Now I will begin writing about some races, not in order. I have been neglecting to record anything about my races lately, and I want to do it and I always have lots of ideas about what I want to say, but I am just not finding the time.
Gotta start somewhere, so starting with the one I did Sunday: the 9th annual State-to-State Half-Marathon. This is one of those races I have done every year since it started, so now I have to keep doing it every year because I have a "streak" to protect.
The race starts and finishes in Oxford, Ohio (home of Miami University) and follows a mostly out-and-back course of rolling hills into Indiana and back. It begins in "uptown" Oxford, passes through some residential areas and then into farmland, and back again. The first and last tenth of a mile or so is on red bricks, with the rest of it on your normal asphalt roadway.
I have a little spreadsheet of my results from this race each year. The data includes my weight, my time, my placement, and any relative details about why things unfolded the way they did. I've never run a very good time here. The first year was just before my knee surgery, when I was already slightly injured but in denial about it. And I've never managed to get back into the kind of shape I was in before that injury.
My best time at this race was a 2:04 in 2006. By comparison, my 1/2 marathon PR is 1:47, set on the much flatter Dayton course in 2002, just before I qualified for Boston. My worst time was last year, when I struggled through a 2:19 (recovering from bronchitis, overweight, undertrained, hot day?).
This year I had an idea about trying to go under 2:00. It seemed possible, though less realistic than something in the 2:03 - 2:05 range. So I decided I would aim for the sub-2:00, but not let myself be disappointed in a 2:04, which would at least beat last year's time. I figured I was definitely in at least 2:04 shape.
Got up at 5 am for my two cups of coffee and one cup of vanilla yogurt. Dressed and in the car by 6 am. Arrived in Oxford around 7 am and found my regular parking spot on Church St. (two blocks from the start) just waiting for me.
Hit the portapotties before the lines start to form. Picked up my bib (# 3, I assume in deference to my exalted standing as a streaker), shirt and timing chip. The shirts this year are a little better than usual---long-sleeved technical shirt, in white, with the race logo (which is rather ugly and uninspired). This is not why I do this race. I do it because I am a streaker!
Yes, as races go, and as half-marathon races go, it is not my favorite. But it is okay. Its charms have grown on me over the 9 years of participating. It is, for one thing, a good value. It is reasonably well-supported. The drive is on the long side for a local event, but easy enough to get to. I know the course really well by now. It has become a very comfortable event for me.
I see a couple of other people with low bib numbers. In most races these are reserved for the elite runners. But none of these people look any fitter than I am. So maybe we are all the streakers. I wonder if they are going to recognize us in some way at the start, thank us for our years of support, or whatever. But nothing like that happens. In the 5th year they gave us all autographed copies of a book about a race across the country during the Depression. I am assuming that they will do something for us in the 10th year. My plan is to keep running this race every year until I am the only streaker left.
I was wearing black capri tights, a black short-sleeved technical top (from the Mason Half-Marathon) and my white cap from Fargo. In a little fanny pack, I am carrying my car key, 2 packs of GU Chomps, a chapstick and a small tube of Aquaphor. It was still a little chilly, and at the last minute I decided to add my blue long-sleeved technical top from Milwaukee. It is light enough to take off and tie around my waist, and would keep the drizzle off if it started again.
Hit the portapotties again. Had to wait on line this time. Went out in the street behind the start line. Did not see anyone I knew. Heard some people talking about a 2:00 pace so lined myself up by them. Not as far back as I usually start. Hoped I wouldn’t get passed by too many people right away.
No National Anthem this year (I think they played it before they started the walkers, a half-hour earlier). No hullabaloo, no announcements. At 8:00 am we are off.
It takes me about ten seconds to cross the start line. I’m in the right place, not getting passed and not having to run around people. I get water at the first aid station. They have them every mile this year. I don’t seem to remember that many in the past. I miss the first mile marker but that’s okay because I know where I am. I take off the blue shirt and tie it around my waist. I think about ditching it but it doesn’t weigh that much. I pass the people playing drums who are out there every year.
