Breakfast, Race
Well good morning!!! Err….afternoon!
Note to self: even if you’re one of the 1st to arrive at a race, do not park in the 1st parking lot if you plan on leaving at 8am.
Rewind:
My morning started bright & early- so early it was still pitch dark outside- to head to the Belews Lake Triathlon to put my volunteering skills to use. (Winding country roads in the dark with night blindness- quite interesting)
Coffee & breakfast were promised upon arrival, but just in case I grabbed a peanut butter bagel thin sandwich with sunflower seeds and my own coffee to go. Good decision- “breakfast” consisted of those oatmeal icing pie cookies that come in a box. I don’t know what they’re called but they were in every kid’s lunchbox in elementary school. And no coffee. Sigh.
Anyways, I was assigned to body marking!! I loved this station because I got to check out all the athletes (and their bikes!) and give the first-timers a quick overview.
500+ athletes marked in 2 hours- I gots skills. 🙂
When I was done with my duties, I headed down to see the water start & say hi to Kelly who was racing!! (She knocked it out of the park by the way!!)
It’s usually a pretty warm lake, but since it’s so early in the year, it was wetsuit legal today. I can’t say I was upset I didn’t have to get in the chilly water, but I was sad not to be racing.
By this point I was getting hungry for a more substantial breakfast, so I walked back to my car to head home. Umm not only was my car completely blocked in in the back row of the parking lot, the only path out of the parking lot led directly into race traffic for the biking and the running. Looks like I wasn’t going anywhere!
Except for being hungry it ended up being ok- I got to do some spectating instead! This was the 1st race I’ve been to that I wasn’t running in.
I got kind of nervous watching the super fasties come out of the transition area on their bikes- almost all of them had clipless pedals, and so many of them were having a heck of a time getting their shoes clipped in. It probably didn’t help that they were trying to do it going uphill. (Isn’t that cruel- the bike and the run both started up a steep hill.)
Then I headed to the finish line. The first person in was only 22- and he made it look EASY. Ha!
First girl:
Not gonna lie, this girl’s hot- and yes, I marked those muscles 😉 Haha.
I was starving, so I finally grabbed a piece of pizza. Ahhh.
My morning ended with a good dose of bike envy…
…and an urge to jump in the pool and get swimming 😉
Race
Our relay team qualified for Boston!! Oh what’s that you say? There’s no “4 person coed relay team” category? Well, there should be 😉 I’m pretty sure that’s the only way I’d make it there haha.
The Valentine’s Massacre Marathon Relay was fantastic!
Kelly, Justin, Kerry, and I got to the race about an hour before it started to check in and get ready. We quickly realized just how frigidly cold out it was. Extra layers were thrown on almost immediately; hand warmers were a lifesaver!
All bundled up:
The race finally got under way around 10:15. Justin ran first, then Kelly, Kerry, and me bringing up the rear. The first lap was 2.2 miles, then the other 15 loops were 1.6 miles- we each ran four laps, alternating runners with each lap.
Basically, you run for about 15 minutes, then try not to freeze for 45 minutes. As soon as you’re done running, you bundle back up. You wait until you can see the runner before you coming around the last bend before you start peeling off layers.
Here’s the hand-off section. Can you find me? It’s like Where’s Waldo 🙂
The first half of each lap was the hardest- there were a couple gradual hills and two icy patches to maneuver. Once you hit the mile mark on each loop, it was fairly flat or downhill, making it a nice way to finish the loop.
My favorite part of a race is the last 100 yards or so, when you kick in and give it everything you’ve got to hit the finish line. One of the things I loved about the way this relay was organized was that I got to “finish” four times in a row.
Running just over a mile and then resting was a fun way to be able to run the overall 6.4 miles at a pace that was faster than you could normally maintain.
By the third set of loops, we were starting to think about where we were going to get some pizza when we were done. (Thinking about the pizza and beer to come was good motivation pushing up those hills!) Apparently I was all too distracted by the idea of pizza that I completely forgot I was supposed to be keeping an eye out for Kerry. None of us saw him coming until he was right behind us and we heard him call out. Startled, I immediately ripped off my gloves (what was I thinking?) and stripped off my coat and scarf, grabbed the timing chip and took off. Whew, close call. Somehow I knew that I’d be the one to almost screw up… crisis averted!
The last loop was definitely the most difficult. I had a strange, sharp pain in my back under my shoulder blade, which eventually moved into what felt like my lungs. I already thought my lungs were going to explode from breathing in all that cold air. Knowing it was the end I kept pushing through, and the pain eased away. As soon as I got to the last stretch I sprinted with everything I had left! I don’t think I could have ran a split second faster.
Each time a runner crossed the timing mats, they had to bend down to make sure the timing chip could be picked up electronically. The last time I crossed at the finish, the chip didn’t beep, so the finish-line guy had to take it back and cross it up close to get it to work. Even after all that though I saw the clock had just hit 3:40.
