1 down 11 to go (aka the Winery Run)

Day two of 2012 was race day number ONE! The Vineyard Dash at Layton's Chance Vineyard was a great new race. This year was their first year and they had about 70 racers! Great turnout for a first race in this area.

I gave myself a goal of finishing in 40 minutes or less, though I was thinking I would probably be closer to 45 minutes. I was so happy to be wrong! I turned the corner to the finish line and the clock read 37 minutes, I was ecstatic! I finished in 37:43 giving me a 12:10 pace per mile. AND I finished the 5K about 2 minutes before the first person finished the 10K! I thought there would be 10K finishers before I finished and I was glad to be able to watch the first 10K guy finish from the sideline.

After the race, they sent an email with all my race stats. There were 9 ladies in my age group and 69 finishers in the race. I came in 7th in my group and 49th overall. 

I arrived at the vineyard about an hour before race time which gave me more than enough time to get ready and warmed up. The skies were a clear blue with wisps of white clouds. It would have been great running weather at about 40 degrees, but then there was the wind. Apparently, it had died down a bit since earlier in the morning, but when you were facing the way it was blowing good luck keeping your face on. (I learned later they were 15-25 mph winds.)

The timing chip is supposed to go through your shoe laces, but since I don't have those I had to find a way to secure it to my shoe. Here was the solution:

The driveway up to the vineyard is gravel and I was a bit nervous about running on that. It wouldn't be a problem in traditional running shoes, but since I run in the barefoot shoes the gravel would not be so comfortable. Thankfully, the grass on the side of the driveway was short, smooth, and easy to run on.

From the gravel driveway, we turned left and ran on the black top for what seemed like forever. The first mile of running always seems the longest to me. We turned around at the cone/flag waver and ran back past the vineyard. Apparently, there was some confusion on where the next turn in the course was and runners started back down the driveway before realizing they were supposed to stay straight to the next paved road. There were enough people in front of me that it wasn't a problem for me!

In the beginning, I was passed by quite a few people, but I did pass a few at the end! The dirt farm road around the back of the winery was my favorite surface to run on. Now, that may have been because it was the last stretch before the finish, but I liked the feel of it under my feet.

Sadly, I didn't have anyone ask me about my shirt, but I did have a few people ask me about my shoes. They are always a conversation piece.

Things I learned from my first race:
1. Wine after a race is delicious.
2. I will get to hot about 5 minutes in and I should stop wearing long sleeves during races.
3. Little goals throughout help me finish stronger.
4. Give myself goals of landmarks, not other racers I might not be able to catch, or catch to early.
5. There will always be a line to the bathroom before a race, and even after using it, I'll still need one about half way through.

All in all race number one was a success! The shirt they gave runners is really well done, white long sleeved technical shirt with green screen printing. And we got to keep out timing chip. Great after race food (chili and baked ziti along with oranges and bananas, water and mulled wine. Not to mention wine tasting!) Looking forward to race number 2 in February!