Race #2

I just got back from work out at the Y. I'm getting ready for race #6 and I feel like I'm starting back at day one. I'm finally over one of those summer colds that just hang on forever, the germs must get trapped in all this humidity! But I'm getting ahead of myself.



The YMCA has proved to be a great place to work out. The facilities are nice and the staff supportive. I got a bit of stretching advice from Brooke that has truly saved my legs. I start my stretching routine by rolling my legs on a what looks like an overweight pool noodle. Now I rarely wake up the next day with sore leg muscles.



Race #2, The Great Human Race, was a last minute decision. Having just started my more permanent living in NC I was on the look out for things to do in my free time, of which I have plenty. The Great Human Race is a fund raiser for numerous charities in Durham and the triangle area. Not sure how many years they have held this race but it is a mainstay of the local 5K's.



The great part about this race was that the start line was right out my back door. The bad part about this race was that it was only 38 degrees and the course had hills. Remember, my first race was in the warmth of a Sarasota winter and completely flat. I wasn't too pleased with this but once again I only had two goals, 1) run the entire race and 2) not finish last.



The race got started about 20 minutes late which only increased my nervousness. Twenty extra minutes to stand with a group of people that all wanted me to come in last. And that included the 80 year old guy wearing the Boston Marathon jacket. And the three young couples from Cary who quipped "I bet the race is delayed because they haven't got enough Kevlar vests to hand out to all the racers before we hit the streets of Durham." I wanted to turn around and shout "Freeze, I'm from Durham!"

The race right away started with a block long uphill climb then settled into more gradual ups and downs through my 'hood. Crowd support was pretty darn good for such a cold morning and once again it was great to have people cheering us on. To help keep myself going, I started finding people in front of me and told myself I needed to pass that person. For the most part this proved pretty successful, until about mile two. At that point I picked out a larger woman in a pair of faded lime green running shorts - I had to be able to pass her. Looks are obviously deceiving in the running world, that lady could move!

I ended up with a time of 36:02. Worse than my Florida race, but hey, there were hills. And I wasn't last!