A sub-2:00 is about 9:05 to 9:10 pace. My first two miles take 17:54, so I’m just about there. We go through the upscale subdivision, we go through the assisted living complex. I am wondering if I am overdressed, and I hope the sun doesn’t come out. Mile 3 is 9:03, still right on pace. I have some Chomps. I am taking water or Gatorade at every aid station, and walking a minute per mile. Sometimes I walk for 30 seconds through the aid station and another 30 seconds on an uphill. There are a few people who pass me when I take my walking breaks, and to amuse myself I keep track of how long it takes me to catch up with them after I start running again, and when in the race they disappear for good. Disappear behind me, that is.
Mile 4 is 9:12, but I don’t worry about it with the hills. I pass some black cattle chomping away in a field, including one very large bull. Good morning, Mr. Bull! I pass some horses, who come running out towards the fence to greet us and I swear they are smiling. Good morning, horses!
Mile 5 is 8:53. Mile 6 is 8:59. I have some more Chomps. We cross over into Indiana. We hit the turnaround. I think about how I always slow down so much in the second half of this race. You are running into the sun and the wind. I wonder what is going to happen today.
Mile 7 is 9:47. I try not to be disheartened. It is still overcast and the temps are holding steady. I try to focus on how good I feel, how if I can just run the next 6 miles in an hour I will have a sub-2:04 at least. I remind myself about how in the middle of this race sometimes the mile markers seem a little off and also there are the hills.
Mile 8 is 8:39 and that's more like it! Mile 9 is 9:30. I'll be done in less than 40 minutes, I tell myself. I'm skipping the Chomps now and sticking with Gatorade.
Mile 10 is 9:32. The horses and the cows all seem to have gone inside. Mile 11 is 9:24. I look forward to the downhill portion of mile 12. The drummers are still out to lend their support. Mile 12 is 9:01.
The last mile is mostly uphill, but once you hit the bricks, you can see the finish line. I try to pick it up. And then I can see the clock and realize that I am going to break two hours for sure. I run a 9:12 for the last 1.1 miles, kicking hard at the end. I don't throw up, but have some problems in the other direction, so to speak. I don't care. I cross the line in 1:59:15 on the clock, 1:59:04 chip time.
I get my medal, catch my breath, check out the food. I'm not too hungry, but I have some more Gatorade, and later I go back for a cheese stick. I hang around a little while, and notice that they are posting the results up on a concrete pillar. I debate looking at the results vs. waiting to find out when I get home. Finally I go to check.
I discover that I have gotten second place in my age group. Yeehah! I am pretty excited about this, because I have never placed in my age group at this race before, never even really come close. Woo! I have to look at it a couple of times, walk away and keep coming back and looking at it to make sure I'm seeing it right.
Now I have to wait for my award to come in the mail. Anti-climactic but better than nothing. Not too bad for an old gal. Not super speedy but respectable, almost local-class time. And faster than last year, by a bunch. The little bits of more serious training I have been doing are working.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Race Back to Clark
This is about a race I did on August 13.
Why this race instead of others going on that day: because the start and finish lines were a mile from my house.
Cause the race benefits/celebrates: Clark Montessori High School is ready to move into its brand new building, after several years of operating out of another building in a bad neighborhood on the other side of town.
How I found out about this race: First I heard of it was when I saw some little road signs set out in the grass across the street from the Kroger the week before. That is not the way I usually find out about races.
The course: 5k start and finishes in front of the school. Covers some streets found in both the Flying Pig and the Hyde Park Blast races, and passes by my old house.
What I did the day before: Went for a little jog along the course. Found two different descriptions of which way we would go, so I picked the one that made most sense to me. My take on it had us running against traffic, and on the busiest and least-scenic streets first. It was a mostly downhill first mile, mostly flat second mile, and a slightly uphill third mile.
