Today was the Hot Chocolate Run in Northampton, MA. I ran this race last year with Justin, but this year we fielded a larger contingent. My wife and girls came for the race, and I ran with Justin and Christina, Val, Kathy, and Doug. Kathy’s family was able to join us too. After the race we all headed over to Fitzwilly’s and had a nice post-race beverage and lunch.
A brief recap only today. I ran what I thought was a mediocre race. I just didn’t ever feel like I was in my race groove. That being it said, it did start to snow a little bit somewhere between mile 1 and 2 and flurry or not, I thought that was really cool. I was hoping for some snow prior to the race.
I was also hoping for a somewhat better race time. Last week I was running mile repeats on the track in the 6:55 range, so why can’t I just string them together and come up with a sub 21 5K? Well, for one I guess is that my track workout was completely flat and the course naturally had some hills. The other obvious reason is that I had 800 meters to jog and recover between each of those mile repeats. Despite my lackluster day, compared to last year, I shaved off 2:24. I finished in 22:17 and placed 216 out of 1618. More importantly though I had a very enjoyable day with friends and family.
This race is the annual fundraiser for Safe Passage, an organization that provides support to women and children dealing with domestic violence. This year’s race raised $90,000 (a new record!!!!).
I went to bed last night feeling fine, but this morning I awoke with my nagging left lateral knee pain. My leg also felt a little weak coming down the stairs. I need to be more diligent about my IT Band stretching, because it is only going to get worse as my mileage increases for February’s marathon training.
It dawned on me that this was my last race for 2009. Kind of depressing. I managed to run 26 races in 2009. So how did I cheer myself up? Picked out my first 2010 race of course. Justin and I and hopefully Kathy and Val too are going to the Hangover Classic on New Year’s Day. What could be a better way to ring in the New Year than running a 10K with some friends and then jumping into the Atlantic Ocean Polar Bear Plunge-Style? Having that event sponsored by a beer company of course!
Below are some pictures. Click to enlarge:
Best buds before the race
My Oldest
Practicing for her future on the podium
Justin on the right
Me in Red
Chris coming in for her finish
Val and Kathy striding to the finish
Doug on the left
Aubrey and I
McKenna with the godparents
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