Global Warming my A$$ 6.66 mile race report

Oh, SNAP! I was almost done, and then remembered this is s'posed to be in the newspaper column format. Here goes:

Who: Me. Gene. Dad. Sonny Boy. Bonehead.
What: Global Warming my A$$ 6.66 mile race
When: Friday, 12MAR10
Where: Hartford and North Hartland, Vermont, Rte 5 south then north, along the 3cm wide strip of asphalt between the speeding vehicles and certain death in the ditches.
Why: "Because it's there."
How: Painfully, slowly, inch be ever-loving inch. errr...i mean....in my Adidas something or others (am i the ONLY one online who wears Adidas???), Darn Tough socks, EMS microfiber pants, GMARA.org tech shirt, and Brooks running jacket. Oh, and Under Armour hat. Garmin 305. TIME=57:32
whew, that was painful.
on with the show....
As usual (NOT "as PER" usual. man, i HATE that. per=as), i procrastinated trained VERY HARD for this race, and nailed it to the wall. Like Jell-o. Ever tried that? Ever heard that expression? (see, i can even procrastinate with a race report!)
I got to the venue right after work. I had tried to line up my diet to be conducive for an after work run, but then tragedy struck. I ate my salad for lunch, and then ate my yogurt and granola around 2pm, figuring on a nice 2 hour window between eating and running. WELL....then some techs from radiology came around and invited me down to their area to partake in some good eats from a birthday party. Luckily we were short staffed in the ICU and I couldn't leave to join them. "No problem! We'll bring you some shrimp jambalaya!!!) Tragic.
So i ate some. And then ate more. 3 small bowls later, (over the course of about an hour. gimme a break. i am NOT a Dyson. See? procrastinated AGAIN. i RULE!) where was I? oh, right. eating. again.
So now it was about 300. ut-oh. not what i bargained for, and we all know how eating too close to running can effect the run(s). If you are not sure, head on over to Beth's blog and read all about it. Luckily, Mother Nature was in my corner, and things worked out A-OK by 345. I drove to the parking area and got myself all set up with Teri (Garmin). Luckily there was ample parking nearby, and I didn't need to take the shuttle. This is a bonus, actually, because I don't do well sitting amongst strangers. Parking was here, at our new aquatic center. I know. It looks like an abandoned warehouse. Mind you, this multi-million dollar complex is a big thorn in the sides of town residents.

Upper Valley Aquatic Center

I am not quite sure why, but I felt compelled to take a picture of my shoes, socks, and shins. Here, for your viewing pleasure, is that picture. (Parents, please ask young children to leave the room briefly. Thank you.)

 Here is a picture of Teri before the race. Hardly seems nervous at all, does she?
I tried to take pictures during the race, but they didn't come out very good. Must have been my blistering pace that made them all blurry. The Vermont countryside isn't all that picturesque this time of year, anyway. Lots of mud, brown leaves and 'grass', bleck. There is about 3-5cm of asphalt between the white line and the edge of the pavement (budget cuts?), and then about a foot of unstable dirt between the end of the pavement and either the guardrail or a ditch. Let's just say "pucker power" and move along, shall we?
So out and back. I walked for about 20 feet at the 3.5 mile mark, and then again at about 5 miles. I felt REALLY STUPID both times, so i huffed along. Teri screamed at me to slow down more often than to speed up, except on the hills. It was good to hear that, so now I can adjust the pace alarm settings. LOVE IT!

All in all, it was a great race, and a fun idea. One of the best things was the parking, but one of the worst things was the post race feed and massage tent. I must have been REALLLY slow, because by the time i got back to the start/finish area, it had been cleared out. Nothing there but the tumble weeds. And my nuun.