It's genetic.

After the exhilaration that was the first race of the year last Sunday, I dove into the swag bag and pulled out the iRun magazine. Love it.  For some reason, I was the only one out of the five of us who had the magazine in the bag.  Strange, I thought, but now I know it was KARMA. 

I've been cursing The Running Room because they never put my favourite $179 running shoes on sale and I can't find them anywhere else locally.  This, I might add, is just one of a long list of reasons I curse The Running Room close to me.  My plan was to cross-border shop next month when we're heading to sunny Florida for a few days, (St. Pete's or Boca?  Boca or St. Petes?  Or Lauderdale?) because they sell there for $129 (even though the Canadian dollar is currently worth more than the Mairkan dollar).

Then lo and behold, and I may be getting to the point now, iRun advertised my very shoe, to be delivered to my door, for $129.  I'm talking about these guys:

http://www.razorsports.ca/ in case I linked it wrong.



Yes, we have the cutest
doorbell ever.
http://www.doorbellfactory.com/

 



I ordered them up and they promised to come to me in 2-3 weeks. Those Americans may be used to such fabulous service options, but I'm not. Two DAYS later,  "Bing Bong".  It was my favourite Purolator man, with a package for me.

Right

on,

buddy!

These are Brooks Glycerins.  They're not just any shoe.  They've got DNA technology, baby.  That's science!  That's zero blisters, zero chafing, zero sore spots in almost 400 miles on my first pair.  I'm even overlooking the pink details in favour of no black toenails.

Going to try out my new kicks at the Game of Life 10k tomorrow. Surely the joy of wearing new genetically engineered shoes will get me a PR.  Wait a minute...is that a Running Room event?   D'oh!

Faith n' Begorrah n' Chili n' Beer

I did not want to run today's Achilles St. Patrick's Day 5k.  I've been a total wuss in my running life lately -- too much working, too much rain, too little mojo.  I've missed most weekday runs and my weekenders were less than stellar.  I thought an easy 5-miler yesterday would be a good way to boost my confidence, but I had a very tough time with no handy excuses -- the weather was perfect and the sidewalks were clear.  I was worried this run would be just as bad and I would be put off running for good by demonstrating publicly how much speed I've lost.

But we went anyway.  We were doing the race with our friends, which is always fun and motivating -- Tim, who's been in many of my race recaps; Mel who ran the Hamilton Half with us and, appearing for the first time as a runner, Mel's husband Steve.  You may remember back to this post, where Steve looked out for the dead bodies being pulled out of Lake Ontario while the rest of us were too busy trying to breathe to notice.

My hand isn't really that big.

The race was run downtown, starting and finishing at the Steam Whistle Brewery.  Lots of expensive parking close by, indoor waiting area, vibrant green tech tees (they are excused for this due to the mandatory vibrancy of the Irish this time of year) and matching gloves, which I was very thankful for since it was a little cold and windy.

The race started right on time, but the starting area was chaos.  They reported having 1800 people signed up and made no request for the walkers to start at the back of the swarm.  So there they were, walking 10 abreast, arm in arm, wearing jeans and backpacks, laughing and chatting away as runners tried to get around.  It took me about a half mile to be free to them.



Can a mascot be a stalker?
This guy's at every race!
Still don't know what he is.


But that was my only complaint.  After that, I felt like I was flying.  It's nice to have so many people to pass!  My splits:

Mile 1:  10:59 -- see above + undone shoelace
Mile 2:  9:43 -- nice!
Mile 3:  10:13 -- no more downhills, apparently.
Mile 0.13:  7:34 pace -- booked it!  Didn't start the sprint until I saw the finish line this time.  Can't believe people can do whole races at this pace. Or even whole miles.

Chip time:  31m51s, 72/179 age group, 369/929 women (I've NEVER been in the top half before, so maybe all those walkers are a good thing.)

So I'm back to where I was before!  Woohoo!  Not a PR, but pretty close.  Not smashing my 2011 under 30 minute goal, but closer than I thought. 

Phil and Tim were way ahead of me; don't think either had a PR but still awe-inspiringly fast to me.  Steve and Mel came in shortly after and both had PRs.  Way to go!

Then into the cozy warm Brewery for Irish chili (beef or vegetarian) with bun and Steam Whistle Beer, all before noon on a Sunday.  Very nice.

Next up:  Harry's Spring Run-Off 8k  in High Park on April 2.  Hill training starts tomorrow.

Update:  Someone turned the internet back on and I've signed us up for a 10K in the Beaches next weekend.  The fever is back!