Harrisburg Mile Results

Ever have that feeling you are forgetting something?  You just keep thinking there's something you should do, but you can't remember exactly what that could be?  That's what happened to me last week.  I wrote the hype post about the Harrisburg Mile, then never told you how it went.  Dork.  Thanks to Nicole for reminding me about that.

So, it was a warm night.  Not awful, but I had a feeling it wouldn't be as pleasant as I would like.  When we got to the starting area, to our surprise, was a really nice breeze.  I was impressed.  And happy.  :-)  We got there about 45 minutes before our time (the start was staggered based on age or the corporate challenge.  Our start time was 7:15 p.m.).  It was good we got there early as we ran into two people we knew.  It was great fun actually seeing people we are friends with.  That never happens! 

We lined up about 7:10 p.m. just waiting for the start horn.  And I mean horn.  They use an air horn as the starting bell.  LOL!  At 7:15 p.m. the horn went off and we ran.  I run slow.  Always have, probably always will.  But, it was nice this year as there were two other people who were running about my pace.  Yea!  I say that because my hubby was running it to race not to keep me company. 

I had my Garmin with me to help me keep a consistent pace.  I started off fast (for me) at 6.2 miles per hour.  I can't keep that up for long and I didn't, but I hit the 1/4 mile marker at 2:35ish, which is the fastest 1/4 mile time I've ever had.  I was psyched!  What was funny was it felt like the 1/4 mile marker came up so quickly too!  Then it was off to the 1/2 mile marker, which also came up faster than I thought it would.  I got to the 1/2 mile point at 5:30, which again is the fastest I've done 1/2 mile.  Crazy!  As I came up to the 3/4 mile marker, I was all excited to see how I was doing.  And they didn't have a working clock and the person with the stop watch wasn't giving times.  Grrrrr... Garmin said I was about 8:45, which is again a record.  :-)  I was having a fantastic race!

Now I'm coming up to the finish line.  This was the only part of the race when I thought the end wasn't coming fast enough.  LOL!  I got around the curve and saw the end in site.  It was glorious and I was in the 11 minute range.  WHAT????!!!!????  I had no thoughts I would manage to run the Mile in 11 something minutes.  So, I booked it.  I ran faster than I ever ran before in my life.  I wanted to be on the mat before the clock went to 12 minutes.  And according to Garmin, I was at 11:59.  I did it!  I so wanted to run the Mile in under 12 minutes, but not having run in two weeks, I had no thought it would happen.  Oh, I was so excited!

After the race, I desperately needed water.  Went to the water station and they were out.  Oh so mad.  When I complained about that, she told me to have some of the ice they used to keep the bottles (when they had them) cold. Uh, no.  Ewww!  We then tried to get some water from an ice cream truck, but the girl was chatting with a friend and apparently didn't want the business.  We started to leave and she said she would help us.  Yea, no thanks.  So, we just hit the beer tent for a drink.  It was cold, thank heavens!

We had one beer, then off to dinner.  Tradition dictates we head to the diner on the way home for breakfast foods.  :-)  Had yummy french toast and then a donut.  LOL!  We earned them this night!

Running

Three years ago I started running.  I had wanted to start, but found reasons to put it off.  It's too cold out, it's too hot out, I ate within the last hour (I figured that rule worked for swimming, it sure must work for running).  Then I decided I should just do it.  But, I needed something to focus my attention on and found the Harrisburg Mile.  Each July, there is a one-mile race in Harrisburg.  It's a pretty big deal.  Much bigger than I thought when I signed up.  But, ignorance is bliss they say, and I signed up.  I trained two months to run 1 mile.  Seriously.  It took me 2 months to run one mile consistently.  But, I trained and I ran it.  I finished last, because as I said it's a pretty big deal.  People RUN this.  And I mean like in 5 minutes.  Like I'm at the halfway point and they are done.

The following year, I ran it again.  Trained a tad bit less and honestly felt like crap that night.  I walked a little bit, but finished in sooner than the year before.  It was a hot and humid night and I was happy to see the finish line and the nice medic people who put me in front of a fan and gave me lots of water.  I needed it!

And all this reminiscing?  Well, that's because it's Harrisburg Mile night and I'm going at it again.  I haven't run in two weeks.  It's just been so darn hot.  And honestly, I should keep my mouth shut on that one.  My very good friend just ran a half marathon in the same type of weather I'm complaining about running 2-3 miles in.  But, I've been kinda lazy and haven't run.  So, wish me luck tonight!  I have to run one mile in this icky weather.  And hoping I can do so faster than I did two years ago.