My mom & me

What an awesome race! The Bold in the Cold 15k is held in Grapevine, TX by the Lake Grapevine Runners and Walkers.  This was my first time running one of their races and my first time racing a 15k.  I've done pretty much every other distance -- other than an ultra -- so, it was fun to try something different and a 15k fit nicely in my Ironman Texas training schedule.

Marcy & Me Pre-Race

The name for this race didn't do it justice. "Bold" was not my 4 letter word of choice to describe the 34 degree weather at the race start and freezing wind chill. We were all so cold and there were no amount of layers that were going to keep us warm, although it was extremely comfortable once the race got underway.

The race was mostly on a very scenic trail which part of followed the shoreline of Lake Grapevine. It was gorgeous.  There were enough rolling hills to keep the course challenging. 

One of the best parts of the whole morning?  My mom ran the 5k race! It was the first time that both of us had competed at the same race together!  And, with no training... she kicked some major boo-tay! She placed third in her age group!  THIRD!  She got an awesome medal and I couldn't be more proud of her! 

Me, Jason & Allison

The other best part? I was able to meet up with IMTX training partner, Marcy at Team Village Idiots, and fellow bloggers Jason at Life of An Aspiring Triathlete and Allison at Just Tri and Finish!  I also got to meet Scott and Gary from BeginnerTriathlete.com.  Scott ran the 15k, and unfortunately his new IMAZ tattoo was covered up with compression wear- but it totally rocks!  And Gary was out on the course taking pictures.

Marcy's mom ran the 5k as well and placed 2nd in her age group!  Whoo Whoo!  And a big congratulations to Jason for placing 3rd in his age group!  He averaged a 7:21/min mile! En fuego!


Here's my stats on the race: 

Total time:  1:19:18
8:23/min mile pace over 9.3 miles.

5/29 age group

100/302 total runners

Marcy's Mom & My Mom with their 5k Age Group Win Medals!

77 seconds separated me from taking 3rd place.  There were 13 seconds between me and 4th place.  Not that I'm obsessing over the details. I am very happy with my 8:23 pace, it's faster than what I would have even guessed I could do for that distance and shows some serious progress in my running.

I feel like I'm really learning how to "race."  Normally, I'm in my own little world just ticking away the miles.  Today, I hunted down ponytails (in the nicest possible way, of course), but if I could see another girl in front of me, I was going for the pass.  My 10k runs at lunch with the hills paid off big time today.

Overall, I loved this race and enjoyed the course.  I thanked every volunteer that I passed and had a smile the entire time.  

Post-Race Pancakes! Yummm!

Today is also the birthday of my best friend, Chrys!  Happy Birthday B_ _ _ _ _ H!  Love ya!

A very good day!