The Mid-Winter 10 Mile Classic is one of my favorite races. I haven’t done it for about 2 years, so I was pretty excited about the day.
Plus, I needed a race. Something about a race helps you to refocus a little and remember you are doing all of this training for something.
I showed up early so I could volunteer at check-in. I love check-in, it is a sure way to see all the awesome folks who are at the race that you really want to see and PLUS you get to meet all kinds of great people.
Jen and I pre-race
Michelle and I
Jen, Jake & I – I’m the short one..
It was great to see Jake, Jen (thanks for the pictures!), Michelle, Katie, Ange, Maggie, Andra, and Steve. I didn’t get pictures of all of us, but anyway, it was a blast.
It seemed pretty warm from what I am used to, so I decided to go with 1 pant layer and no gloves. I think it was 20 degrees? I am not sure. It seemed like a good idea anyway.
I walked out to the starting line with Katie and Maggie, then ran into Jen and Michelle. I decided I had seeded myself far enough back so I stayed put and hung with them.
We all started yapping, kind of not paying attention, and then the gun went off.
Oh. I guess it is time to run now.
I didn’t have a plan at all. I kind of decided I was just going to run how I felt, hoping to be around 1:30 or so. My PR here is 1:25, but my knee was wonky last week and so I just felt like treating it as a training run.
Jen ran with Michelle and I for a bit, and then she was zipping on ahead.
I ran with Michelle for a few miles, we are both PAINFULLY camera shy…
OHHHH CAMERA!
Like I said…shy…
Now, the truth is…I do not usually run with anyone, I actually can be kind of jerky about it because I really like to run alone, but running with Michelle was perfect!!
I was having a blast chatting away with her, she is a riot. I think we were on a 9:30ish pace, which I was happy with, especially on the hilly early miles of this race.
Besides, I didn’t have a plan or a goal time, right?
We ran together until around mile 6, at which point, I started feeling…well, GREAT.
I have no idea where it came from, but suddenly, I needed to RUN hard.
I told Michelle that I would meet her at the finish line, and I started running stronger.
I don’t know what it is with me, I have to run a freaking hour before I feel like I can really run hard.
What was crazy is that I just started picking people off, passing them one after another, I quit counting after 20. This isn’t normal for me at all – to pass anyone. I am usually the passee, not the passer.
I have no idea of what my pace was, I just know it was strong for me.
At mile 9, I started looking for Manny the Moose. He always is there at this race, at the base of the last hill, holding a sign that says something funny. Like this:
I run this race to see this guy…
He wasn’t freaking there. I almost stopped in my tracks.
No “Giddy up” no “Haaad Caw” no “All Hands on Deck” to occupy our minds and get us up that last mile.
Sigh. What a bummer.
The other bummer was that the timer said 1:23:something.
Crap.
I have to run about a 7 minute mile to get to the finish line in 1:30:something.
Suddenly, this was very important to me.
I am such a moron, I decide to have a goal time 9 miles into a 10 mile race. I am not sure how this makes sense at all.
Putting aside my grief over the omission of the stuffed moose holding a sign, I pressed on, increasing my pace in the last mile, trying hard to slowly get faster and faster without completely burning my legs out. I turned into the school towards the finish line, and once around the first corner, started running with all I had.
Final time: 1:30:58
I’ll take it.
Thanks for reading!
you are wicked speedy on the race report! mine won’t get done until later this week!! Love the pics–we sure are shy! lol Thanks for running with me as long as you did, I did have a great time. Next year, I’m going to be better.
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I usually hate running with people too, although Colleen is REALLY fun to run with! Way to go on a super run! You rocked that last mile in a blistering time! Great job!
Congrats on a great race
i cant believe they didnt have the moose!! sarah and i were spectating but ran back along the course to get our pic with him… to find a stupid clock and 9 mile sign. dumb. there better be a good reason it wasnt there, and it best be there next year. my favorite sign has been “free pizza ahead” hehe. nice run!
WTF on the moose not being there (-:
Great race Mandy! I’d of tapped out if it was “only” 20*
I thought mid winter in Maine is in April?
You can’t have enough meese in a race.
I was disappointed the moose wasn’t there too! Was he there last year? I don’t remember. Great job on the run!!!! Wish I would have known you were there!!!!
it makes me sad that you are so shy.. lmao LOVE the pics of you. Nice job on the race!
no manny??? what is up with that? congrats on a great race though, i can tell that you were having so much fun out there!!
haha, I love your “camera shy” pictures – those are awesome! Looks like you were having a blast out here.
Congrats!
Very nice pictures! I like the quote about the race: “remember you are doing all of this training for something”. That is true.
Congrats for the good job on the race.
I’m a super sucky blog commentor these days too…obviously!
Hey, great race and I love how you implemented a race strategy 9/10 into the race – definitely my kind of girl!!! I saw your pics on FB and loved all the smiling pictures…you had a blast and that’s what matters most. The great finish time was just the icing. Well done, chica!!
Definitely email me and let me know when you’re in town. I work a CRAZY amount right now so if I know far ahead when you’re coming, I can be sure to have a window available to see ya. Hope it works out!!
Miss you!
What a great freaking race!! For me, I think when I go into a race with zero expectations is when I do my best! Things just kinda fall into place and great things happen! It’s funny that our 10 mile times are pretty much within 30 seconds of each other. So my next question is, are you on blizzard watch? Although, I’m sure you have the chains out on your tires and never take them off this time of year anyway. Porter is probably waiting anxiously for the blizzard.
Thanks for your kind words on my blog about Ironman. I’m signed up for the one in Wisconsin and it’s a ways off yet I know, but my husband is really struggling with the idea. He was excited when I signed up and he’s ok with my training some of the time but not all of the time. I can’t really fault him, after all, I am asking for him to carry more than his fair share but training for an Ironman is tough enough without having the extra burden of always wondering if he is going to see me through to the end of this rainbow. Right now, I’m getting up at 4:30 / 5 each morning to get most of my training done by the time the kids need to be woken up so I can take them to school. The good part here is that my daughter has swim team practice each afternoon so I swim while she practices. I know in a few months, when the training load is upped that I’ll have a new bridge to cross. Working mothers do complete these things, I know it’s possible, I just need to know that everyone is on board this train, and until they are, I just can’t leave the station.
Good analogy maybe. Anyway, I just didn’t want to have a roller coaster of a blog. Maybe if things straighten themselves out, I can start it back up. Find me on Facebook if you can…. Julie Coy Martinez. Thanks again. What you said really helped.