Only in New England! Old-Fashioned Ten-Miler Race Recap

Remember last weekend when I wrote about my negative 20-degree wind chill race?  Well, fast-forward only one week, and I am running in SHORTS and and a short-sleeved shirt, in 55-degree weather!  No... I didn't head south... that's just our crazy Massachusetts weather!


This was my first year running in the Wampanoag Road Runners' Old-Fashioned Ten-Miler in Foxboro, MA.  The race was my running club's February Grand Prix race, and we had a great turnout from our group, which made participating a blast!  I really enjoy the comradery of running with a group.  Even though we all have different paces and don't typically run with each other, it is so encouraging to see our club members along the course and to cheer for each other at the finish.  And running with our group has definitely improved my speed, as I strive to keep up with some of the faster members of our club (or at least to keep them in my sights for as long as possible!)  

 The Old-Fashioned Ten Miler course is a HILLY run throughout rural Foxboro, on an open course but with very light traffic.  Did I mention the hills?  Wow, my quads were killing me for days after this race... Note to self, need more hill training!  At one point in the race, we run past Gillette Stadium, home of my beloved Patriots, which was pretty cool.  But mostly there were just lots of hills!  I was pretty proud of myself though, because I managed to maintain a solid 9-minute pace throughout, finishing in 1:30:34, more than ten minutes under my goal time for the race.  

Yes, short sleeves in February!

 I was pretty excited for some great race swag as well... A fleece blanket with an embroidered OFTM logo, a colorful striped pair of Darn Tough socks, and a huge OFTM finishers' medal.  Not bad for $25!  At this point after accumulating more race shirts than I could ever possibly wear, I appreciate some creative race swag.  Also a welcome surprise was a delicious post-race lunch.  Some mac and cheese really hit the spot for me!  All about the post-race food... 

Now what's in store for this week?  I'm planning for a few mid-distance training runs, and then a short shake-out run on Saturday before the Hyannis Half-Marathon on Sunday.  It's supposed to be in the mid-50's this weekend too, so I am taking advantage of the great weather and excited to get out and race again!  Last year, the Hyannis Marathon was cancelled after Boston was buried in 4+ feet of snow... Again, only in New England!


How are you spending this unseasonably warm weather?  Race plans for the spring?