Yellow Ribbon 5k (Run for the Troops)

For some reason never published this one but putting it up now, belatedly.

Did this one on Saturday, November 2. Wanted to do a local 5k to get an idea what my training paces should be for the next marathon cycle. There were literally 5-6 races going on locally at the same time. This one offered proximity, reasonable start time, and a cause that did not make me want to throw up.

The Yellow Ribbon Foundation was started by Keith Maupin, who is the father of Matt Maupin, a local soldier who was killed in Iraq. The foundation puts together care packages to send to the troops, and also has a scholarship fund. The race has taken place for several years but has changed locations. This was the first year at Otto Armleder Park.

I have done some training runs through the park as part of my long runs at Lunken Airport, so I thought it would be fun to do a race there. It's just a couple of miles from home and there's plenty of parking. The price was right to and the tee shirt was included (although it is kind of hideous, pink camo with a red white and blue logo so I don't think I will be wearing it in public).

I forgot to bring my phone so I didn't get any pictures. Well, anyway, the race started and finished near the parking lot and the little shelter area. I have found that I can add about four miles onto my Lunken run by adding in the park, but the park loop itself is probably less than two miles around (part of my run is an out-and-back) so during the race we did have to double back on our path a bit. But they had a volunteer at every turn so it was not confusing.

It is a very flat course on the paved trail. Not terribly exciting but racing provides its own excitement, yes?

I looked around before the start for my potential competition. There was a formal presentation of the colors and a girl sang The Star-Spangled Banner. Did a decent job of it. Better than at Prairie Fire. A man who was somehow associated with the race or the foundation or one of the sponsors (unclear which) thanked us for coming and blah, blah, blah. Then we all walked down to the start line.

They were using chip timing, and I noticed that the people who lined up in the front started right on the mat. Had never noticed that before. Guess I have not been at such a small race that used chip timing. Anyway, I was a few rows behind them. There were three women on the start line. One sort of youngish (40 years old and would go on to win the race on the woman's side), one older (I had spotted her when she parked next to me, a skinny, grizzled vet) and one who appeared to be about 35 (she was actually 61!) with long blonde hair pulled into a pony tail, wearing black bun huggers and a sports bra.

Oh well, I was just going to give it my best shot.

So here was the funny thing, we started the race, and I almost immediately caught up to blondie. And I passed her, even while I was slowing down to remove my tyvek jacket and tie it around my waist. So that was surprising.  I knew that there were not many women ahead of me. Passed a few guys along the way as well.

I was thinking that anything in the 27s would be okay and it might even me in the 28s considering the horrible shape I am in. First mile: 8:13. Far better than expected. Second mile: 8:32, more like what I expected. Third mile: 8:16. Then I had a watch malfunction but it took me almost a minute supposedly for the last .1 so I wonder if the 3rd mile marker was off. Anyway, final time was 25:57, with which I was quite pleased.

Hung around because I thought I had a good shot at an age group award and it seemed like they were getting them out pretty quick. They had some good food, too, better than the usual. There were some tasty pastries with some weird name that I didn't recognize. And Starbucks coffee.

So, the got to the awards and I did happen to win my age group, or so they said. I swear I heard them call my name and I went up and collected my medal. Then they took a big group picture. The guy in charge said that they had gotten pics of all of us running and they would put them on the web site maybe even later in the day (but I'm still looking for those. It would help if I knew what web site he was talking about! But I've checked the race site, the race director's site, the foundation's site, and a few of the sponsors and haven't seen anything).

Anyway, later in the day I got a look at the final results, and I didn't win my age group after all. There was another woman who finished far ahead of me. In fact, she was second overall in the race. So I don't know why they called my name, except maybe she hadn't turned her chip in yet or there was some confusion over the results. I know that they did have our ages wrong on our bib numbers, but they were only off by one year so I don't think that was the problem but who really knows. Anyway, feel like a fraud and an impostor and a little weird for accepting the medal. Gosh, would have felt even worse though if I had waited all that time and they didn't give it to me. Yeah, next couple of races I am not staying for the awards. I would rather win and not know until later than be there and not win.

