Butler Road Race Recap
Happy Monday everyone! This weekend, I ran a local race, which just happens to be the oldest consecutively-run race in Western Pennsylvania. This was the 42nd annual Butler Road Race, which is a 5 miler and 2k located about an hour north of Pittsburgh. The town of Butler is really cute and small, and there always seems to be something going on there (from the Big Butler Fair to the Ice Jam). This is my second year running the race, and it was a lot of fun!
The race starts out in front of the Butler Courthouse, with packet pickup at the nearby Diamond Park. This is a relatively small race (248 runners in the 5 miler and 197 in the 2k), so pickup was quick and easy. We got started exactly on time (9:00) and were on our way!
I got lucky that it wasn't a super hot day, and the temperature was around 73 when we started. There weren't many clouds in the sky, but when one passed by the shade and breeze felt great! The course in general is pretty challenging- it starts off with a big downhill down the main street in Butler (literally called Main Street), and turns left onto Penn Street. We run on there for a mile or so, then enter a paved running path with some hills. I ran the first two miles in 8:30 and 8:47, and grabbed some water.
This is an out-and-back course, so at 2.5 miles we turned around and headed home. I was still feeling pretty good and was happy to have some downhill! I felt like I was picking up the pace, but my body and legs weren't feeling it. For some reason this summer, I've been struggling a lot with the heat and sun, and it just seems to zap all of my energy! I pushed through and ran the next two miles in 8:40 and 8:39.
There was a final water stop with about 1 kilometer to go, so I stopped for a second to grab some more water and dump some on my head. Dan was also waiting to cheer for me at this point, and ran along the road to encourage me. This is definitely the hardest part of the race, because there's no shade at all, and it's all uphill until the finish line. I was pretty tired and ready to be done at this point, and my final mile time was 9:22 (Surprised it was that "fast", because I felt like I was running in place most of the time!).
Overall, this was a decent race for me! I tried to just enjoy it and have fun for my "birthday race" (I've been running a race the week of my birthday for the past 3 years) and I think that I did. The last mile was rough, but otherwise I had fun and felt pretty good, and hit my goal of breaking 45:00 (I ended up finishing in 44:26). I decided that I'm going to take the rest of the month of June off of running and start fresh in July with some new goals and a new mindset.
How do you do with running in the summer?
Do you have any traditions for your birthday?
The race starts out in front of the Butler Courthouse, with packet pickup at the nearby Diamond Park. This is a relatively small race (248 runners in the 5 miler and 197 in the 2k), so pickup was quick and easy. We got started exactly on time (9:00) and were on our way!
I got lucky that it wasn't a super hot day, and the temperature was around 73 when we started. There weren't many clouds in the sky, but when one passed by the shade and breeze felt great! The course in general is pretty challenging- it starts off with a big downhill down the main street in Butler (literally called Main Street), and turns left onto Penn Street. We run on there for a mile or so, then enter a paved running path with some hills. I ran the first two miles in 8:30 and 8:47, and grabbed some water.
This is an out-and-back course, so at 2.5 miles we turned around and headed home. I was still feeling pretty good and was happy to have some downhill! I felt like I was picking up the pace, but my body and legs weren't feeling it. For some reason this summer, I've been struggling a lot with the heat and sun, and it just seems to zap all of my energy! I pushed through and ran the next two miles in 8:40 and 8:39.
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| Picture from last year, but I wore the same outfit and ran almost the same time! |
There was a final water stop with about 1 kilometer to go, so I stopped for a second to grab some more water and dump some on my head. Dan was also waiting to cheer for me at this point, and ran along the road to encourage me. This is definitely the hardest part of the race, because there's no shade at all, and it's all uphill until the finish line. I was pretty tired and ready to be done at this point, and my final mile time was 9:22 (Surprised it was that "fast", because I felt like I was running in place most of the time!).
Overall, this was a decent race for me! I tried to just enjoy it and have fun for my "birthday race" (I've been running a race the week of my birthday for the past 3 years) and I think that I did. The last mile was rough, but otherwise I had fun and felt pretty good, and hit my goal of breaking 45:00 (I ended up finishing in 44:26). I decided that I'm going to take the rest of the month of June off of running and start fresh in July with some new goals and a new mindset.
How do you do with running in the summer?
Do you have any traditions for your birthday?
Oh yay! Your birthday!!!! You young little thing. Nice job at that race...it's such a hot time of year to run/race. I definitely feel warmer running in the summer but heat doesn't affect me tooooo too much, thank goodness. I ran in 91 degree heat yesterday and I was okay! I just drink a lot of water throughout the day when I'm done.
ReplyDeleteUm so you're pregnant and running way faster than me and it's hotter there and you're doing fine...something's wrong with this picture lol! You rock.
DeleteGreat job! And happy birthday!!!
ReplyDeleteI feel you. I don't run well in the summer either. Even when I'm in good shape, I just have to accept that I'm not going to perform the same way I do when it's cooler out. I think this year it's harder to adapt because we had such a cool spring.
Thank you :) I guess some people are just made for cooler weather :(
DeleteHappy Birthday! Heat and humidity keep me indoors and on the treadmill for most of the summer. I just can't handle it very well -- but if there's a day with low humidity, I'll at least try to get outside in the early morning/late evening and run in the fresh air. I actually ran my first official race during my birthday week a few years ago and have been running that same race each year -- first the 5k for a couple years, then the half for a couple years, worked my way to the full last year ... and I'll run the full again on my birthday this year and hope to beat last year's time.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I tried to adapt by running later in the day, but it didn't seem to work. Oh well. That's so cool that you do the same race every year! Way to go!
DeleteHappy birthday and good job on on the race! Im from the Caribbean so summer running is like daily running here ha!
ReplyDeleteWoah that's awesome!! What island?
DeleteHappy birthday! Nice job on the race! The 2k is an odd distance no?
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I know you weren't too excited going into the race, so I'm really happy you enjoyed it and met your goal! Congrats!
ReplyDelete