Success! 
Ā I am so proud of myself! My goal for the Black Cat 10 Miler was to finish under 90 minutes, and I did it!!
Monica, Chandra, and I woke up bright and early to drive to Salem for the race. We needed to pick up our race packets, so we made sure to get an early start. Unfortunately, we didn’t get there early enough because the race people āran outāĀ of t-shirts. Wicked bummer.
Monica and Chandra each received a shirt, but I didn’t. I know it’s just a shirt, but the shirt is one of the best partsĀ about running a race!! It’s a little memento that always reminds you of race day when you wear it.
I guess what bothered me most about the whole thing was there was no rhyme or reason for giving out the shirts. The three of us pre-registered for the race months ago and we all picked up our packets at the exactĀ same time. Plus, a number of runners, who picked up their packets after us, still received shirt. It made no sense. I know it’s just a shirt, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. Ok, I’m done complaining. Sometimes, I just need to vent.
Ok, back to the race recap!
Promptly at 8 o’clock, we lined up at the start line.Ā
And then we were off!
Monica and I stuck together for the first 3 miles or so, but I lost her on a big hill.
My little legs just couldn’t keep up. She was en fuego!
The course was a little hilly and very scenic. Salem is such an adorable town.
I felt pretty good for the entire race. I lost a little steam around Mile 9, but I finished strong and ended up coming in at 1:29:23, which was an average pace of 8:57! That’s fast for me!!!
- Mile 1: 8:39
- Mile 2: 8:48
- Mile 3: 9:00
- Mile 4: 8:44
- Mile 5: 8:49
- Mile 6: 9:11
- Mile 7: 9:02
- Mile 8: 9:04
- Mile 9: 9:20
- Mile 10: 8:35
After the race, I had aĀ huge smile on my face! I was so happy and proud of myself– and I didn’t care about that stupid race shirt anymore.
I bought my own green shirt to remember the race by. It says: āThe only difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude.āĀ Indeed it is.
YAY!!! We did it!!
After the race, we headed back to my house. On the ride home, we stopped by Marylou’s for iced coffee, and I snacked on a banana and a Matt Damon Cookie.
All in all, it was a great race. I’m so glad that I had Chandra and Monica to run it with me! Good times.
132 Comments
Congrats on the race, it looks great fun! So inspiring!
Congratulations on the race! You must be so proud of yourself! And I’d probably be just as cranky about the lack of the shirt. I’m glad you bought a shirt for yourself.
Congrats Tina!!! U should be proud of yourself!!!
Bummer about the shirt, I would of been upset too : p
Congrats on your race, Tina! You rocked it! It was a great day to run in Salem and it was so nice to finally meet you!
Congrats on the race! I like your color green better anyway. š
I would have been 150% annoyed about that shirt situation! GRRR!!! But, the shirt you got is way cuter, so cheers to that!
Congrats on an awesome run!
shirts are the ONLY reason i run races. i would have gone home, hahah.
congrats on an amazing race with a super speedy time! <3
xoxo
I love your shirt! Not just because it’s green either. š I just copied the quote, printed it out and stuck it on my pc’s screen. Need that reminder every once and a while.
Congrats on the race! Boo on the race organizers.
Great job on the race Tina! I would have been ticked off about the shirt too! Are they at least going to mail you one or something??
Sadly, I don’t think so.
To be honest I think not getting a shirt is almost as bad and less understandable than having them run out of Finisher’s medals š I feel for you.
I feel the same way about the shirt. I have so many and I love them and keep them all. When I did the Boston Marathon Walk for the Jimmy Fund, they ran out of medals!!! I was able to get one but most did not! It is very upsetting I totally agree with you. I think they did send medals to those who didnt get one but it is still a bummer. Great time!!!
Congrats on your run! š You are such an inspirations!
xoxo
Kathleen
Just to clarify, The race shirt policy was that you were only guaranteed a shirt if you were one of the first 300 or so registered or you made the extra $5-$10 donation to the Allie Fund.
Thanks for clarifying. Why then did my friends receive shirts and people who registered after me receive them as well?
Because they donated to the Allie Fund – duh! No shirt guaranteed without some additional generousity. The is the first year they did the race, and it was for a good cause. The t-shirts were for people who recognized that. You should not smear a race meant to raise money for a young girl that was taken too early.
I don’t think I did that at all! I just thought there was no rhyme or reason why some people got shirts and others didn’t.