They also had door prizes but I didn't get one of those.

I was 2 of 2 in the age group, 6 of 49 women (in reality, probably only the 6 of us were even trying) and 19 of 85 runners overall.

Mississippi Blues Marathon

I'm going to try to avoid procrastinating on my write-up about this one while it is still somewhat fresh in my mind. Ah, but now it is days later and I am still trying to finish it!

The Mississippi Blues Marathon is in Jackson, Mississippi. I've had this one on list of potential races for my 50 states for awhile. The other marathon in Mississippi, Tupelo, takes place in August, which seems like it could be truly ghastly. January seems like a much more sensible time to run in the deep south.

After getting through my Indianapolis debacle, I started looking at potential states with races coming up, and I figured out that I had enough miles for a free ticket on United to get to Jackson. I did try at first to get Tommy to drive there with me, but he was afraid there might be snow in along the way. So I flew there by myself.

I didn't do any special training for this race. The farthest I ran since Indianapolis was eight miles and I only did that a couple of times. I didn't do any speed work except for the two 5k races and the Thanksgiving five-mile race, which did all go pretty well. Although I didn't do any long runs, I have been training pretty consistently---I've had a streak going since early December (would be early November except for the one time on December 1 when I just forgot!).

I wasn't worried about finishing, of course. I hoped to just settle in to a nice, easy jog and get through it in good enough shape so I could do a bit of touristing after the race, and be able to jump right back in to more serious training this week. And basically, that's what happened.

Finding My Way Around Jackson (or Searching for a Neighborhood that Feels Like Home)

I'll admit that Jackson is not a city that I knew much about prior to my visit. It is the capital of Mississippi, and the largest city based on population. Two of its most notable citizens were the writer, Eudora Welty, and the slain civil rights leader, Medgar Evers. The library system is named after Welty, and the airport is named after Evers. Point of interest, they are connected to each other by a story Welty wrote the night she heard Evers was killed, in which she imagines what was going through the mind of his murderer.

I'm no literature scholar, and I really didn't know much about Eudora Welty except I had heard her name. Maybe I read a story by her in a high school American Lit class, or maybe not. Anyway, I decided to download a collection of her short stories to my Kindle to read on the trip. I'm enjoying them. Going to read some more. Someday maybe I will become educated. There's hope.

I love touring old houses, and I had hoped to be able to have time for a tour of Welty's home. Unfortunately, it is only open Tuesday through Friday, and I arrived in Jackson too late to make the last tour. I picked up my rental can and headed for the Marriott. I needed the rental car if I wanted to venture out anywhere because there really isn't that much within walking distance of the Marriott.

After parking the car and checking into the hotel, I walked the short distance (about .4 miles) to the race expo at the convention center.

Packet pickup went pretty quick. The timing chip was attached to the back of the race bib. We got a drawstring gear bag, a short-sleeved technical top, and a harmonica. The gear bag and shirt are useful and well-designed but ugly. And I was expecting a long-sleeved shirt, or at least a short sleeve shirt in a woman's cut. The harmonica is a cute touch, but since it is made in China I could do without it. But I am having fun playing it now and making Eddy & Zen howl.

They also gave us a copy of a CD of blues music that is pretty good. Oh, and a wrist band that would get you on a bus Saturday night that was going to basically go barhopping around blues joints, supposedly a $10 value. So you get a lot for your money at this race.

