race report - Boston's Run to Remember

yesterday i ran Boston's Run to Remember. with what felt like 20,000 other people. there were a few short and touching speeches about the marathon bombing victims, as well as Officer Sean Collier, the MIT officer who was killed. many runners wore his number, #179, as an extra bib on their backs. it was pretty cool to see and be a part of all that love and support.

the only other race i've done that was as crowded as the RtR is the Cap10k in Austin. that race traditionally brings 20-25,000 people out in sneaks and costumes to trot around downtown atx.  the RtR wasn't much different--though the costumes were more patriotic.

my time for for the first mile was 13:15 due to the crowds. we were jam packed in there like cattle coming in to the corral. it was so crowded there wasn't even any use to weaving around to find more space. there just wasn't more space.

thus i sat back and bobbed up and down like the rest of the 20k people and waited for things to open up. things never 'opened-up' in the true sense--this was the most crowded HM i've ever done. but they did spread out sufficiently in mile two for me to settle into a nice, easy rhythm, whilst maintaining constant vigilance about not stepping on/into other people.

i had a blast cheering for the other runners and thanking the volunteers. i think my favorite part of the race was running along the half-mile stretch of memorial drive where patrol cars were lined up with lights flashing. in front of each car was a uniformed police officer with arm extended. policeman high-fives for half a mile? yespleaseandthankyou!! it was so much fun getting to see them smile and enjoy all of the compliments. "Nice uniform!" "thank you for your service" "i think i love you!"

my hand hurt by the end of the half mile, but it was totally worth it :)

mile splits went something like this: 13:15; 10:30; 10:00 and then between 09:20 and 09:50 (depending on runner traffic) for the rest of the race, with a final time of 2:11:30. it comes out to a 10:02 average pace, which is exactly what i was shooting for. and i kept my HR and RPE super low the whole time.

overall i'm very pleased with the race. yes, i know i could have run significantly faster and massively PR'd. no doubt in my mind there. but just knowing that is enough right now. 3 years ago, i was running about this pace, but i was pushing myself hard to achieve it. now i'm running the same pace as a long slow run, and i'm not even sore the next day. it is just TOO COOL to see my fitness changing. thank you, legs, for carrying me this far!

i wish i could leave this blog post as happy-go-lucky as it deserves to end, based on my race yesterday, but alas, 'tis not the case.

i got into a minor house-hold accident yesterday about 4pm (read: i am a hopeless klutz / have zero proprioreception abilities). i'm fixin' to head over to urgent care for x-rays, and will update you when i know what's wrong.

until then... send this girl some good juju, wouldya?  besos xox