Firecracker 4
On Friday I registered for the 4th annual Firecracker 4 race in Saratoga Springs. I hadn’t trained or prepared myself at all, other than a handful of runs over the past few weeks. I was nervous going into the race because it was a mile longer than runs I usually do, and my knee was feeling odd.
With that being said,
I am SO glad that I did this race! I found Heather, Cynthia and Maressa just before the start and ran with Heather for a majority of the race. The race looped through a lot of residential parts of downtown Saratoga, where people set up sprinklers and misting stations for the 2000+ runners. The first 2 miles were great, but I eventually began to cramp up on my side. After a short walking break Heather and I powered through the third mile. At that point my cramp was back and I told her to keep going. Running with Heather was great- she really kept my spirits up and kept me going. If I had ran this race alone I would have stopped way before I needed too. Anyway, after a bit of walking I started a slower pace to finish climbing the final hill. I didn’t really set a goal for this race, I just wanted to finish and have a good time. Mission accomplished! I finished the race in under 45 minutes.
My Splits:
Mile 1: 10:55
Mile 2: 10:59
Mile 3: 11:10
Mile 4: 11:05
I was so happy when I crossed that finish line. I have never run a race that was over a 5k, the feeling you get after running a race makes everything worth it. Driving home I had dreams of 10k’s and half marathons dancing in my head. So much so, that when I went home I did another mile. Just so I could say that I ran 5 miles in one day. A first for me! I am now a tad sore, but so pleased with how yesterday turned out.
The rest of yesterday was spent floating in the pool in hanging out with family.