I knew the race would take more than four hours, so there was no doubt I’d get hungry during that time, but I wasn’t sure what to bring. I ended up packing an assortment of snacks so I could decide what I wanted while I was there. Here’s what I brought:
I didn’t end up eating any of it though. They had a pretty good assortment of food: Doritos, animal crackers, Mike & Ikes, pretzels, bagels, peanut butter, jelly, bananas, and apples. They brought out some hot chili at the end too. I grabbed a little bit of water and some animal crackers after most loops even though I really wasn’t in the mood to eat. After the second lap I ate half a bagel with peanut butter to hold me over until the end. It took everything I had not to grab a cup of hot coffee! (I wasn’t sure how coffee in the middle of running would go over.) I think the only time my appetite goes away is right after I run!
I think this race may have won best race-shirt- they gave out sweatshirts! Completely appropriate given the weather, but surprising none the less. Ok, maybe not the most attractive sweatshirt ever, but I’ll definitely wear it more than the usual way-too-big race tees. And who doesn’t love a hoodie?! 🙂
Before we knew it, the race was over and we were headed to pizza! It took at least an hour for my lungs to start functioning normally again. Kelly and I both felt like we’d developed a temporary smoker’s cough. I guess it was from gulping freezing cold air all morning.
Team shot after pizza:
SO MUCH FUN!!!
The results still aren’t posted….I’ll put them up as soon as I get them!
Edited to add:
RACE RESULTS ARE IN!! (Finally!)
Check out my full race recap here if you haven’t already!
Overall: 40/105 3:41:15 8:21/M (which is weird because I definitely had a cup of water in my hand and was walking back to the group when the clock was at 3:40…and it says the distance was 26.5 miles, not 26.2.)
Division: 10/37 4 person co-ed teams
My splits:
| Lap # |
Total Lap (1.6m) |
Min/mile |
| Lap 4 |
12:54 |
8:04/M |
| Lap 8 |
12:51 |
8:02/M |
| Lap 12 |
13:18 |
8:19/M |
| Lap 16 |
13:09 |
8:13/M |
Wait what? My pace really starts with an 8? That certainly says something about cold as a motivation factor. And knowing your only running 1.6 miles then you get to rest.
It’s fun to be able to see times like that!
They definitely make sense—the 3rd and 4th laps I ran were definitely harder than the first two!
What’s ironic is 10 people ran the whole thing solo; 7 of them finished before we did. I’m telling you, if you ever want to be inspired, stand near the finish line of a race!
Kelly and I all bundled up…actually I think this before we added even more extra layers…:)
Race
I decided to literally start the new year off on the right foot. This morning I rolled out of bed, bundled up, and laced up my running shoes. After a quick bowl of Cheerios and half a cup of coffee, I headed out the door to a nearby park for the 2010 Resolution Run 5K.
There was quite a turnout, and there were tons of people herding towards the start line as I arrived. The walk to the start was almost as long as the race itself—what a great warm up! (I knew the girl directing traffic, so I actually got a prized spot in a closer parking lot, but it was still a trek.) So many people showed up they ran out of t-shirts—I didn’t get one even though I was pre-registered :(.
Instead of a registration fee, the only requirement was that every racer bring 10 canned food items.
The weatherman had originally been calling for freezing temperatures and ice, so I brought lots of layers with me. I don’t know what he was talking about because it was about 40 degrees. I ended running with a light running jacket, headband, and gloves, and was quite comfortable.
The 5K followed an out and back path through the park. It was a pretty narrow trail, so it was quite crowded at the beginning. I have no idea how I ended up near the front of the pack at the start line, but I shouldn’t have been there! People were passing me right and left- I felt like I was in the way, but I just moved to the side and tried to stay out of the main path.
I resisted the urge to keep up with the pack because I knew if I started that fast I would never make it. I wrestled with a pretty bad cramp in my right side for about the first mile, but I kept taking deep breaths and did my best to work through it.
The turn around was just after an old wooden bridge. The bridge bounced with frightening flexibility as the pack of runners pounded across it. It was a strange feeling have the ground bounce beneath at a different pulse than my steps!
I almost laughed out loud at one point when I heard a man say behind me “I’ll be damned if I get beat by a girl in pink flowered shorts!” (They were actually palm trees, but you know. She was right in front of me. I wonder if she beat him)
I felt like I finally hit my groove just after the 2 mile point. I picked up the pace a little, and decided to finish strong. The course ended with not one, but two fairly steep hills that lead to the finish line. I usually sprint in the last leg of a race, but it was all I could do to keep my momentum up the hills!
I crossed the finish line at 29:23! Slow in comparison to my old 5K times, but in my new era of running I was pretty happy with this. I was expecting to finish around 30 minutes or just after, so I’m quite pleased. I averaged a 9:29 pace, which I feel pretty good about. I think I came in 215 or so out of 514. For some reason my age didn’t show up in the results, so I don’t know where I finished in my age group.
After some stretching, I grabbed a post-race bagel with peanut butter and a nice warm cup of coffee. I think this was the best bagel I’ve ever had. (And I don’t think it was just the post-run euphoria teasing my tastebuds.)
I had half walking back to my car, and had the other half while I was icing my butt when I got home.
My feet seemed to do semi-ok—better than my butt fared! (Which I think is good in some weird, twisted way.)
I got a late Christmas present that I tested out too (even though I didn’t really need to!)
Pink Recovery Socks!
Definitely a great way to start off a new year!!
