The race went as good, if not totally better than I ever would have hoped.

I finished with a time of 2 hours, 12 minutes and 42 seconds, which translates into a 10:07 mile pace. This is the fastest pace I’ve EVER clocked for ANY run, AND it was my farthest run ever, which makes me feel … just super, super great.

I finished the race feeling like I just hit everything spot on. Like I used up all of my energy when I crossed the finish line, but I was paced perfectly. The course was really flat and that helped a lot. I could just zone out and focus on pulling myself forward.

I woke up this morning after a restless dream that I had shown up to the event in shorts and a T-shirt and it was freezing cold outside. Then I bought a jacket and the temperature went up to 80. And I was late to the race because I was buying a jacket.

Suffice to say, I felt like I dressed really well for this race. It’s hard to figure how its going to be; you don’t want to overdress because it’s a drag to carry a jacket with you for miles and miles, but you don’t want to underdress because that’s miserable. 

The runways were open and flat, so there was a ton of wind. Even with my blood flowing, I was still really glad I had my jacket.

There were a lot of people on the course, and I was only alone for less than 20 minutes, close to the end. I found, especially in the beginning, having that crowd of people pulling me forward really help.

OH.

And 400 words into it I forgot to write about the best part of the race.

So Tony, my amazing husband, he got up with me at 6 a.m. and drove all the way to Brunswick and sat in the hangar at the airport for two hours while I raced. He is amazing. (Actually, that’s not even totally true, he was cheering me on out in the cold for two points.)

When I crossed the finish line, he was right there, taking a video. And then, he came around and gave me a hug and a 13.1 sticker, which he bought at the Maine Running Store while I was out racing. And it just felt so good to see him and even if he doesn’t share this crazy passion of mine, he was right there cheering me on and being proud of me.

After the race I met up with some of my friends, and some of their friends (who are now my new friends 🙂 at the Lions Pride in Brunswick. I had my first beer in a week. And it was a great day.