CHILLY IN BURLINGTON!!

The Chilly Half-Marathon was a great race! It was a very nice flat course and despite the really cold weather (-15 oC with windchill) I had a very good time! On the morning of the race, I found myself very relaxed and not nervous at all. =) That was a good change from my previous races, I think I just felt confident about myself, the distance and the performance I could pull off. It was nice to see my friend Amanda at the startig line (thanks for coming!). I swore to myself before the race that I wouldn't start too fast.... but I did anyway... I don't know why but there is some sort of energy that takes over me and I can't rationalise my speed... oh well at least I didn't crash and burn! I was feeling like a speed racer though (9-9:10 min/mile for the first 4 miles). But then I couldn't maintain that pace (of course that's my 5K speed!!).

I started to lower my speed to 9:45 min/mile for the next few miles but then again I found myself, out of breath... The good thing is that my legs were feeling great. No knee problems, no shin splints =) Then we got to Lakeshore Rd for the last 5 miles and the wind was in our face the whole time up to the end! It was hard but everytime I wanted to slow down I kept saying to myself: "If you don't give your 100% you'll be disappointed" or "Pain is temporary, pride is forever".... I felt very strong mentally =) When I saw the 20K marker I speed up a lot but it look like the never ending 1.1K (apparently the markers were slightly off...). My official time is 2:10:59 (chip time)!!! I am soooooo HAPPY with my time!! It's right on my target time with an average pace of 9:59 min/mile. I am so glad that I train smart and hard as it paid off at the race! I PRed by about 13 minutes, I am so proud!! =)

The thing that I learned with this race, is that I am not a big fan of crowded courses, there was over 3000 people running and it was way too much for me. I like to have my own space and not have to fight for it... I'm guessing Around the Bay will be even more crazier than this but I'm a strong believer in "Gotta try something once to know you don't like it!".

Well thanks everyone for all the good wishes on the race! I had a blast and it felt good to be racing again! I'm even more excited for the marathon in May!