Overall, I was disappointed in the expo. It was quite small. I guess this race isn't as big as I thought it was. There were just a couple of vendors and no speakers. I bought a tube of something called Skin Sake Athletic Ointment, and yet another fanny pack from iFitness. The ointment did its job, but it does make a mess of your clothes, especially if you are wearing black!

iFitness is a sponsor of The Marathon Show podcast. I bought the fanny pack because I wanted something that would hold all my gels plus have an attachment for my race bib. The little belt I have been using for my race bib doesn't have a very big pocket for gels. Unfortunately, I realized when I finally tried it on that this iFitness belt has the pouch in the front, and I am not used to that and didn't want to try it out for the first time in a marathon. So I ended up wearing TWO fanny packs---my little one that holds my race number, and my bigger one for my gels, credit card, room key, ID, etc.

Here's a picture of the gear bag. I think it's ugly but that's just my opinion. It has a little zipper pocket on the side and is a useful item, nonetheless. I ended up using it as my carry on for the flights home so I could check my roller bag. I know I looked kind of baglady-esque but I did it anyway.

I left the expo and walked back to the hotel. The hotel restaurant was supposedly offering a "runner's menu" that evening. The race had not organized a pasta dinner of its own. I think that is something they should consider, since there is really a dearth of restaurants in downtown Jackson that are open in the evenings. Seems like they pretty much just roll up the sidewalks at the end of the work day. A number of places are open for lunch but very few for dinner.

The "runner's menu" did not look promising. Definitely not the traditional pasta. Instead, something like risotto with asparagus and mushrooms. Also a couple of seafood entrees. Yeah, not really what I had in mind. I just wanted basic Italian spaghetti and meatballs.

I decided to venture out in my car. First I thought I would try to find a shopping center where I might be able to buy a cheap rain poncho that I could wear to the start in the morning if it was raining. I tried to use my GPS and found a place called "Metrocenter Mall" about three miles away.

Trying to follow the directions on the GPS, I found myself leaving the core downtown area within a couple of blocks and getting into what appeared to be a not-so-great neighborhood. It was still a couple of miles to the mall. Then we drove across an area of some empty fields and industry, and I wondered if maybe when I came out on the other side I might find myself in one of those new areas of McMansions and a really nice upscale mall, as sometimes happens.

Wrong.

I did come to the mall, or what used to be the mall. Looked like maybe it used to be a nice mall. Up on a hill with big anchor stores and an expansive parking lot all around. But all the signs had been stripped off the stores, and there were just a few cars in the parking lot. A ghost mall. I guess there are still some small stores in there but no anchors. Looked kind of creepy.

At this point I was getting hungry so I decided to let the GPS guide me to one of the restaurants listed in the race information, a branch of the Bravo chain. It was killing me to have to go to a chain restaurant for dinner but at least these are usually in somewhat upscale areas so I figured it would be okay.

Unfortunately, since the Bravo turned out to be on the second floor of a shopping center on the other side of town (the good side, as it turned out) it was a little hard to find at first. But on the way, I did come upon a supermarket, where I bought the following items:

• A bunch of bananas
• A six-pack of beer (there was a fridge in my hotel room)
• A bag of pretzel rods

I don't know when I thought I was going to eat all these bananas or drink all the beer. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

There was a shopping center across the street from the market that looked like it had some restaurants in it. That was where the GPS said Bravo was supposed to be. I drove over and knew that I must be headed in the right direction, and also had an indication that this was probably the part of town where "people like me" are supposed to hang out: there was a Whole Foods under construction. Go ahead, laugh at me.

This little shopping center, Highland Village, felt just like home. There was a fancy outdoor store. There was a Talbots. There was a cookware store. There was a serious shoe store. I am a little embarrassed that I needed to find a place like this rather than seeking out a more authentic experience. Instead I always seem to seek out the place where I could live if I had to.

So, anyway, after a bit of walking around (there wasn't much signage and it was hard to see the store directory in the dark) I was able to locate the restaurant. Also, by smell! I saw a few other runners (we are that obvious) also on their way to Bravo. There really just weren't many other options for a pre-race pasta meal in Jackson, unfortunately.

If I had taken a closer look in my race packet, or I would have realized that Bravo was giving a 15% discount to runners.