I picked up the course at an intersection about a half-mile from home, so it makes a nice little four-mile route that I think I will do again. I already run most of these streets regularly and have for years, but not in this exact configuration.
The weather: was supposed to be overcast but turned quite sunny by the 9 am start. But at least it was cooler and less humid than it had been recently.
What I wore: Black shorts, black shirt, pink cap from Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon, Nike Pegasus shoes. Debated wearing bike shorts instead and also bringing Chomps. I was going to try to make this into a 10-mile run by combining a long warmup and cooldown with the race.
What I was expecting at the race: There were two other well-established 5ks and a 10k event going on at the same time in other parts of town. So I was expecting that most "regular" racers would be doing one of those other events. At this race, I expected students, parents, maybe a few alumni and teachers. And chaos, I expected a bit of chaos. Which is not a big deal if you are ready for it.
What I found at this race: Pretty much as expected! But overall a nice community event with just a few glitches that are easy to fix, and did not prevent me from having a nice time. These little community 5ks are my absolute favorite kind of race.
Pre-race: Left house around 8:20 to jog the mile up to the start line. Picked up my race number at the table on the sidewalk. I had thought we would probably start and finish in the school parking lot, but it looked like maybe it wasn't ready/safe enough for us to do that yet in the construction zone. So the start and finish was out on Erie Ave., offset from each other by about .1 miles.
I know from my jog that the loop is slightly less than 3 miles around, so I figure we are going to have to run past the finish line in the beginning or do something a little different to get it up to 3.1. The web site says the race is USATF-certified---except they spell it USTAF-certified. Ohoh. Harbinger of chaos!
I asked a volunteer which way we were running, and he tells me that it is the opposite direction of the way I jogged yesterday. Oh goody, so the last mile is all uphill. Well, it's not like I haven't run up that hill a few times before. But I was kind of looking forward to running down it.
Well, it's still early and I'm bored, so I jog a little more up and down Erie Ave. I run into Ralph B., an old runner guy I used to work with who lives on the race course, on his way to the start. I don't know if he remembers me or not, but he asks me if it is too late to register and I tell him he has plenty of time.
I wonder where David Jones is. He also lives along the race course. Maybe he is at Newtown.
Lots of teenagers and parents around. Everybody is smiling and happy. Some people are wearing shirts that say things like "it's good to be back home" or something like that on the back. It is a very nice atmosphere.
At the start line: There are some announcements and I can hear them but I can't remember what the guy said. I decide to line up pretty close to the start. Even if these teenagers are on the Clark cross-country team (if Clark has such a thing), I don't expect many to be very fast. And there are not too many potential old lady competitors for me in view. Many of the women are not even wearing running clothes, so we assume they are walkers. This does not seem to stop them from lining up near the front.
For example, there are two older women right behind the start line, and if I don't look like a runner to some people, well, let's say these two women really don't look like runners. They don't even look like walkers, despite wearing running shoes. I guess they want to be close to the start so the race will be as short as possible for them? One of them is wearing a backpack. The other one---get ready, this is amazing---is reading from a Kindle! Well, she does have an earphone in so maybe she is listening to an audiobook. But really! She has a giant shoulder bag and she is holding the Kindle, and she is right up at the start line of the race!
So I make sure I am not right behind these two. Having to throw some elbows or run right over their backs just doesn't seem in the spirit of the day. The announcer does say that walkers should start in the back, but these gals don't move.
I am next to Cindy Moore and her husband, who is pushing their toddler in a jogging stroller. Cindy Moore is younger and much faster than I am. I am wondering if she is maybe going to win the race. I think about telling her she needs to get in front of the lady with the Kindle, but I stay quiet.
The race: starts a couple of minutes late but not too bad. Fortunately it's not too crowded, and unlike at the Kilgour 5k, the kids are older so there is less chance of getting tripped. I feel like Cindy Moore is behind me, and wonder what's up with that.
