Five weeks, four race bibs.  I’m the proud owner of plenty of race-supplied safety pins, if you need any.

The final race of this trip went down last Friday, when I ran the Subaru Four-Mile Chase.  It wasn’t the best race of this summer ever ONLY because my sister Isa wasn’t there to run it with me. I still managed to rock it, though–and I ran with that face again the entire time.

I warmed up by jogging before the race and oh my goodness, did that make a difference.  I will never again be stingy with my steps again.

This hot afternoon race was also my first race by myself with the Garmin, with nothing to stop me from obsessing or hating on it, and I am happy to report that the Garmin and I made very surprising peace on the run.  I decided that I’d push it if I felt like it and that I’d let myself back off–guilt-free–and enjoy the race if my legs didn’t want to cooperate, but my legs and head were in full cooperation mode, so I was never tempted to throw the Garmin onto the road and stomp on it when I saw my pace.

There were sprinklers and hoses set up to mist runners on the loop from Bidwell Parkway to Delaware and down Summer back to Elmwood, which kept me happy and misted.  And, between miles two and three, when my 10:00-10:30 pace was in danger of flagging, I found myself running near a runner who had his leg amputated from the knee down.   He was having a blast.  It was breathtaking and impressive and sent chills down my spine, and I decided that there was NO WAY I was letting up on my pace because I was sticking near him.

As for the final sprint:  it was CRAZY.  A very friendly lady was running near me and encouraging other runners to sprint to the end, and I panted “I’m coming with you!”–and I did, at breakneck speed, for the last four hundred meters or so.  I didn’t catch her name, but I owe her a HUGE thank you for taking Isa’s speedy place and getting me to my best four-mile run ever.

I was just so shocked to finish in 42:30–and it was awesome to see the surprise on my mom’s and Mr. Man’s faces when I came through, as they hadn’t been expecting me until minute 44 or 45 in the race.  Ha, I showed them.  Maybe next time I can even pull off a first place arrival as spectacular as the one Mr. Man caught (his road race picture taking just makes my heart so proud):

I just can’t believe how great these races in Buffalo have been, every single one! Maybe it’s the post-race company (my mom and sisters are the best at watching me eat post-race hot dogs) or the temperatures (because, well, running in less than 93 F is just better), or maybe it’s the fact that I need to justify my Garmin to myself.

Or maybe it’s because I feel the need to outrun the shirtless/sunburnt/wacky tattoo/crazy Caveman barefoot runners that seem to grace every race I’ve been in this summer.

Whatever.  I’ll take it.

Here’s to my Buffalo Summer of 2011 Racing Season–thank you for justifying my running top purchasing and Garmin coveting, I hope I did you proud!