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Real runners take pride in the fact that they will compete in any race regardless of the weather. I’m a little more fussy…40 degrees, a little breeze and sunny are ideal for me. Yesterday morning – race day for the MWA – I awoke to 45 degrees and rain. Ugh. Rain. It’s not so much running in it that’s bad; it’s the standing around waiting to run in it that I hate. Fortunately, this race starts/ends at the Asbury fire house and it’s a small race so we can mostly stand around inside right until the gun. And as it turned out, there was a pause in the rain for most of the race.
Because I hate to be cold I almost always overdress for my races. Of course I know better; I’ve done enough races, but I don’t want to wait for the body heat to build. Sometimes I’ll use a ‘burner’ sweatshirt – picked up from the thrift shop for about $3. When you drop them at the start of the race they have people who collect them and donate them back to –presumably -- thrift shops!
My race strategy was to slow down my pace at the start but start increasing it on the second half. That worked pretty well. I didn’t have to stop at all over the four miles. I was proud of that small accomplishment. And it was good enough to get the silver medal for my age-group! Critical readers will want to know how many people were running in my age group, and I cannot lie – two. Doesn’t matter. Still proud. The trick to placing in running races and feeling like an elite athlete is to still be running in your 50’s and pick small races. It’s a great strategy.
Because I hate to be cold I almost always overdress for my races. Of course I know better; I’ve done enough races, but I don’t want to wait for the body heat to build. Sometimes I’ll use a ‘burner’ sweatshirt – picked up from the thrift shop for about $3. When you drop them at the start of the race they have people who collect them and donate them back to –presumably -- thrift shops!
My race strategy was to slow down my pace at the start but start increasing it on the second half. That worked pretty well. I didn’t have to stop at all over the four miles. I was proud of that small accomplishment. And it was good enough to get the silver medal for my age-group! Critical readers will want to know how many people were running in my age group, and I cannot lie – two. Doesn’t matter. Still proud. The trick to placing in running races and feeling like an elite athlete is to still be running in your 50’s and pick small races. It’s a great strategy.