Ah Firecracker: the race we love to hate and yet keep coming back to, year after year. Always hot (except for one fluke cool year), it was much hotter than previous years. We all set out to take it sort of easy and enjoy the race — and we did!
Getting There & Hanging Out
We have a group that has been either meeting up at the race and/or going up together — like this year. A few others come and meet up with us too, and we all ran into more people we knew as we walked around, as usual — including a few ladies from the Freihofers training challenge, which was nice to see.
Thankfully the city center, where packet pickup is, is air conditioned. And real bathrooms. You would think that we would just hunker down inside there — that everyone would hunker down inside there — and we pretty much did.
It wasn’t quite as bad as we all thought it would be, though. We had time to take a few group photos before the race began. Afterwards we were all a hot mess!
The weather & dressing
Skirt Sports for the win. I went with the Racecation Tank (yes, I wore the exact same one last year!) and Cool It Skirt; Newton Motion on the feet.
It was hot — 80F — and not a cloud in the sky.
My Race Plan
Coach Rachel @ Runningonhappy had a plan for me and it was basically to use this as a progressive run. I didn’t ask, but with the hot temps, I threw the plan out the window and just ran by feel.
So how’d that work for me?
- Mile 1: 10:59. Last year I talked about being frustrated by slow racers/walkers in this mile, but mused if I’d started out faster maybe I would have slowed down in the last mile. Somehow this year I started out much faster and for the most part, just maintained a consistent pace.
- Mile 2: 11:00. The first water stop isn’t until this mile, but I carry my own water and never stop at a stop (but I sure ran through every sprinkler and hose out there, and I quickly lost count of how many there were — the spectator support is one of the reasons I love this race!). Because parking is difficult and we have to leave early, I’d have filled my bottles with water the night before and froze them. Otherwise it would have been like drinking bath water — that worked well for me.
- Mile 3: 10:50. Almost exactly the same pace as last year; it’s a relatively flat mile.
- Mile 4: 10:57. This last mile is always tough. There’s no shade. It’s mostly uphill. Always a hot race, this year was the hottest one ever — 80F at the start as opposed to last year’s 70F at the start — and as usual, not a cloud in the sky. There was a man that went down right in front of me in the last half mile — always so scary (I assume it was due to the heat).
44:02 — Official Time
11:04 Average Pace
43 out of 100 in 55-59 division
Previous years:
2017: 44:17
2016: 47:10
2015: 44:11
2014: 47:48
I had no clue what my past race finish times were. I just went out to run by feel and not kill myself. I was astounded to snag a course PR (not my 4 mile PR, that was set in a race in early Spring quite a few years ago that was much, much cooler) — by a mere 9 seconds but I’ll take it!
The best part? Of course it wasn’t easy, but it didn’t feel as hard as I expected it to.
Was the race well run?
This race is so much fun — if you’re ever in Saratoga, NY on the fourth you should check it out. There’s a ton of spectator support and the locals are out in force with hoses — much appreciated — even on a hot fourth like this one!
The late start is a pain, as is parking. Unless you know Saratoga well, the parking situation can be nerve wracking.
I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.
This week I am also joining up with Running on Happy, Suzlyfe, Crazy Running Girl, and Coach Debbie Runs each week for the Coaches’ Corner linkup
Chocolaterunsjudy 
Nice job and congrats on that course PR! You’ve really been having a great year of running, Judy!
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Well, we’ll see what the half holds for me. I’m counting on elevation to help with temps — right now the highs are in the triple digits or mid 90s out in ID. Who knew?
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So weird that the 4th fell on a Wednesday and you had a race in the middle of the week. I also did a race and had so much fun. It was HOT too!
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Yeah for a fun, hot race (although a fun cool one is even more fun — but you feel so bada$$ conquering the heat, right?).
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Haha, yes! 🙂
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Congrats on that course PR despite the heat! Look at those consistent paces!
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It was supposed to be a progressive run. 🙂
But seriously, I didn’t watch my pace and just tried to push a little but be mindful of not pushing too hard.
I was definitely super happy with the results!