Bravo was hopping, even though it was still pretty early in the evening, but they found me a spot at the food bar.

Maybe I should have had a pizza, but I really just wanted plain old spaghetti and meatballs. Well, maybe not so plain. It's me we're talking about, after all. I wasn't going to drink, since I was my own designated driver, but I decided one glass of Chianti wouldn't hurt. I ordered a salad of field greens with some goat cheese to start, and the spaghetti & meatballs.

While I waited for my salad, I had some bread. Here was a problem. I wanted some olive oil for my bread. The olive oil was in a carafe in front of the woman sitting on my left. This woman, a fellow runner, was deep in conversation with the woman on HER left, another runner. She was turned away from me and I would need to tap her on the shoulder to get her attention.

So I nibbled on my bread, and waited for her to maybe turn a little in my direction so I could just ask her to pass me the olive oil.

And I felt lonely and sad there, suddenly, in the restaurant by myself, and missed the old days when I used to travel to these races with other people. Note to self, really need to rejoin local running club and make some running friends to travel with. Tired of these solitary race weekends.

I would not have minded talking to a stranger, even. And as I listened to these women's conversation, I kinda wondered why they didn't include me. It didn't sound like they really knew each other from before. They were not the same age, and did not appear to be related. They seemed to be two people who had just met that day.

Maybe it's because I don't look like a runner! Maybe that's why they didn't include me! I just look like some weird old woman who is out eating spaghetti by herself the night before the marathon.

Anyway, she did turn eventually and I got my chance to request the olive oil. Which she did but she seemed a little put out about it. Huh. And the worst part? The olive oil was rancid! I was so hungry it took me a few minutes to figure this out. Bummer. I debated saying something to my server, but he wasn't real communicative so I didn't bother. Instead, I posted it on Facebook. The passive aggressive response to disappointing service in the social media era!

The food arrived and it turned out that my glass of wine was probably the best part of the meal. The lettuce was a little wilted on the salad (the goat cheese was good, though). The spaghetti was actually linguine, which bothered me. It just wasn't right. The sauce was bland. The meatballs were okay but also kind of bland. Not great.

I did not order dessert at Bravo. By that point I had a close enough view of all their food preparations, including dessert, to know that it was not going to be worth it. Hoped that the little bakery/coffeeshop I had spied on the first floor was still open.

Fortunately, it was. Beagle Bakery Cafe had a nice selection of fresh, store-made cakes. I ordered a big slice of a chocolate and cream cheese concoction  (kind of like an opera cream cake) to take back to my room. (I would have taken a picture but I ate it too fast.) This cafe, by the way, is a very good place and I wish I had remembered to head back there on Saturday or Sunday.

Back at the hotel, I realized that I didn't get any kind of utensil to eat my cake with. I managed to eat half of it by scooping it up with a lid from a water bottle, and saved the second half for breakfast or maybe after the race.

Race Morning

My usual routine is to get up 2 1/2 hours before the race, which gives me a half hour to drink coffee and finish up two hours before the race in order to avoid needing to stop during the race to use the portapotties. But this time, I really did not want to get up at 4:30 am, even if I had picked up an hour traveling to Central time. I decided that I didn't care if I did need to stop during the race, since my time didn't matter to me anyway. So I got up at 5 am.

I had one cup of coffee, and the plan was to have a banana and maybe a Picky Bar. Or my leftover cake. But I was still really stuffed from dinner! Yes, I have been complaining about the food but I still cleaned my plate! So I skipped breakfast.

I watched the news (rain looked likely late morning), lubed up, settled on my race attire and attached my bib to the fuel belt. I wore black tights, black longsleeved top, black hat from Delaware Marathon (because it is fairly water-repellant) and thin red jacket. Oh, and thin black gloves. So I was mostly in black, which I think will be okay because it isn't supposed to be sunny, and will hopefully make me look less fat in any finish line photos.

