9:00 AM - Overcast, temp in the mid 60s with humidity at 97%. My first race since the July 4th race. Didn't know what to expect going in. I drove to Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, parked the car and went to get my race number, only to find out I guess I was the first person to register for the race and ended up with Bib #1. I kind of didn't believe it at first - either a cruel joke or a mistake in that they gave me a bib maybe reserved for the kids' race. Nope. It was legit. I tried to hide it under my sweatshirt as much as possible. Though it was humid, I donned a sweatshirt. Feeling really self conscious with my weight gain in the past year. Jogged down to the start line and back, a total of about 1.2 miles. Stretched and talked with the Wahconah coach who was there. Then jogged back to the start line, .6 miles. The Brock Trot is named after a guy, named Brock, who had lung cancer and despite being stage IV, managed to finish 4 marathons. He passed away, but they had a moving opening with his brother saying some words. The 5k and 10k started together. Saw a couple former runners, Morgan and Megan Holm, as well as their mom, Shauna Damasca running her second race, and her husband Dan who is a local masters elite. He ended up running low 40:00 in the 10k and nearly passed his step daughters in the 5k! THE START: The gun went off and the 5k runners bolted and went left. 10k went straight and to the right. The first couple miles were downhill, and I had heard from a guy to "save it for West Mountain Rd". How right he was. I was trying to hold back but felt myself getting sucked along. I settled in behind a short little lady, also in Vibrams, and all I heard for a while was the steady slap-slop slap-slop of our Vibrams. I was the only runner in a sweatshirt, and by the end of the first mile, I was already drenched in sweat. 8:07 for the first mile, 8:19 for the second. Then hit a gigantic uphill. West Mountain Road was my downfall. Scary road. People started falling back towards me. Miles 3 and 4 were uphill and rolling, before popping out at Tanglewood going the opposite way of the Josh. 8:08 and 8:58 for those two miles. Really started to come undone the last two miles. Considering my longest run this summer was about 4 miles, this is understandable. Also, given the humidity and the fact that most of the last .5 miles is a hill. Last two miles were: 8:56 and 9:06. Overall I felt pretty good. Finished 89th of 154 runners in the 10k. Even beat some 5k runners. 54:35; good for 8:37 average pace per mile. Cooled down with Emma and then walked around the Apple Squeeze in Lenox. Later after we got home, Emm and I went hiking near New Lebanon on the Taconic Crest Trail. I fell once, but it was a nice fast hikeable trail nestled at the New York/ MA border. Did 3 miles in a bit over an hour. Total Miles for the Day: 11.25 miles
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