Reggae Ramble Race Recap

WOOOO! Unintentional alliteration! Now THAT is a way to start off a Friday!

The rain has been relentless here in Boston for the last month or so. Just when we think it's over and Summer is finally here - MORE rain and damp/raw weather. So last night I sat at my desk at work, shutting down for the weekend (I'm on vacation today and Monday!) and looking at the clock trying to decide whether I wanted to race or not.

All my friends were doing another race in Quincy that I couldn't humanly commute to in time without leaving work at noon (I exaggerate...), so I knew I'd only be doing the Reggae Ramble to run it - not for the party afterwards. Would it be worth it?

I looked out the window, I made a pro/con list in my head, I thought about what I would do if I didn't race and all signs pointed to "put on your tights and sneakers, suck it up (and in), and go race."

To my pleasant surprise, as I was getting out of my car I bumped into my friend Gordon. Someone I know! He even hooked me up with a hat (I forgot mine) and as we were walking to his car, we saw the one and only Larry. TWO people I know!

We all walked over to the start line together and I was complaining about how stiff and tired I was feeling, noting that it was certainly not going to be a race where I PR. Gordon pointed out that every race can't be a PR and he was certainly right, as usual.

The race started, we were on our way and I was hating life for every step of the slightly more than 5 miles we ran. The humidity made my breathing labored, I was over-dressed and could feel too-hot air coming back out of my lungs as I exhaled, my arms were clammy, my legs were tired and I had that "I didn't fuel enough beforehand" sensation of there not being anything on the insides of my ribs/abdomen. Plus, I only got about 4 and a half hours of sleep the night before and had survived my day on lattes. I was literally running on empty and feeling my pace start to drop little by little. I wasn't running for a PR or even a decent time, though, so I really didn't care, although I kept looking behind me to see if I was in last place. As I approached the third water stop of the day, I heard one volunteer look at another and say "slow runners now" and I felt even worse!

I didn't wear the Garmin because of the rain and I had forgotten to start my watch until we were a good 30-45 seconds into the race, so I wasn't looking or paying attention to time. I thought for sure I was running around an 8:45/9 minute mile and totally OK with being around Marathon Pace instead of somewhere in between 5K and 10K Pace. Imagine my surprise to finally cruise through the finish chute and see 40:45 on the clock as I passed it. Huh???? Sweet :) As I've mentioned before, times are somewhat unofficial for this race series and Cool Running will tell you I ran a 40:50 at an 8:10 pace. I like the idea of the 40:45 I saw on the clock much better, though, so that's what I'm going to stick with.

Beer always tastes amazing after a hard race and it tasted EXTRA good last night because I ran so well when I thought I hadn't. Even though it was pouring, Gordon, Peggy, Larry and I had ourselves a grand old time drinking in the rain, and Gordon's dog umbrella that had come in so handy at Stowe last year even made a comeback appearance. And yes, I was glad I went after all :)