We run west on Erie and turn right on Paxton for a short, steep climb (but it's very short and early in the race). A pack of three young girls with heavy footfalls are chatting and soon complaining about how tired they are already.
We take the first right onto Victoria. This is a lovely street of homes built mostly around 1920. Our old neighbor when we lived on Marburg used to say that if you had $5000, you built a house on Marburg, if you had $10000, you built one on Portsmouth, and if you had $15000, you built one on Victoria. (Our house on Marburg was where the builder supposedly lived, and where he must have used his leftover windows and doors and all the other mismatched odds and ends. But it is still a nice solid little house).
Anyway, Victoria is a very nice street. There is a water stop a bit past the first half-mile. Kinda early. Doesn't make sense. And the guy manning the water stop is calling out split times. Chaos? Would make make more sense if we were going the other way, close to what would be the two-mile mark.
Victoria ends and we turn left onto Portsmouth, passing Coffee Emporium (one of the race sponsors).
Around this time I realize there are no mile markers. Chaos! Well, I certainly know right where I am, and I'm a pretty good judge of my own pace, so I can deal with it. I would be irritated if I wasn't so familiar with the route.
Portsmouth is a nice street too, just not as nice as Victoria. Both roll just slightly and have plenty of large shade trees. Victoria and Portsmouth find their ways onto all of my neighborhood long runs. When I lived on Marburg, I ran them just about every day.
Portsmouth ends back at Paxton, where we turn right and then make another quick right onto Wasson. This is the "ugly" and "commercial" section of the course. We run by the Kroger and Richards Industries. But the really bad part is that we are running into the sun. Now, if we had my way (and my way is always so much better!) we would have gotten this stretch over early, and we would have had the sun at our backs. Better to run into the sun on Portsmouth. But here we are.
People I am aware of during the race: Okay, the pack of three girls had passed me but then I caught them again and now they are well behind me. There is a young boy and a woman/girl (can't quite tell her age, could be anything) just in front of me for the second mile, and I stay behind and draft off them a bit but then I have to go around them. And I am thinking, what is wrong with you kid that you are letting an old lady "chick" you? Sad.
Another woman comes from behind and passes me. She is tall, and looks to be over 40. I hope she is not in my age group. She puts some distance between us, and I wonder how far behind me she started.
We turn right on Marburg, and we pass my old house and I barely notice, as I am really focused on the race. We make the final turn onto Erie for the last hill, and I just keep telling myself this is my hill, I run it all the time, no big deal. I am running beside a young girl. A woman tells us that we are in the top ten females. I find this motivating but I don't know what happens to the kid, because she drops back.
I would like to pick it up and see if I can catch the tall woman, but I don't want to kick until I see the finish line. She is slowing down. And there it is, so I kick, and I almost catch her.
No finish line clock. Chaos! I look at my watch. No way! I know instantly the course is at least .2 short. Chaos! If we'd had mile markers out there it would be even more obvious. I have not run within two minutes of that time in ten years. Get serious. I did not run a 5k three minutes faster than I did two months ago.
Kinda bummed, because I would have liked to see what my time would be on an accurate course! Oh well.
I grabbed a bottle of water and walked up a little dirt trail to the school’s turf playfield. There was a great potluck spread put out by the parent volunteers, but I wasn’t ready to eat yet. I had some Gatorade and then I went off for a little jog around the neighborhood, then came back and ate some food. There were sandwiches and a great assortment of stuff, but I had some sweet baked goods because that was what seemed most appealing at the moment.
I wanted to hang around for the awards, because there were not that many women in this race and I was pretty sure I was getting something. Also, I was caught up in the warm feeling of the parents and the students and the teachers, who were all so happy to be on the site of their new facility. It felt like leaving early would be dishonoring them.
