Race Day - St. Patrick's 4-Miler, Binghamton, NY

I dressed in safety green for the St. Patrick's 4-Miler.

Beautiful morning! Blue sky, sunshine, no wind. Temperature: 32 degrees. That was the only bad part, but the sun made it feel warmer.

I got to St. Patrick’s Church around 9:10. Got my number, my shirt, and then sat around for awhile. I always get to races too early. My husband came with me to this race so that was nice. I hope he wasn’t too bored.

Finally it was race time. I jogged down to where the start was. There were a lot of runners, over 700. That’s a big race for this area. The race was chip timed but had a gun start. I took my position a few rows back from the front runners. I always run a fast first mile and hate having to negotiate around people.

A half mile into the race and
feeling good.

 

It was impossible to hear the race director, something about rough road and pot holes, and then we were off. I ran the first mile in 7:40. That’s a bit fast, but everything felt good. There was indeed some rough patches and big pot holes. Around mile two I felt a side stitch coming on, but took in some deep breaths and the stupid thing went away. At mile three I was just under 25 minutes. Still running fast, but still feeling good despite the cold air. Actually, I didn’t even notice it. Running outside all winter has helped me cope with cold weather.

The start of mile four was uphill for a short ways, then downhill, then up another small hill. I did pretty good on the hills. Only a few lanky guys passed me. Then it was one last turn and all downhill to the finish line. A final look at the Garmin showed two-tenths of a mile to go. I switched into high gear and gave it everything I had. I could see the top of the church and people all around the finish line. When I was close enough to see the clock, it read 33:20. I crossed the finish line at 33:48. A new PR! My goal was anything under 35:00.

Stats:

4 miles, 33:48 minutes, 8:22 pace