I ran in my first race yesterday! I had only been consistently training for a little over three weeks. I registered for the race and I didn’t let myself back out of it. The night before the race we got the first snow of the season, very prematurely! The trail on race day was icy! I had to be sure to take it easy whenever I saw ice, but whenever the trail was the slightest bit dry I stepped it up a notch. During the last few hundred feet of the race it was dry and I began sprinting. Nobody else around me did. SERIOUSLY, IT’S THE END OF THE RACE, GIVE IT YOUR ALL PEOPLE!

I actually did quite well for not training very long. I finished in nearly the upper quarter of my division (Females 20-29,) the upper quarter for my sex, and the upper third overall. While training my pace averaged around 9:48, but for the race it was 8:51! I think my pace during training was slower because I train on hills and my pace gets slowed down once I head back into town and I have to wait for traffic.

I can’t wait to race again! We’re supposed to get 2-4 inches of snow tomorrow, but I’m not going to let that get in the way of training! I’m not hitting the treadmill either. I’m going to tough it out outside for as long as I possible can. Only negative temperatures can stop me!