But, I was just about to leave when the awards started. Well, turns out that not only did I win my age group (1 of 5) but I was also the fourth woman overall (4 of 65). I told you Clark does not have much of a sports program. And I was 36 of 141 runners, and I also beat all but one of the 107 walkers. But many of them were like the woman with the Kindle, so they really can’t be counted!
I beat the trail runner woman again! And most amazingly, I beat Cindy Moore. That has never happened before. Not even close. I wonder if she is sick? Or pregnant? Something definitely weird about that.
Including my jog to the start line, after the race, and then back home, I had a total of 7 miles for the day. Not quite the 10 I had planned on but it would have to do.
Why this race instead of others going on that day: because the start and finish lines were a mile from my house.
Cause the race benefits/celebrates: Clark Montessori High School is ready to move into its brand new building, after several years of operating out of another building in a bad neighborhood on the other side of town.
How I found out about this race: First I heard of it was when I saw some little road signs set out in the grass across the street from the Kroger the week before. That is not the way I usually find out about races.
The course: 5k start and finishes in front of the school. Covers some streets found in both the Flying Pig and the Hyde Park Blast races, and passes by my old house.
What I did the day before: Went for a little jog along the course. Found two different descriptions of which way we would go, so I picked the one that made most sense to me. My take on it had us running against traffic, and on the busiest and least-scenic streets first. It was a mostly downhill first mile, mostly flat second mile, and a slightly uphill third mile.
I picked up the course at an intersection about a half-mile from home, so it makes a nice little four-mile route that I think I will do again. I already run most of these streets regularly and have for years, but not in this exact configuration.
The weather: was supposed to be overcast but turned quite sunny by the 9 am start. But at least it was cooler and less humid than it had been recently.
What I wore: Black shorts, black shirt, pink cap from Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon, Nike Pegasus shoes. Debated wearing bike shorts instead and also bringing Chomps. I was going to try to make this into a 10-mile run by combining a long warmup and cooldown with the race.
What I was expecting at the race: There were two other well-established 5ks and a 10k event going on at the same time in other parts of town. So I was expecting that most "regular" racers would be doing one of those other events. At this race, I expected students, parents, maybe a few alumni and teachers. And chaos, I expected a bit of chaos. Which is not a big deal if you are ready for it.
What I found at this race: Pretty much as expected! But overall a nice community event with just a few glitches that are easy to fix, and did not prevent me from having a nice time. These little community 5ks are my absolute favorite kind of race.
Pre-race: Left house around 8:20 to jog the mile up to the start line. Picked up my race number at the table on the sidewalk. I had thought we would probably start and finish in the school parking lot, but it looked like maybe it wasn't ready/safe enough for us to do that yet in the construction zone. So the start and finish was out on Erie Ave., offset from each other by about .1 miles.
I know from my jog that the loop is slightly less than 3 miles around, so I figure we are going to have to run past the finish line in the beginning or do something a little different to get it up to 3.1. The web site says the race is USATF-certified---except they spell it USTAF-certified. Ohoh. Harbinger of chaos!
I asked a volunteer which way we were running, and he tells me that it is the opposite direction of the way I jogged yesterday. Oh goody, so the last mile is all uphill. Well, it's not like I haven't run up that hill a few times before. But I was kind of looking forward to running down it.
Well, it's still early and I'm bored, so I jog a little more up and down Erie Ave. I run into Ralph B., an old runner guy I used to work with who lives on the race course, on his way to the start. I don't know if he remembers me or not, but he asks me if it is too late to register and I tell him he has plenty of time.
I wonder where David Jones is. He also lives along the race course. Maybe he is at Newtown.
Lots of teenagers and parents around. Everybody is smiling and happy. Some people are wearing shirts that say things like "it's good to be back home" or something like that on the back. It is a very nice atmosphere.
At the start line: There are some announcements and I can hear them but I can't remember what the guy said. I decide to line up pretty close to the start. Even if these teenagers are on the Clark cross-country team (if Clark has such a thing), I don't expect many to be very fast. And there are not too many potential old lady competitors for me in view. Many of the women are not even wearing running clothes, so we assume they are walkers. This does not seem to stop them from lining up near the front.
