New Haven 20K Race Report

Simply wonderful—the race, the weather, the post-race food, the spectators and of course meeting some of the RBF members in person. I couldn’t ask for a better day.

I arrived in New Haven at 7:45 (which could be my biggest accomplishments of the day—not getting lost on my drive to New Haven, which took an hour and 45 minutes). :) I quickly found Dianna, Bill and Jon at the pre-arranged meeting spot, said a quick hello and then headed off to find my race number and the bathroom. When I returned I met Susan, Laura, Sarah and Michelle. We soon headed off in different directions and before I knew it, it was time to line up at the starting line. I started scanning the crowd for an orange hat. Where were the RBF bloggers? Time was ticking and I didn’t know what to do. Eventually I saw someone jumping up and down and waving. I quickly realized it was Jon the Mexican Jumping Bean. :) Sarah and David were with Jon, but Dianna was missing. I quickly asked them about their anticipated paces. I had no idea how to pace myself. I normally let Dianna deal with the pacing while I try to keep up with her.
Without Dinna I tried to find my own pace.
Mile 1: 8:20(ish) Perfect!

Mile 2: 8:10(ish) If I wanted to finish alive I knew I needed to slow down. I had been running near Sarah so I said good bye and smiled as she took off like a bullet. (What a talented runner!)

Miles 3 to 11: I have no idea what my slits were. I just ran. I smiled at the sun, watched people pass me, tried to pass people, made polite conversation with a few runners, and enjoyed the view of the bay. The cheers from the sidelines were encouraging and the bands were fun, although I really missed Dianna’s singing this year. :)

Mile 11: Dianna came up from behind me. We chatted for a minute and then she was off. After she left, Jon pulled up beside me. I was thankful he was running at my pace. We were able to survive the last mile and half-ish together. I had a blast because Jon was really funny. I could hardly breathe because I was laughing and trying to pick up the pace—not a good combination, but well worth it!! At the end we saw Susan, Lara, and Sarah cheering us on. My final kick was pitiful, but I finished with a PR so I was excited.

Chip Time = 1:42:54 (my pacewas 17 seconds faster than last year)

Afterwards, we had fun exchanging race stories and getting to know each other. Everyone was even nicer than I had imagined. And of course, there was more eating and drinking. Did anyone else notice that the RBF weekend seemed to be center around food and the race just happened to be a bonus? :) We even made tentative plans to meet for dinner the night before the Hartford race. I can’t wait until then!

Thanks to Dianna for being the New Haven Ambassador. I hope we can count on you again next year!?!