2013 Race#1: Frozen Foot 5K series Elizabethtown, PA

     I wasn't sure how well I would do in this race, considering that I had the flu and bronchitis just a few days ago.  But, I had a couple of decent, cough-free runs this week, so I was optimistic that it would be okay.  I haven't been able to do any decent speed work leading up to this, so  PR was not likely in the cards.
     The weather was pretty good. 45 degrees, sunny, but windy: 16 miles/hr with gusts up to 45 miles/hr.  My husband was enlisted to go with me to this race, because I needed an official photographer to get some shots of me in my Oiselle singlet.  Although I have been part of this great team since Nov.1 of last year, this is my first race that I was able to don the singlet.  What an honor it was for me!  I had an extra dose of motivation just knowing that I was representing this great group of women.  My kids also came along, always eager to cheer on Mom!
     The race started at 2pm, and we live approx. 45 minutes from Elizabethtown.  We arrived at 1pm, picked up my race number, and waited for the race to start.  My second son, who is 10, went with me during my warmup. He runs track and cross country, and he likes getting me through my warm up run and dynamic moves to get me ready.  We warmed up for 20 minutes, and then it was time to line up for the race.  There were approx 300 runners at the race (just a guess- they said it was the largest turn out for this race).  I started out feeling good, went out a bit fast, but the first hill at 3/4 of a mile in slowed me down quite a bit.  It was a long, gradual hill that finally finished at the mile mark.  First mile split: 7:52.  The second mile was tough, more hills and my lungs were starting to feel it. Maybe I wasn't completely recovered from being sick.  Second split: 8:22.  I was glad to know I just had one mile to go.  My breathing was heavy, but luckily they hills were not as bad in the last mile, with some down hill near the end.  My husband and son each had a camera at the end and snapped a couple pictures at the end.

I pushed as much as I can, with the last mile split being 8:11.  Time on my Garmin was 25:26.  Not a PR, but a solid effort. 
     This is #1 of 3 races, the next races will be on Feb.17 and March 17. Now that I know the course, I hope to improve my time.  I have speed work in my schedule, and the wind most likely won't be an issue for all the races. 
  Overall, this was a good race.  It seemed well organized, with water and chicken soup for the racers at the end.  As I don't eat meat, I handed off soup to my kids so that they could warm up.  They loved it!  If I complete all 3 races, I will receive a long sleeved technical tee in March.  I am looking forward to completing the series, and hopefully getting a PR out of it!