Amy Reinink

I’m finding inspiration today in my next race, which I signed up for without hesitation over the weekend.

Regular blog readers will know that this is quite an accomplishment for me. I like to slink into races at the last minute, afraid that if I sign up for things too early, I’ll injure myself and be unable to run. Or, worse, that I’ll ruin everything by taking myself too seriously and failing to meet unattainable goals I’ve set for myself.

Yeah, I know. Kinda messed up. Which is why I just make the plunge and signed up for the ZOOMA Annapolis 10K on May 31 without thinking about it too much. It’s a women’s only race that promises free wine tastings and spa treatments post-race.

Better yet, I’ve roped my two best friends, Jen and Alexis, into running it with me. Jen is my high-school cross-country buddy. Lex surprised Jen and I both by first agreeing to walk the race, then casually mentioning that she finished four miles of walk-running in 42 minutes as a pre-race test. We are still gushing at her about how awesome this is, and are trying to keep the running peer-pressure to a minimum.

Also inspiring me today is Chito Peppler’s fun and exciting story. Peppler ran to almost 30 EU embassies Saturday for European Union Open House Day, in which EU member states open their embassies to the public, offering music and cuisine specific to each country.

He met three new friends who found him through a DC Running Examiner post I wrote last week. The three of them ran 12 miles through the city, seeing new neighborhoods, meeting new people, and experiencing unexpected things (Steven Spielberg posed for a photo with them in Georgetown).

It struck me while writing about this unique experience that it’s not unlike any long run, in which you gain a new appreciation for where you live, make new friends you might have never encountered otherwise and encounter some surprises that remind you why it’s fun to be alive.

Read Peppler’s running blog for more details, and follow his Tweets for updates about his exciting plans for next year’s event.

Steve is such a good sport.

For those who don’t know me personally, Steve is my husband, who I frequently drag to road races as my pace team and cheerleader, and sometimes peer-pressure into running himself. He’s fast, posting a time of 1:12 for the ten-mile Broad Street Run on Sunday, and will run a 5K at the drop of a hat, but just doesn’t get excited about long-distance running the way I do.

Our different attitudes about running make for interesting discussions over post-race dinners, as we inevitably have different takes on the race. Two gems of advice from Steve, as heard over post-race pizza last night:

On the fact that this was a fast course, leading both of us to post quicker times than we expected to: “We still had to run. I mean, we weren’t on roller skates or anything.”

On his attitude when he’s passed by a runner who clearly has to pick up the pace to pass him early in a race: “He can pass me now. But he’s going to pay for it later.”

In other post-race news, I was shocked and somewhat amused this morning to discover my post-race sore  spots: shinsplints! I haven’t gotten shinsplints for years, when I was forcing myself back into harder running after a few years of casual jogs. Must’ve been the downhill course. I’ve decided to consider the slight pain a small price to pay for an ego-boosting time.

Allow me to gush.

This race was fast, fun, huge but low-key, fast, well-organized, fast — did I mention fast?

Read my full rave review of the race itself here. Here’s how it went for me:

A number of factors beyond our control led us to be standing in line for the portable toilets long after our corral started. I was feeling frazzled and rushed and not ready, and decided I was  just out to have a good time.

Then, I ran 7:30-minute miles the first two miles, a pace I usually have to work for. This, despite weaving around the poor walkers who were unfortunate enough to have Steve and myself plowing through their ranks.

I slowed up a bit, somewhat consciously, through some of the middle miles, then decided to push it again starting shortly after mile 6. In my limited experience with mid-distance races like these, if I care about my time, I sort of have to be in push-it mode the entire time.

Still, I finished in 1:22:12, an average of 8:12-minute miles. This is a great time for me, considering the above. And my super-speedy husband finished in 1:12 — 7:15-minute miles!

The only disappointment came from the fact that the cold, nasty rain — which actually made for nice running weather — kept us from lingering afterwards, and hanging out with Jen and Jim. Soaked and freezing, we all got in our respective cars at the end of the race, cranked the heat, then headed home.

The good news: We’re already planning for next year, when we’ve decided we’re springing for hotel rooms the night before. New race goal: faster than this year. New life goal: finding the best pizza in Philly. Post suggestions below if you’ve got ’em!

No photos yet … I didn’t have my own camera on hand on account of the aforementioned rain and frazzledom.  But I’ll post some as soon as they come in, so check back later this week.

Also stay tuned for what I’m convinced might be the world’s most perfect 10-mile-race playlist. It literally ended as I crossed the finish line, at my favorite race-ending song.

By the way, are you following me on Twitter? If not, check out my profile here. I Tweeted about the race today — it was fun!