On the ride up there this morning I reminisced to myself about the changes over the years. The first time was the year before Susan transferred to Miami, I think. I parked in an elementary school parking lot a few blocks from the start.
The second year I parked in a lot right next to the start. Susan did not come out to see me. The third year I parked on the street near her dorm, and she let me come inside to use the bathroom and wash my face. The third year I drove over to her apartment after the race, took a shower there and then we went out for lunch.
Ever since the third year I've been parking on Church Street, a couple of blocks from Uptown Parks, where the race starts and finishes.
Yesterday I thought I might be getting a cold but I was just tired. Went to bed early and felt fine this morning. Ed woke me up to go outside at 4:15 am and I decided to just stay up. Had two cups of coffee and a banana. Left the house at 6 am.
Parked the car in the usual place. Plenty of parking at 7 am. No lines at the portapotties, either. Same old, same old. Packet pickup was more organized than usual, and they had everything in one bag for you rather than making you wait on separate lines for the bib and the chip.
The shirts were the most attractive they've ever had at this race, longsleeved techncial tops with a blue and yellow design.
It was a little chilly before the sun came up so I went back to the car to put on my bib. Discovered I had # 2 this year (last year was # 3). I have to assume this has something to do with being a streaker, even though they didn't do anything special for us.
When the sun came out I headed back to the start. I was wearing the black CW-X capris, black cap from Milwaukee, shortsleeved shirt from Leading Ladies, and over that I layered the shirt from the Disney half and my Marathon & Beyond top. I kept the M&B top on for awhile, but eventually left it at the gear check---they actually had a gear check this year, another area they have improved.
It was in the upper 40s at the start but felt warmer, and predicted to get up to about 55 by the time I would finish.
Got back in the portapotties just in time before the lines got long, hung out a little longer in the park and then it was time to get out in the street and wait. They had a clock set up that was counting down to the 8 am start time. I thought that was pretty cool. Race actually started on time. How often does that happen?
Since I felt pretty good, my goal was to try and run a time similar to last year, if not just a bit faster. I think I have about the same speed, but I'm a few pounds heavier, although with possibly better endurance (see that 18 miler last week). To run something like a 1:59, which is just a touch over 9 minute pace, I figured I just needed to keep most of the miles in the low 9s, maybe a couple faster, and nothing over 10.
Down the hill we headed and I was feeling pretty good. The red bricks always go on for longer than I expect. No train coming across the tracks unlike the problem a couple of years ago. They did have a special chip mat out there though just in case a train came unannounced so if you had to stop it would not affect your chip time. The middle-aged people playing the bongos were out in their usual spot. I felt good. First mile 8:58. Okay. I had a little walk and drank some water at the first aid station. I took my longsleeved top off and tied it around my waist.
They had aid stations at just about every mile, which is something I think they started last year. Mile 2 was another 8:58. Still okay. I was noticing some of the women around me. There was a woman who looked like she could be in my age group, wearing an orange shirt. I knew she was # 8 because as we passed by aid stations people would say "good job # 8." She had a tattoo of a feather on her calf. She looked like she was running fast but she was not going any faster than I was. When I would catch up to her she sounded like she was laboring. But she would pull ahead when I took my walk breaks.
I walked for 30 seconds through the water stops, and occasionally another 30 seconds on the uphills.
The jog through the upscale neighborhood was over before I knew it, and soon we were in the senior citizen complex. I missed the three mile marker, but three and four together were 17:53. Still sub-9s, great. I had a GU at the aid station in between three and four.
There were two other woman I noticed, both probably younger than me. One was tall and her feet splayed out to the sides behind her as she ran. Well, I left her behind after a couple of miles. The other one was also tall, but more athletically built, wearing a longsleeved purple top. Like # 8, she looked strong and fast but every time I caught up to her she sounded like she was struggling.
One thing I do, in situations like this, when I catch up to these people, is I try to control my breathing so it sounds like I am not struggling at all. And every time we pass a mile marker, I look down at my watch and I say something really positive and optimistic sounding like "great!" I want them to know that I am feeling fine. It's mean but it works.
I saw the bulls, I saw the horses, but mostly I was focusing on the race.
Mile 5 was 8:52, mile 6 was 8:50. I was actually faster than last year. They had a clock set up at the halfway point and it said 58 something. If I did not slow down too much in the second half of the race, I thought I was in good shape to be under 2:00.
Mile 7 was 9:29. I think that's the one with the big hill. It doesn't seem as bad as it used to feel. I had a GU in here somewhere. Mile 8 was an 8:32. Either that one is a bit short or it's because of the downhill. # 8 caught up to me and passed me, but then I passed her again. I remember thinking later in the race that if she did catch me again I was going to just let her go, or maybe ask her how old she was first. But that was about the last I saw of her.
I had a brief conversation with a young woman who was also hoping to break 2:00, and I assured her that we were in good shape for it. But I pulled away from her after mile 10 and I don't know if she made it or not.
Mile 9 was a 9:23. Either it's long or it's the hill. Mile 10 was a 9:11. As long as I could keep them under 10 I thought I would be okay. The second half is always harder on days when you are running into the sun. At least it wasn't too hot and I had dressed correctly.
Mile 11 was 9:24. I was looking forward to the downhills in the last couple of miles. Mile 12 was an 8:45. The drummers were still out there with more of their friends. I clapped for them.
Now we were crossing the train tracks again and heading up the hill. I thought I could see the finish line at the top of the hill, but I eventually realized it was just the street signs. We weren't even at the bricks yet. I could have pushed harder coming up the last hill but there were no other women around to try to beat. Mile 13 was 8:34.
I did kick hard for the last .1, but not hard enough to puke. Last .1 was 48 seconds. I had broken 1:58. Final time was 1:57: 30-something. Need to wait for the results to get the official time. I saw it posted at the race, but don't remember exactly.
Got my finisher's medal and it is much prettier than previous years. There were just all kinds of upgrades at this race this year. I walked over to the food area, expecting the usual bagels and bananas and maybe some cheese sticks or yogurt. But no, they had chocolate milk! And pizza! They read my comments on the survey from last year, apparently. I had some milk and told the volunteers how nice it was to have these refreshments. The race director overheard me and came over and I complimented her on all of these new enhancements, and told her that I had done the race all ten years. She said she wondered how many of us there were and she also wondered why they didn't do anything special for us. I hope maybe next year. Anyway, I told her that the chocolate milk and the pizza more than made up for it.
I walked to my car and changed into a dry shirt, then headed back to the finish area to check the posted results. Found out that I had won the age group. Woohoo! This year they are giving out the awards at the race. You just walk up to a table where they have the awards and you tell them who you are and they give it to you. So I got it. It's a nice little plaque. Also nicer than the awards from last year. Did they listen to me on that too? It's all good.
Turns out I just missed the third place grand master by about 20 seconds. If I had known, I could have picked it up some. But I don't really ever recognize anybody in this race, so I wouldn't have known who she ws.
So in it's tenth year, this race that I have sometimes wondered about why I kept on doing it has transformed itself into a superior event, really just about perfect. I'm already looking forward to next year.
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