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That’s awesome that you’re able to run the race each year with a group of friends. Great job on your course PR despite the heat and humidity!
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I was really surprised that I did that well — totally unexpected. Thanks, Kim!
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Awesome!!
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Thanks, Natalie!
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Glad to hear that you got an unexpected PR on the course! Races in the summer should start extra early due to the rising temps.
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We always say this race should start earlier, but there’s a kid’s race afterwards, there’s a parade, I’m guessing there’s a reason for it.
Always makes it tough — but the spectator support is so great, it’s fun, too!
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Nicely done! I need to look into this one
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It’s a lot of fun — but a little far for you?
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I have family in Albany
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I see! It really is a super fun race — otherwise we wouldn’t come back for it year after year.
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I’m glad you had a good day despite the heat. You ladies all look tremendous in your outfits. Happy, too!
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Aw, thanks, Connie — we all had a good time.
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Congrats on the course PR! And yay for it feeling not as hard as you expected 🙂
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The not feeling as hard as expected was totally unexpected. 🙂
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Sounds like a fun race! I always love when they hose you down on hot race courses. I make it a point to run through the sprinklers.
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I don’t always run through the sprinklers, but this year it was so hot I definitely do.
Last year they actually had misting stages along the course — like a cube throwing out mist. I didn’t see any this year & my friend said she didn’t either. But considering how hot it was, three cheers for all those spectators!
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Congrats on the course PR and consistent paces.
The race starts about an hour and half too late or I’d consider it. Esp on a busy holiday.
Looks like a similar beginning to the Palio that starts at the Convention center.
At least this past heat wave acclimated you to ID.
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Everyone thinks it starts too late.
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Wow, great job on that PR! And, those splits…so consistent!
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Thanks, KIm. I’m actually not usually consistent when it comes to pace!
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Nice run! Congrats!!! You are such a consistent runner. Your mile splits were all so similar. Way to go. Loved seeing the pictures of you and your crew. Sounds like you had a wonderful race.
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I don’t normally run that consistently — usually I’m really quite good at negative splits, even on easy runs. That’s just what my body felt like that particular day.
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That’s impressive. I usually go the other way – positive splits! 😦
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They’re not ALL negative splits, of course, and many are what I call ping pong runs or bell curves. But I am actually pretty good at negative splits!
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Congrats on the PR! Those are some impressively even splits; may not have been the plan, but even is always better than fizzling out at the end.
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LOL, it definitely wasn’t the plan but I’m perfectly content with it.
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Girl, you are reeling in the PRs left and right! Congratulations! Love the color of your Newtons …aren’t they just the best? Every time I try a different brand it just makes me love my Newtons that much more!!
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Thanks! Although they’re not all PRs. 🙂
I do love my Newtons — but I find I can’t run in just Newtons or my Achilles starts to talk to me. Although I’d really rather just run in them! I need more cushioning sometimes, though.
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It was so hot that day! I love having a group of friends that do the same race every year. Keeps it fun!
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It’s always more fun in a group!
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I bet running around Saratoga was beautiful. I looked at Skidmore on my college tour years ago, and it was my second choice. I got into my first choice so I stayed in Massachusetts.
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Saratoga is a nice town to run and/or walk around. In the summer. Not so much in winter (not that MA is any better).
Seriously, HS seniors should go visiting in winter!
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Congrats on the PR even in the heat!! Whoop! And I think your decision of throwing the progression run out the window and running by feel was pretty smart. Progression runs are hard anyway and adding in sweltering heat and humidity just makes it more difficult. You may not have progressed in pace but you were pretty close each mile and I’d call that a big WIN! And I love hoses and sprinklers out on a hot run/race course. I don’t get too many sprinklers here on my runs but when we lived in Florida, oh yes…my favorite spot was the Baptist church about a mile from home with 5-7 sprinklers going at a time. Talk about play time! haha!
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Great job on the course PR! I ran a 4th race called the Firecracker 5k and for a second I thought we ran the same race, but then I saw yours was a 4 miler. Keep up the great work!
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