Firecracker 4,  Race Re-Cap,  Races,  Restaurant Reviews,  Running

Fourth of July 2010 – Part 2: Firecracker 4

After Saturday’s pig roast, Sunday Chris and I were all set to run in the Firecracker 4, a four mile race in Saratoga Springs. So far, this race has been my longest! I ran the Workforce Team Challenge back in May, which was 3.5 miles. I was thinking that four miles would be a breeze. 🙂

After picking up our packets and bringing them back to the car, we headed to where the start line was, right on one of the main roads in Saratoga. There were so many people running this race!

I thought it was kind of funny that there were even mascots running this race! It was really hot out too, so they must have been dying in those costumes! There was a gorilla, a deer, a bear, and a dog.

At 8:00AM the race was set to start! My goal for this race: to have fun! There were also supposed to be bands set up throughout the course, which is always awesome. I wasn’t too worried about being fast for this race, I just wanted to have a good time. I even got out my camera and tried to take some photos of the course.

It’s a bit blurry, but it’s rather hard to take decent pictures while running. 😉 This was at the very beginning, right before the first hill.

Eventually I caught up to the bear! I can’t believe he was running faster than me in that costume! It must have been wicked.

The course ran through a residential area of Saratoga, and there were lots of people cheering on the side of the streets. One guy even had his hose out for a misting station!

I felt really good throughout the entire run. I didn’t really push myself until about the last mile. Right before the end there was another hill, and I just forced myself to run up it really fast. Chris went ahead of me after mile three.

Soon the finish line was upon me! It came up really quick! According to my Garmin, I finished in 37 minutes and 59 seconds!

Chris came in ahead of me in 36 minutes! 🙂

My official race time: 38 minutes and 17 seconds
Place: 808 out of 1,344

Garmin Stats:
Total distance: 4.09 miles
Total Elapsed Time: 37 minutes and 59 seconds
Average Pace: 9:17
Average Speed: 6.5 mph
Calories Burned: 483

Splits!
Mile 1: 9:58
Mile 2: 9:29
Mile 3: 8:58
Mile 4: 8:54
Mile .09: 39 seconds

After cooling down and drinking about two bottles of ice cold water, I re-fueled with an orange slice and half of a bagel smeared with peanut butter! Mmm.

Chris and I changed out of our sweaty shirts back at the car and then walked around Saratoga for a little bit! I love Saratoga, it’s such a nice place with so many nice restaurants and shops.

We stopped to check out Four Seasons Natural Foods to see what they had. It was pretty much just like a mini co-op. I ended up getting some more coconut water and a frozen fruit bar to snack on while we walked around!

Before we left Saratoga, we stopped at the Putnam Market so I could get a salad for lunch to go.

I ordered the Chevre, Roasted Red Peppers, & Pine Nuts on Mixed Greens , but they didn’t have pine nuts, so I had them put on walnuts instead.

When we got back to Albany, we stopped at Moe’s so Chris could get a burrito for lunch. He ate his burrito and I had my salad!

The salad was really good, but definitely not worth the $9.00 price tag. There should have been way more veggies in it for that price!

Anyway, right next door to Moe’s is my favorite ice cream place, Emack & Bolios. Since it was the Fourth of July after all, I had to go in and get some frozen yogurt! I ordered the low fat black raspberry chip! Yum! You really cannot go wrong with Emack & Bolios.

After lunch we headed back to Chris’ place and just had a relaxing day, watching movies and hanging out. For dinner, we were both craving pizza! Chris had been wanting to try Pizzeria Inferno, so we decided to order the California Classic. It had tons of veggies, including: tomatoes, spinach, red peppers, artichokes, red onions, and basil.

This was the best pizza I’ve had in a while! It was so flavorful and had tons of delicious veggies on it. I’m craving it right now!

But the Fourth of July isn’t complete without fireworks. Since we were in Albany we had the perfect view of the Empire State Plaza fireworks show!

The fireworks were an awesome ending to a fantastic Fourth of July Weekend. I couldn’t ask for more! 😀

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