Thursday, August 23, 2007

Brie Burger in Paradise


First of all, I got a new running shirt. I figure a Pikagirl needs a Pikashirt - so when I took Mr. Pi into Hot Topic for back-to-school shopping, I never expected to find a shirt for me. Yet there it was, on sale. So while I may not be young, blonde and thin, I did wear it with my black running skirt and got compliments as well as a couple "Where did you get that?" squeals.

I really am enjoying the Marsh Post races this season - even these big ones with a ton of people. Tonight was the 4.2 mile Brie Burger in Paradise which included beer and a Buffett cover band along with the post-race cookout.

I wasn't sure how I'd do with the 4.2 mile distance. When I did the Reggae Ramble a couple of months ago, I wanted to bail because it was so hot out. Tonight it was cool, but it was really humid. I decided I would use the interval timer on my watch and run for 5/walk for 3 for the distance.

Now these races have a bit of a funky start. Hundreds of people and a two lane foot path along the Charles can be a bit harrowing, especially when you throw in kids on scooters chasing their folks, people with dogs and jogging strollers along with runners of all calibers. As Pauly, the race director says, it is what it is and I learned where I can start that has me far enough back so that I avoid the bulk of the pack. It's not perfect and the first walk break was a bit harrowing (I made sure to get as far to the right and that there was no one directly behind me before I walked), but after that the path widens and the crowd opened up enough that I was fine. My timing was good enough that I hit my walk break just as I got to the water stop.

All in all, I ran a 50:50 race for just over a 12 minute/mile pace - which I'm very happy with tonight.

Off to see if the rain delay has let up on the game. I hope it doesn't start too late, I don't want to fall asleep on the couch and miss most of it. :(

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Remind me to alert you when I get around to putting our Japanese-language Pikachu collectibles on eBay. ;)

BTW, I thought the model must be you until you said differently.

Nini said...

Good job with the race :)

How is your fall racing shaping up? I am trying to figure the same thing out...

JOJIT said...

I bet you look good on the otfit you bought!