Us, at home after the race -- we were soaked and freezing!!!!! I wanted a hot shower and some hot tea ASAP!!!!
Saturday morning dawned dreary and gloomy and wet. YUCK -- not my fave way to wake up, at all!!!! We were kidless, the monsters (all 4 of them) stayed at Gramma's house for the night b/c we had back to back races and I can't afford to pay the sitter twice in one weekend......
The race started at 7:30, so we left the house at 6:30, well, 6:35 by the time we actually left.....we got up to Valpo at about 7:05 (we were already cutting it close time-wise!!!) and, then, GASP!!!!!!!! there is NOWHERE to park....freakin NOWHERE..we actually drove around for 15 solid minutes to find a space...thankfully, we are borrowing C's parents car b/c my van is sick, so we finally found a spot for the little car to fit. Then we high-tailed it (yeah, I said it...HIGH-TAILED) over to the registration tent to get our bibs and shirts....all they have left is XL, perfect for Chris, not so good at all for me.....I have recently discovered that I may be just a teensy little bit smaller than I think, and I need a size small, not XL...but, I take the shirt, b/c I paid for it. It is raining and chilly, and overall miserable, and the race starts in just 6 minutes. I have an upset stomach and REALLY need to 'use' the bathroom (this is a common occurrence when I don't KNOW that my kids are OK.....there are very few people I trust whole-heartedly with my darling little monsters, and my mom is in the maybe-trust-her-category....something about alcohol consumption and children don't mix well) So, Chris decided to run the shirts back to the car while I hit the porta-potty......I am so cold and wet that I threw my shirt on over the l/s tech tee I had on, I had to knot it in the back, but I was infinitely warmer, and drier. I stand in line, and realize, that I am in fact a princess (Chris's new nickname for me as of lately) I can NOT "use" any bathroom but my own at home (ugh -- pretty inconvenient for this whole racing thing we do) I manage to pee, and I realize the race starts in 2.5 minutes...and I have no idea where C is......I finally see him, and he still has to "use" the bathroom -- no worries though, he's a pro at this (guess that's what 3 years of driving a semi over-the-road will do for ya) and we manage to line up, LITERALLY 30 seconds before the cannon (yeah, a real freakin cannon, a really LOUD cannon) goes off! Chris takes off right away, and I settle into my normal easy pace of about 9:20-9:30 for the first mile.....I like to take the first one slow, especially in anything longer than a 5K, it gives people a chance to thin out, I don't like competing for my little corner to run in during the race......I am feeling pretty good about the run, nothing hurts, aches or throbs -- always a good feeling during a race!!!
This is a pretty flat course, there are 2 hills, one is at about the 2.5-3 mile mark, and it is (according to my Garmin) 197 foot ascent, but it is pretty short -- it's one of those look-down-at-your-feet-and-gut-your-way-up-the-hill-and-you'll-live hills. I hit the 3 at 27:something and was feeling GREAT!!! I knew I had a good race in me, but I also knew we have a killer extreme 8K tomorrow, so I decided to NOT give everything today, so that I could race tomorrow too.....I was having fun using my Garmin (thanks Jackie) and letting everyone know where we were and what our current pace was, and how much race was left. Once we hit the 4, I decided to kick it up to 4th gear -- I like to run most races in about 3rd gear, so I can leave some for a good strong finish, or unexpected terrain. I knew this course ended uphill (we did it last year) so I was reserving some for that -- once we rounded the final turn and I saw the finish hill, I stayed in "4th" gear, b/c it was a hill after all.... I am proud to say that this hill kicked my butt last year, but I must be doing something right b/c the hill was really nothing to my and my thighs this year!!! I finished at a relaxed pace, and saw Chris right before the finish chute, and found out that he ran a 41:something!!! Ohhhhhhh, my jealousy spiked!!! I have since become quite proud of him (while retaining some jealously --the guy NEVER runs to train, but his job is psycho-physically-demanding) We are sure to do this run again next year -- It is Chris's favorite run (I think that's because it was the first race he ever beat me in -- and he has beat me in every race since then!!!)
Finish Stats:
Chris:
41:08 ~~ finish
8:14 ~~ pace per mile
32 out of 49 male 30-34
298 out of 920 racers
Julie:
45:29 ~~ finish
9:06 ~~ pace per mile
21 out of 65 female 30-34
502 out of 920 racers
No comments:
Post a Comment