For example, there are two older women right behind the start line, and if I don't look like a runner to some people, well, let's say these two women really don't look like runners. They don't even look like walkers, despite wearing running shoes. I guess they want to be close to the start so the race will be as short as possible for them? One of them is wearing a backpack. The other one---get ready, this is amazing---is reading from a Kindle! Well, she does have an earphone in so maybe she is listening to an audiobook. But really! She has a giant shoulder bag and she is holding the Kindle, and she is right up at the start line of the race!
So I make sure I am not right behind these two. Having to throw some elbows or run right over their backs just doesn't seem in the spirit of the day. The announcer does say that walkers should start in the back, but these gals don't move.
I am next to Cindy Moore and her husband, who is pushing their toddler in a jogging stroller. Cindy Moore is younger and much faster than I am. I am wondering if she is maybe going to win the race. I think about telling her she needs to get in front of the lady with the Kindle, but I stay quiet.
The race: starts a couple of minutes late but not too bad. Fortunately it's not too crowded, and unlike at the Kilgour 5k, the kids are older so there is less chance of getting tripped. I feel like Cindy Moore is behind me, and wonder what's up with that.
We run west on Erie and turn right on Paxton for a short, steep climb (but it's very short and early in the race). A pack of three young girls with heavy footfalls are chatting and soon complaining about how tired they are already.
We take the first right onto Victoria. This is a lovely street of homes built mostly around 1920. Our old neighbor when we lived on Marburg used to say that if you had $5000, you built a house on Marburg, if you had $10000, you built one on Portsmouth, and if you had $15000, you built one on Victoria. (Our house on Marburg was where the builder supposedly lived, and where he must have used his leftover windows and doors and all the other mismatched odds and ends. But it is still a nice solid little house).
Anyway, Victoria is a very nice street. There is a water stop a bit past the first half-mile. Kinda early. Doesn't make sense. And the guy manning the water stop is calling out split times. Chaos? Would make make more sense if we were going the other way, close to what would be the two-mile mark.
Victoria ends and we turn left onto Portsmouth, passing Coffee Emporium (one of the race sponsors).
Around this time I realize there are no mile markers. Chaos! Well, I certainly know right where I am, and I'm a pretty good judge of my own pace, so I can deal with it. I would be irritated if I wasn't so familiar with the route.
Portsmouth is a nice street too, just not as nice as Victoria. Both roll just slightly and have plenty of large shade trees. Victoria and Portsmouth find their ways onto all of my neighborhood long runs. When I lived on Marburg, I ran them just about every day.
Portsmouth ends back at Paxton, where we turn right and then make another quick right onto Wasson. This is the "ugly" and "commercial" section of the course. We run by the Kroger and Richards Industries. But the really bad part is that we are running into the sun. Now, if we had my way (and my way is always so much better!) we would have gotten this stretch over early, and we would have had the sun at our backs. Better to run into the sun on Portsmouth. But here we are.
People I am aware of during the race: Okay, the pack of three girls had passed me but then I caught them again and now they are well behind me. There is a young boy and a woman/girl (can't quite tell her age, could be anything) just in front of me for the second mile, and I stay behind and draft off them a bit but then I have to go around them. And I am thinking, what is wrong with you kid that you are letting an old lady "chick" you? Sad.
Another woman comes from behind and passes me. She is tall, and looks to be over 40. I hope she is not in my age group. She puts some distance between us, and I wonder how far behind me she started.
We turn right on Marburg, and we pass my old house and I barely notice, as I am really focused on the race. We make the final turn onto Erie for the last hill, and I just keep telling myself this is my hill, I run it all the time, no big deal. I am running beside a young girl. A woman tells us that we are in the top ten females. I find this motivating but I don't know what happens to the kid, because she drops back.
