Sunday, February 08, 2009

Race Report: 2009 Run for the Roses

It was a beautiful afternoon for a 5K, and I was registered for the Run for the Roses 5K in Raleigh! The race start was at 2 PM, so I was able to go to church first, and changed into my running clothes afterward so I could drive straight to Raleigh.

I arrived at the Halifax Community Center in plenty of time to find and meet Pauline, a Facebook friend and fellow runner, for the first time today! We've run in at least a couple of races together (including last year's RFTR) without meeting, so it was great to meet her today! I also saw Louise (from the Frozen 5K, the Resolution Run, and other races around here!) at the mid-point water stop. It was a treat to see a familiar face there--thanks for volunteering, Louise! Ray from the Apex Turkey Trot and other Second Empire Series 5Ks last year was out as well, and a newcomer to the Triangle struck up a conversation with me--turns out this was his first race since moving here from New Jersey. He was loving the weather, and his child was signed up for one of the kids' races following the 5K. (The kids races are always sooo cute!)

I knew today's race would be a little slow for me, coming at the end of a fairly high mileage week (didn't quite make 30 miles), a long run yesterday, and a pretty good workout on the recumbent bike at the gym this morning. Still, I was hoping to come in under 40 minutes. The hills in the race were a little tough as I remembered, but I stuck pretty closely to the 3:1 run/walk ratio I started with. (A couple of times I extended it to 4:1 or 5:1, if I caught the downside of a hill!) I ended up coming in at around 40:45, but am waiting for official results. While I'm a little disappointed in my time, it was great to run outside and see so many people out running!

UPDATE: Gun time was 40:50, chip time was 40:28.

1 comment:

Louise G said...

Excellent, Leslie! As you noted, I decided Run for the Roses was too tough for me. I recall last year dragging up the hills. Maybe next year I'll punish myself and run it again.

In looking at your workouts, I don't know how you do it! That is a lot of exercise! And to have a long run the day before a race? Some do and some don't. Your dedication is admirable.

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