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| And, they're off! |
This race was a fun 2 mile jaunt through a quaint town in
Vermont to support their Athletic department. Luckily for all the runners
participating, it was a relatively sunny day. Although it wasn’t as warm there,
32 degrees, as it was when I left my house (45 minutes away and 41 degrees) it
was still a beautiful day. I think it’s safe to say that fun was had by all! I
was delighted to see so many children participating in the run; there were many
boys and girls running alongside Mom and Dad with their bibs pinned proudly to
their shirts. Speaking of Bibs, I must admit, the number I was assigned made me
a little uneasy, it was #13! Now I’m prone to hurting myself (again, my
nickname isn’t Bubble Wrap for no reason!) so I was a little leery of the
opportunities that may arise to help me once again prove my lack of
gracefulness.
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| First Place Runner 12:21 |
The run departed from the Middle school and went out along a
dirt road that thankfully wasn’t too muddy. For those who don’t know, it’s a
fact that in Vermont we have a Fourth Season we endearingly call “Mud Season.” The ground literally turns to soggy, soupy,
mush. We were lucky that even through the unseasonably warm temperatures, we
seem to be having this February, the dirt road was hard enough that we could
run it without out our sneakers sinking in and throwing us off balance.
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| Almost there! |
The route took us along the Lemoille River so it was a nice
to have some scenery to look at as we ran. The trail was marked by white arrows
along the path spurring us forward for a mile before we turned around at a
water table to head back to where we started. I always like when we go back the
way we came because you can gauge your distance better and recognize landmarks
telling you have far you have to go, which in turn encourage you to keep going.
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| Crossing the line! |
I will say though, that the bad luck of the #13 did get me.
I was fortunate not to trip and roll an ankle or fall and skin my knee.
However, I lost the gloves that I’d hastily ripped off and shoved in my pocket
when my hands started getting hot. I noticed one falling from my pocket and
quickly turned around to grab it and stuff it back in but soon discovered the
other one was missing, too. When I looked down the trail I could see it way
behind me on the ground. So I back tracked to retrieve it. Another runner
realized what had happened and picked it up as she was going by to bring it to
me. Thank you fellow runner!
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| Handing in my Tag, Finished at 20:21 |
My only comment about the race was that it was backwards.
Meaning, as we started, we ran down hill and with the wind. On the way back, we
ran uphill and against the wind. I guess I’ll blame it on #13…I’m used to
running 5k’s. What I have found is that the first mile is usually the easiest
to complete because of the adrenaline and excitement to actually be running. In
this mile it’s easier to complete a harder route with incline because your adrenaline
is pumping your arms and legs and carrying you forward. The second mile is the
toughest because the adrenaline wears off and you’re left feeling aches and
stitches and by that time the cold gets to your throat. This is where your
brain starts to fight with your body and you have to entice them both to keep
going. Then, when you get to the third mile, although you may be at a slower
pace your adrenaline kicks back in and your brain wins out helping you to make
it to the finish line. So, for this race, I would have liked the incline in the
first mile and the wind blowing with me at the end. For my own openly selfish
reasons, I would have liked the course to have been the opposite route. But who
really wants it to be easy, right? A forced display of strength is a beautiful
thing.
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| Holy Water, Batman!!! My throat was sore! |
I overheard the runner who came in first say he finished in
12 minutes and 21 seconds. Congrats buddy! Maybe someday I’ll run a 6 minute
mile? Doubtful, but it’s oh so nice to dream! I will say he was more than a
foot taller that I am so I’m guessing that’s to his advantage. I did finish at
20:21 even with my #13 induced mishap (so I’m telling myself J). But let me tell you,
I’m thrilled with a ten minute mile; especially considering a year ago I would
have thrown my head back and laughed had you told me I’d be running to begin
with.
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| Rachel was happy to see me. |
I believe there were over 50 runners at this inaugural Run
to Chocolate, so it was a nice small run. It really felt like everyone was
there to run and to have fun. And who doesn’t like a chocolate treat at the
end? There was a Facebook event page started to promote the race and there were
many community members posting that even if they couldn’t attend, they were
willing to bake some goodies to help support it.
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| I was happy to see her, too. |
There was a delightful spread of hot coco and coffee,
brownies, cupcakes, cookies, pudding, a chocolate fountain with strawberries
and sponge cake and some sinful concoction with layers of chocolate cake, marshmallow,
and peanut butter/chocolate rice crispy all paid as tribute to honor the
Chocolate God! I think the best part of the run was seeing all those amazing
kids delighting in their chocolate heaven for a job well done!
I look forward to “Running to Chocolate” again and am hoping
that people hear about what a neat race this was. I know the turn out will be
bigger next year but I’m happy I got to be a part of this first one. Thanks
Trevor for inviting me to this race, I’m sure you knew I couldn’t turn
chocolate down!
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| Rachel enjoyed her chocolate goodies! |
Fondly, Betsey
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| Yum! I'll run to Chocolate any day! |
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