I would like to pick it up and see if I can catch the tall woman, but I don't want to kick until I see the finish line. She is slowing down. And there it is, so I kick, and I almost catch her.
No finish line clock. Chaos! I look at my watch. No way! I know instantly the course is at least .2 short. Chaos! If we'd had mile markers out there it would be even more obvious. I have not run within two minutes of that time in ten years. Get serious. I did not run a 5k three minutes faster than I did two months ago.
Kinda bummed, because I would have liked to see what my time would be on an accurate course! Oh well.
I grabbed a bottle of water and walked up a little dirt trail to the school’s turf playfield. There was a great potluck spread put out by the parent volunteers, but I wasn’t ready to eat yet. I had some Gatorade and then I went off for a little jog around the neighborhood, then came back and ate some food. There were sandwiches and a great assortment of stuff, but I had some sweet baked goods because that was what seemed most appealing at the moment.
I wanted to hang around for the awards, because there were not that many women in this race and I was pretty sure I was getting something. Also, I was caught up in the warm feeling of the parents and the students and the teachers, who were all so happy to be on the site of their new facility. It felt like leaving early would be dishonoring them.
But, I was just about to leave when the awards started. Well, turns out that not only did I win my age group (1 of 5) but I was also the fourth woman overall (4 of 65). I told you Clark does not have much of a sports program. And I was 36 of 141 runners, and I also beat all but one of the 107 walkers. But many of them were like the woman with the Kindle, so they really can’t be counted!
I beat the trail runner woman again! And most amazingly, I beat Cindy Moore. That has never happened before. Not even close. I wonder if she is sick? Or pregnant? Something definitely weird about that.
Including my jog to the start line, after the race, and then back home, I had a total of 7 miles for the day. Not quite the 10 I had planned on but it would have to do.
Lady Distance Classic 2011
Catching up and writing about some recent races.
Thinking about how it’s kind of funny that although I am not really a fan of women-only events, in running or in life in general, two of the races I ran in August were exactly that.
First, about the Fleet Feet Lady Distance Classic, which I ran all the way back on August 7. This is an annual event that I have done every year since its inception. There is a 10k and a 5k. The last few years I have done the 10k.
The good things about this race are:
• They give you a technical top
• There is a great “fitness festival” after the race that is mostly a “food” festival and not even so much about fitness
• It is reasonably well-organized.
Not much that I don’t like about it, really. It starts pretty early but on a hot August day that is not such a bad idea. The course is not too boring even though half of it runs through an office park. I guess the only thing I’m really not crazy about is all the women who know each other and are part of the same training groups or whatever, so when I show up all by myself I have nobody to talk to. But I don’t have time to join those training groups so what can I do?
Last year I ran a 55:15 for 4th in my age group. This year I am a little thinner and a little fitter, so I was hoping to take a chunk off that time and possibly get a placement. But realistically, I should have been expecting a slightly more modest improvement based on my recent 5k times.
It was warmer and more humid than last year, so that didn’t help.
I “warmed up” (as if that were necessary) by jogging to the start from the parking area (half mile? Or less?) and then jogging around some more.
First three miles go mostly around an office park, and then back to the starting area. I went through the first two miles in 17:13. There is a “stroller” division that starts after the regular runners, and each year I gauge my progress by how long it takes the strollers to catch up to me. This year I was almost to mile three before the first stroller passed me, which was better than last year. Mile 3 was 8:56.
I saw Judy Harmony around there somewhere, but she turned off to finish the 5k.
The second half of the 10k is hillier. You run around some subdivisions and then back to the Blue Ash Rec Center. Mile 4 was 9:16 (uphill), mile 5 was 8:08 (downhill), mile 6 was 9:43 (uphill, but at least I didn’t blow up like I did last year) and then 1:41 for the last .2.
