Labor Day 10 Miler

If you had asked me yesterday how far I was going to run today I would have told you 20 miles.  Well after a difficult night sleep and not feeling spot on this morning I decided to cut it in half.

I am trying to get my mile up so I will be ready for the Amica Marathon in Newport, RI in mid-October.  I did 19 miles last Sunday and hopefully will get in a 21 mile run next weekend.  This will be my second full marathon.  I only trained to 21 miles for my first back in May.  I really want to get beyond that for this one.

Two weeks after the Amica I have the Marine Corps Marathon.  So my October is a little marathon heavy.  I will probably throw in a few shorter distances after that before heading to Disney World in January for Marathon Weekend!  So that is marathon 2, 3, 4, and 5 will be Rock 'n' Roll USA in DC in March.  I am going to try and be up for all this running, because I certainly have signed myself up for quite a bit of it!

Now that being said...back to today's run...the photo blog!  I had a beautiful mid-day 10 mile run on the East Bay Bike Path along the northern shore of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island!  I love going for longer runs on holidays.  It gives you time to think.

Pomham Rocks Lighthouse - Now

They are adding more signs along the path - so Pomham Rocks Lighthouse then

The sentries standing watch keeping the inhabitants of the cove in check!
All I could think was who needs a zoo!

The swans are out year round.
The mate and youngster were not far away.

Providence

This bike path goes to Providence!
Runners welcome!

The Brown University Boat House

The smallest tugboat on the upper bay.

arches and lines - greens and blues - water and shy
The balance of it all makes me happy.

Wind power - Our winds sometimes come out of the west,
but more often they are from the north or south
and watch out for the winds from the east!

The path is busy on a day like today, but everyone does their best to get along: cyclists, runners, walkers, roller bladers, fishermen...but bike lane rules apply (ride right, walk left).

10K coming up

I have been so focused on my next big race, the Jamestown Half which is part of the UnitedHealthCare Triple Crown, that I am not really focused on the10K I am running on Tuesday for the 4th of July.  Yes I have been working on a costume for the race.  It is a holiday race after all and deserves a costume.  But other than that I am treating it as a fun run.

The race is the HarvardPilgrim Health Care Finish at the 50 (10K, 5K & kids race).  The kids are going to do a lap around the inside of Gillette Stadium for the kids race at 3:30 pm before my race goes off at 6:00 pm.  There are all kinds of family friendly activities that are happening in conjunction with the event and we are really looking forward to the event.  http://www.harvardpilgrimfinishatthe50.com/

Interestingly this is the first 10K I have raced since I ran the Race for the Taste 10K at Disney in October 2009.  I have come a long way with my running since then.  I remember finishing that race and telling everyone that I would never travel to Disney for a race any longer than 10K.  Well look at me now!  2 runDisney Princess weekends later and headed into Marathon weekend signed up to do Goofy with a 100% chance that I will go for Dopey!  I have come a long way and I am looking forward to even better things!

Sometimes it is okay for a race to just be a fun run!  When did you last run a race just for fun?

St. Patrick's Race 5K

The day dawned windy and cold, but thankfully the snow storm never materialized!  I suited up and headed to the course with the whole family.  I took my husbands advice and actually went for a warm-up run.  Miraculously after only 9 minutes of running I could tell that I was over dressed.  Toward the end of the race I learned that I probably did not need the hat or the gloves, but boy was I glad I had them the first mile.  I lined up with the 8 minute runners and when the race started took off like a shot.  Or as much of a shot as I could muster.  My first mile split was something like 7:15.  I knew I had better settle in a little bit more than that = slow down a bit.  The second mile includes a downhill into a neighborhood and then the required uphill to get back onto the same road for the return.  Then it was back to the capitol where we had started.  About halfway back the road bends and you can see the capitol in the distance.  There is something uplifting and down-heartening about seeing your destination...so far off. Well it is only a matter of time and distance right, so onward I went and you know what...in a short while I was finished!  Amazing how that works! 

At the start line!

The start line is on Smith Street right in front of the State Capital.

Getting my medal (kind of a funny shot)

Happy runner - the medal blends in with the outfit.

These are the raw stats - They had a chip mat where you could call up your info post race.  It differed from the printed sheets.  I need to check and see if they have posted the final results.  But how cool is that right!?!
Have you seen this at any of your races?

The official stats (I guess the chip mat computer trumped the printed sheets):

24:05 time 

24:10 gun time

455 place overall

7:46 pace

17 in my new age group

76th woman out of just over 2,100!

There were 3,576 run/walkers who crossed the start & finish line.

Fantastic run all in all, on a fantastic 40th birthday!  Oh did I neglect to mention that elsewhere?