and then tack on (some before, some after) an additional 5 miles.

But, 10 degrees? At the notoriously windy (and boring) winter series course? I didn't think I was up for it. I seriously considered bagging the race.

And then I remembered my own motivation that I posted on Saturday and I knew I had to suck it up and get out there and run! After all, I have big hopes for my marathon and that means I can't just give up when the weather is less than ideal. Right? Right.

I did, however, alter my plan a wee bit and opted to only run the 15K outside and save the additional 5 miles for the treadmill. I didn't want to get all sweaty from running 3 miles only to freeze while waiting to run the 15K. So that was the plan: 15K on the course, 5 miles at home.

At the race, I met up with a bunch of friends (and fellow crazy winter runners!) -- Amanda, Tami, Melissa, Elisa, Karen and Gail. Fortunately, the temperature had risen to 17 degrees during the race and -- very surprisingly -- it wasn't windy, so we all lucked out!

I set out to run with one goal: Don't fade in the second half.

The actual pace that I ran wasn't as important and running consistently. I wanted to run slower in the beginning, settle in to a comfortable pace, and then hold steady for the remainder of the race. Not fading is something that I really, really need to work on so yesterday's race was a perfect time to do so.

And I met with success! I felt great during the whole race and was able to maintain a fairly steady pace and -- yay! -- not fade in the second half. Here's a look at my splits:

Mile 1: 9:04
Mile 2: 8:31
Mile 3: 8:19
Mile 4: 8:23
Mile 5: 8:25
Mile 6: 8:07
Mile 7: 8:19
Mile 8: 8:16
Mile 9: 8:19
last .3: 7:31 pace

Finish time: 1:18:16, for an overall 8:25 pace.

Nice. I was pleased.

But you know what was really cool? Right after the race, a woman came up to me and said, "You looked great out there. I was trying to catch you but couldn't. You didn't even look like you were pushing at all."

Thanks, runner! I felt great out there so it was kinda cool to have someone notice :-)

When I got home, I hopped on the treadmill for 5 more miles, which I ran at a nice slow pace to bring my total mileage up to 14.3. One week closer to marathon day! 

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Teaser, teaser!!!! I've got a ton of reviews/giveaways coming up . . . starting with a Bob Harper-rific one tomorrow. Be sure to check back -- you'll want this one!

~ Felice