My official, chip time was 54:42, which was only 33 seconds better than last year, so I was kind of bummed out about it. But as I said earlier, that was really what I should have reasonably been expecting. I did beat one of the trail running women who always beats me out on the trails, and I beat her by over a minute. I also beat Jennifer Black (sister of my Congresswoman) by about 45 seconds, and it has been a long time since I finished a race ahead of her, so that is something.
Afterwards, it took me awhile before I was ready to eat. They had a sno-cone stand. I had two sno-cones. They were very good. Later I made my way to The Cake by Margo. I told the volunteer that I had been looking forward to The Cake all week long.
Looked like it was going to be awhile before they gave out the age group awards, and I didn’t think I had won anything, so before too long I was jogging back to the car, ending up with about 8 miles for the day. Was 7 of 31 this time around, and 82 of 387 runners overall. Didn’t recognize the names of most of these women, so I wonder where my usual competition went. Numbers are down a bit from previous years, what is up with that? I wouldn’t think the economy would affect entries at this event, and it is the type of race I would expect to keep growing in popularity.
Thinking about how it’s kind of funny that although I am not really a fan of women-only events, in running or in life in general, two of the races I ran in August were exactly that.
First, about the Fleet Feet Lady Distance Classic, which I ran all the way back on August 7. This is an annual event that I have done every year since its inception. There is a 10k and a 5k. The last few years I have done the 10k.
The good things about this race are:
• They give you a technical top
• There is a great “fitness festival” after the race that is mostly a “food” festival and not even so much about fitness
• It is reasonably well-organized.
Not much that I don’t like about it, really. It starts pretty early but on a hot August day that is not such a bad idea. The course is not too boring even though half of it runs through an office park. I guess the only thing I’m really not crazy about is all the women who know each other and are part of the same training groups or whatever, so when I show up all by myself I have nobody to talk to. But I don’t have time to join those training groups so what can I do?
Last year I ran a 55:15 for 4th in my age group. This year I am a little thinner and a little fitter, so I was hoping to take a chunk off that time and possibly get a placement. But realistically, I should have been expecting a slightly more modest improvement based on my recent 5k times.
It was warmer and more humid than last year, so that didn’t help.
I “warmed up” (as if that were necessary) by jogging to the start from the parking area (half mile? Or less?) and then jogging around some more.
First three miles go mostly around an office park, and then back to the starting area. I went through the first two miles in 17:13. There is a “stroller” division that starts after the regular runners, and each year I gauge my progress by how long it takes the strollers to catch up to me. This year I was almost to mile three before the first stroller passed me, which was better than last year. Mile 3 was 8:56.
I saw Judy Harmony around there somewhere, but she turned off to finish the 5k.
The second half of the 10k is hillier. You run around some subdivisions and then back to the Blue Ash Rec Center. Mile 4 was 9:16 (uphill), mile 5 was 8:08 (downhill), mile 6 was 9:43 (uphill, but at least I didn’t blow up like I did last year) and then 1:41 for the last .2.
My official, chip time was 54:42, which was only 33 seconds better than last year, so I was kind of bummed out about it. But as I said earlier, that was really what I should have reasonably been expecting. I did beat one of the trail running women who always beats me out on the trails, and I beat her by over a minute. I also beat Jennifer Black (sister of my Congresswoman) by about 45 seconds, and it has been a long time since I finished a race ahead of her, so that is something.
Afterwards, it took me awhile before I was ready to eat. They had a sno-cone stand. I had two sno-cones. They were very good. Later I made my way to The Cake by Margo. I told the volunteer that I had been looking forward to The Cake all week long.
Looked like it was going to be awhile before they gave out the age group awards, and I didn’t think I had won anything, so before too long I was jogging back to the car, ending up with about 8 miles for the day. Was 7 of 31 this time around, and 82 of 387 runners overall. Didn’t recognize the names of most of these women, so I wonder where my usual competition went. Numbers are down a bit from previous years, what is up with that? I wouldn’t think the economy would affect entries at this event, and it is the type of race I would expect to keep growing in popularity.
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