Toughest Race in the World

This morning, I woke up bright and early to participate in the Reston 10-miler. The race started at 8:00am and the conditions were clear and cool. I always get butterflies before races - this race was no different. I wasn't focused on achieving a PR necessarily but, I did want to have a "feel good" run.

All in all, it went o.k. I encountered a slight hiccup at mile marker 6... I had planned to take water from the water station at mile 6 but the two runners in front of me swiped all of the cups so by the time I reached the station, I would have had to stop and wait to be served water. I certainly wasn't going to stop for water! The slight deviation to my hydration plan created a little bit of a mental hurdle for me. The difficulty was short-lived though... by mile marker 8, I was running on auto pilot. (I also managed to PR.)

Posing after the race

Runners racing to the finish line

Since I'm on the topic of racing...
Yesterday was the start of what many consider to be the toughest race in the world... the 2012 Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race began March 3 at 10:00am (Alaskan Standard Time) in Anchorage, Alaska. 66 mushers, or dog sled racers, crossed the starting line to embark on the 1,112 mile race. Each sled team has an average of 16 dogs and all teams must traverse through 26 checkpoints throughout the trail. The fastest finishing time on record for the Iditarod is 8 days 22:46:02 (set in 2002) while the slowest time is 20 days 15:02:07 (set in 1974).

Start of Iditarod 2012