Fairfax Four Miler Recap (2016)

I closed out my strange year of relatively little running & learning to manage hallux rigidus with one of my favorite races, the Fairfax Four Miler.

I love the party atmosphere of this New Year's Eve race, and sharing it with festive friends makes it even better.

We gathered a group of Reston Runners BFFs and named our team "Sass and Sparkle" - Shawn, Mechelle, Molly, Norma, Laura and me. We were missing Laurie, who was home with a cold.

I was a little hesitant going into this race, knowing that my running base and cardiovascular fitness were pretty much gone...I was in even worse shape than I was for the MCM 10k two months ago.

I decided to just have fun and enjoy it, not setting any time goals for myself.

I ran for the first few minutes and realized I was going to have to walk a lot more than I had anticipated. Fortunately I didn't have any toe pain, but my legs felt "shin splinty" and achy fairly quickly and my heart rate was too fast.

It took me a little over 15 minutes to run/walk the first mile, and my pride set a time goal of finishing under an hour. I knew I was out of shape but hadn't imagined it might take me more than an hour to finish four miles.

At mile 2, I was still over the 15 minute pace. I didn't see the mile 3 marker - I thought I had picked it up a little, but knew it would be close.

I was counting on that downhill finish to help me out, and it did. My official time was 59:10. I felt a minor sense of accomplishment and a quite a bit of relief.

Finish line in sight!
photo by Brian W. Knight/Swim Bike Run Photo

Even with my relatively slow time, I thoroughly enjoyed the race. I talked to lots of people along the way and saw some really cool costumes. I appreciated the "blinky snowflake headband" Molly gave to me before the race - it helped me make a lot of friends on the course (Hi Tia)!

After the race we went out for a quick drink in Old Town Fairfax (pro tip - skip the Greene Turtle). I am grateful to have such wonderful running friends and look forward to their support as I rebuild my fitness in 2017.

Happy New Year!