Mad Recap

The M.A.D. Race was well, a little mad!  Glad I ran the 10K because the Half Marathoners actually ran 15 miles! There was a little confusion as to where to turn.  This was the first year for this race so they have a few bugs to iron out.  However, everyone who ran seemed in good spirits which made for a good day.

The night before the race I was a little nervous.  Even though I was just treating it as a training run I was still worried. I was worried my hips and back would start hurting, and my legs seemed to be tight, and I was running by myself.  I was talking with my dad via text that night and his last words were, "start slow and finish."  Ok. I can do that.

I got there early because it wasn't clear where my race started and, well because I am a nervous nellie.  One of my first races I did the start time was listed differently on the web site I looked at and it actually started a half hour earlier than what I had read.   Luckily, my friend and I decided to show up a half hour early the day of the race,  but it wasn't early enough. We were yelling at our husbands to let us out of the car so we could run with the rest of the group, and her husband said no that would be cheating you have to start at the starting line! So I get a little nervous.  It was good I did get there early because I had to park a half mile from the starting line. I figured it was a good warm up.  As much as I stretched I still felt tight and it was worrying me.

The race began and we all started out.  I love the excitement in the air just before the race and during the first few minutes of the race.  I started out slow and ran very cautiously.  I felt really good throughout the race and tried to keep a level head and not get discouraged by anything.  There was a lady that kept running ahead of me and then stopping to walk and then I would pass her.  So I told her if we just kept playing leap frog the rest of the way we could keep each other going.  After that we ran together and pushed each other to the end of the race.  My little sprint to the finish felt really good and I believe I could have run a little harder, but hey, it was just another training run I will have to sign up for a "real" race in the future!

This was a good first race of the season.  I needed the boost of confidence that I could run 6 miles and live to tell about it.  I think I needed to go by myself and do a run alone and get myself through it.  It was also good to be among other runners and I think for the first time I didn't compare myself to other runners. I had a good time and I'm excited to sign up for more races.  

Until the next race... Keep running!