Mid Winter Classic 10 miler

So if my computer/blogger account had been anything but dysfunctional for the past month you all would know of my struggles in preparing for this race.
Horrible weather, kinda crummy speed work, limited road running time and a general feeling of unpreparedness prompted me to give up the idea of racing and resign myself to the fact that, at best, this could be a run with friends and a bit of speed work.

The day dawned as perfect as anything we have seen in months. Dudes, it was 40 degrees by race time! And, for the first time on MWC history there was no wind- miraculous!

I'm so peeved about my blogging issues as of late. All of my adoring fans are not in the know about my race prep and feelings about how I was going to do! This picture will tell you...

Heh heh. 

So let's talk about how this played out.

Eric and I arrived on time. Yes, be impressed. Danielle knows how rare it is for me to show up on time!

Right away we saw friends and the photos began in earnest! It isn't a race unless we have proof for the internet that we are all there.

OK let's see how I do with names.
Me. My new bestie Michelle. Some sexy beast of a man. Jen, Carrie, Jill. Another girl. Stacey maybe? I suck...

I FINALLY FINALLY met Michelle, my internet buddy of "unimpressed" Christmas photo fame. She pretty much is the best. She arrived in time to see some of my finer moments like falling over chairs, spilling Gatorade all over everything and then post race she caught me taking off the majority of my sweaty clothing in the middle of the cafeteria (well, everyone saw that...) I feel I made a solid first impression.
And why we did not take an "unimpressed" picture together I will never know. Missed opportunity!

I think I saw everyone I know and it was delightful. Danielle was there to crush her PR in the middle of a long run (showoff) and we had a joyful reunion. I miss her and am SO damn happy that she's back in the game this year- and killing it! And yes, Andy was there and he photobombed us per the norm.

Me, Danielle and Creeper McCreeperson!
JK love ya Andy. :-)

Shockingly I did not miss the start, despite my social meanderings. Everyone was feeling frisky and took off absurdly fast. Well, everyone is but me! I held my first 2 miles in the low 8's- which felt pretty relaxed. I ran with Michelle for a bit and we exchanged ladylike stories and told lovely tales about how we enjoy spitting and snotting all over the road, how we have a mutual hatred for non stop sponsored blog posts and how we planned to win the race. (not...) At mile 2 or so we exchanged a telepathic message that it was time to go our own ways and we did. (Eric calls that "me being a jerk!" I call it "we are doing our own thing!")

So I ran a ways and things were fine. I caught Eric and Andy at mile 3 and asked Eric if he wanted me to be his rabbit, to which he replied "I don't care." I took this to be a clear sign that we were doing our own thing, and that he and Andy could wage a twin war just fine without me! So along I moseyed.

Mile 5. The face of a focused, dedicated athlete.
Riiiiiiiiiight..
However it is a picture of someone who has improved her running form, shockingly.

Honestly, and boringly not much happened. I did pick up the pace gradually but was very cautious to not be a dick an blow my legs on a training run. I am a dumb jerk who likes to do that! I did want a few sub 8 miles and as it turns out, a few turned into 8. I never felt too aggressive though and I gave myself several small breaks to evaluate and catch my wheezing gasping breath (kidding. I wasn't pushing that hard, gosh!)

Things did get fun at mile 8. In the distance, all bright and shiny in hot pink and neon green I saw Danielle! And decided to catch her.... I plugged along slowly gaining ground until, with about 100 meters to go I was one step behind her. She did a double take and said something flattering like "Oh shiiiiiit..." which I took to mean she was happy to see me! I knew she was really glad I was there when she suddenly turned on some turbo boosters and ran like the freaking wind to totally out kick me. Hah! It was awesome. So when she is going for a huge BQ this spring I will show up at mile 25 or so to activate the same kind of reaction. The girl is scary fast... (thus far, I can't find pics of our epic finish. but I will.......)

Anyway. I finished and even though I ran a 1:15:56 I was 40 seconds off my PR. It was cool though, I was happy the run went well since nothing I have done lately in training indicated it would be a good day. To be brutally honest with myself, it was a bit of luck, a nice weather day and not much else. I've been developing some stronger legs lately but this particular day was more or less a perfect storm. A nice confidence boost though so I'll take it. Eric says I sandbagged but that isn't true. As I said, my training runs had me predicting a 1:25-1:27 finish. I got lucky. There will be more excellence to come in the future though after I put in some more time and work out there on the brutal terrain of my lovely town...

Eric and Andy ran thru a couple minutes behind us with the rest of the gang to follow along shortly thereafter.
Then the post race shenanigans began! I bumped into a reader who claims to be more middleaged than I am, haha (nice to meet you! I'm always excited that it isn't just Eric and my Dad who read my blog...) I talked a little trash to a super speedy Ironman friend (who then challenged me to a rematch... um I think I'm busy that day...) I gave diet advice to the world at large "Cake and WINE people, that's the way to not get too skinny!" (true story) An that was pretty much THAT. Well, there were more pictures- duh. This was really an excellent day to see friends and document our every move!

I think Michelle, Kristal AND Danielle ALL PR'd.
Sweet baby Jesus, you kids are rockstars. 

So a few weeks until the Hampton Half. I'm desperately hoping for more outdoor days of running and warmer temps. This was a nice boost and confirmation that I'm on the right track but I feel that I have a lot of work ahead of me to get where I want to be. Good motivation, right?