Peak's Island 5 Miler 2017

Well hi there! I'm still alive, and I even ran a race! I've done the Peak's Island 5 Miler for the past 7 or 8 years so I figured it would be a good first post-partum race.

The race takes place on Peak's Island, which is a short ferry ride from the Casco Bay Ferry Terminal in Portland. But even that short boat ride makes the whole day feel like a little vacation. Although the race is at 10:30, we always take the 8:30 boat (which they add just for race day). This year I went with my friends Brad and Dana, and then my sister and a friend also decided to come at the last minute. It was going to be Cooper's first race too, but since my husband got a (minor) injury at work Thursday night he was able to be home with Cooper. I missed my baby, but travelling solo is definitely easier!



Packet pick-up is just a short walk from where the ferry docks. And although the race has grown a lot since I started running it, we still had our packets within minutes. The best part of the pre-race experience this year is that my friend's boyfriend has a house on Peak's so we had our own private bathroom to use while we waited for the start. Where was that last year when I was pregnant?!

Since it was my first race since having a baby in January I really didn't know what to expect in terms of performance. I have been doing some speed work, but I also haven't been putting a lot of pressure on myself in terms of running. And of course I managed to cut open the bottom of my foot 2 days before the race! I decided to wear my Garmin, but not to have my pace on the screen, so I wouldn't be constantly checking it. I ran by feel and let myself check my pace each mile.

Going in I kind of wondered if I was done with racing for awhile. It seemed like so much work and I didn't know if I wanted the pressure. But once the race started I was so happy to be racing. It was so nice to be surrounded by runners and spectators and I really enjoyed the feeling of pushing myself (and not pushing a stroller haha).

The first 2 miles of the race are my favorite. There is a nice downhill and the course runs along the back of the island. There is always a nice sea breeze and the views are amazing. This race is often really hot, but this year it was only in the 70's (yeah!!).



The only hills are between miles 2 and 4 and I had given myself permission in advance to walk if I needed to. But I didn't need too! I still felt strong. I saw my sister during a section where the course doubles back and seeing her as third woman gave me a boost of energy. The 5 miles flew by and the race was over before I knew it. As I got close to the finish I realized I could be close to a 40 minute finish, so that became my new goal. My official time was 40:30, which is a 8:09 pace. They didn't do chip time this year (which I swear they have done in past years). I was so happy with that!

After I finished I found my sister and then we waited for Brad to finish. Then we headed straight for the free beer. Does anything taste better than a ice cold beer after a hot run?

After we enjoyed our beer, we headed over to the Peak's Island Inn for lunch and then headed home. My race back was definitely a success- which is good because I am doing another race this weekend!