Outback Distance Classic

The weather gods smiled upon us... although it rained almost all of Sunday, for Saturday's 12K race we had no rain at all. It was probably in the low 70s but not too warm, and cloudy, which made me think the run would feel good. I did wear my Team In Training singlet and was happy to finally meet fellow Central Florida running blogger David. This was a really cool race, for a number of reasons-- most of all, I now feel a sense of running community that's not only virtual, as in addition to meeting David, I ran into a bunch of other local runners I knew, which was cool. A friend's four year old daughter was singing the national anthem, and she was adorable. It's nice to finally have some familiar faces to see.

The run itself was kind of difficult-- I finished in 1:05:13-- and I ran a little faster than I'd meant to, but in a race it's sometimes hard not to. At least I wasn't staring at my Forerunner the whole time, which was one goal I accomplished. I meant to take in the scenery more, but I also just wanted the race to be over, as the humidity seemed oppressive to me once I began running. I could feel the IT band bothering me toward the end, which further makes me think I need a break. 12K is a weird distance-- after 10K I would have been happy to quit, and those last 2K seemed to be stretching out in slow motion. I wanted to kill the guy who claimed the finish line "was just around the corner" when actually it was almost a mile away. Usually I enjoy the actual racing part of these events but this time it was a bit tough... although "tough" is good sometimes, too, because then you really feel like you accomplished something.

After cooling off a little bit, steak it was, and it was a fantastic dinner-- steak, chicken, rice, caesar salad, rolls, and a big ol' Fosters beer to help replenish those carbs.

I had convinced a friend to run her first race ever, the 3K fun run, and was squiring her around as various runners I knew through Team In Training, or through the local runner's club, came up to greet me. I was being a little protective, though, and refused an invitation to share dinner with some other runners because I was afraid we would talk about running the whole time, and I didn't want to turn off my friend, who is very tentatively exploring the joys of racing. Perhaps I was being over-protective, but I was afraid too many marathon tales of black toenails and chafing incidents might scare her away for good. I think she had a good time. I know I did. I convinced my husband to head over to the race after he got off work, and there was still lots of food to be had. All in all, this was a great race, even if the food (and not the running) became the central event for me. Even though the actual running was tough, the event was a lot of fun.

I'm also thinking no more races until the end of April, when there's a cool 5K race where your souvenir is a baby tree. Something related to the native ecosystems of Florida, and involving a special forest that is only opened once a year for this event. I would like to get into speedwork, but that's not compatible with the break I want to take, so maybe after a week or two of slow, careful running I'll think more about that.

I'm going to see about getting a bike, learning about kickboxing, and trying some of the other RBF cross training suggestions... still waiting for someone to tell me how to do "water running," or is it just what it sounds like?