The temperature outside was in the low 30s and it was supposed to get up in the 40s but that wouldn't be until afternoon when I was done running. It will rain later in the race (when you tell me 30-40% chance of rain I know that means it is going to rain!) but at least it's not raining at the start, and not very windy, so at least it was not as miserable out as it was for Indy.

I wanted to stay in the room until 6:30 but I got bored before that and headed down to the lobby. Lots of runners down there. The hotel put out some water, and what looked like fruit punch in a bowl, but I guess was Gatorade. But who knows, since they thought we would all want risotto and mushrooms the night before.

I followed along with the crowd as people began walking to the start, which was about .3 miles away. Up at the start, the portapotty lines were long, and I'm glad I didn't need to go. Did not need to stop at all during the race, either, so that part worked out.

I found a pace team guy holding a 5:00 sign, so I decided to hang out with him and whomever else is in that group. My goal was just to finish comfortably, but it would be nice to be under 5:00. If I start out slow enough that's probably about right, but you never know.

This pace guy is not like the ones I've encountered in other races. He's not talking. He's not gathering the troops together and giving us words of encouragement. Great, the one time I actually think I would like one of those overly cheery pace team leaders, I get stuck with this guy.

I chatted a bit with a couple of women. One is from Tupelo, and she tells me that their race isn't THAT hot. Right. The other lives in Jackson and works for Blue Cross so she gets reimbursed if she finishes. Neither one of them is planning on finishing under five hours. But 5:00 is the slowest pace team at this race. Looking around, I realize that it is a lot smaller race than I imagined, which doesn't matter one way or the other but is interesting. It is a small town, small race with big race amenities.

There are a lot of Maniacs at this one, though. Looking around, it seems like a majority of the runners are Marathon Maniacs, and I kind of wish that I was wearing my Maniac gear. Why don't I do that? Why do I always want to be anonymous? I guess because I don't feel like I really belong with the Maniacs, since I am just a Maniac at the lowest level. Note to self: get more involved with the 50 States people and the Maniacs. To start with, maybe try paying my dues this year.

The Race

As we begin running, I settle right into a pace just under 11 minutes per mile. That does feel like a comfortable jog. I pull ahead of the 5:00 pace team leader, and hope that I won't have to feel the shame of being passed by him later in the race. He still wasn't talking, and he was kind of holding his pace sign over his shoulder rather than up in the air, and I was worried when I got close to him that he would poke me in the eye with it.

The first two miles take us away from downtown. The hills are rolling but not bad at all from my perspective. Overall, it was not as challenging a course as I had expected. While it is hilly throughout, none of the hills were very steep or very long. Basically, the course is a couple of miles around the city, then 20 miles or so through the suburban neighborhoods, and then back through the city.

We passed through the neighborhood of Fondren, supposedly an arty area (although it just seemed seedy to me when I drove through it later) which is also where the hospitals are located. Around mile three, we turned off into a pleasant residential area. I enjoyed looking at the pretty houses and tall trees. There were a lot of people out in their yards cheering for us.

The first hour went by almost before I knew it, but it was a little disheartening to think that I had four more hours to go.

Around mile six, we were alongside Hwy 55 and I realized we were right by Highland Plaza, where I'd eaten the night before. Miles 3-17 were mostly residential, with some small, cute bungalows, modest older homes (a few being replaced by McMansions), and one area of actual mansions. It was a very nice course to run.

My pace had crept up over 11 but I wasn't struggling. I caught up with the 4:55 pace team leader, whom I had not noticed at the start. He was running by himself. He told me that he was a few minutes ahead of schedule, and he was wondering if that was why he had lost the rest of his team. Duh. Where did they find these people? Really not like any pace teams I have seen in other races. I ran a little off and on with this guy. Actually the only two people I spoke to during the race were this guy and the 5:00 guy (who did catch up to me and pass me at one point, before I woke myself up and left him behind).

I went through the first half around 2:25 or so. I was still feeling pretty good.

I had a GU pack every 3-4 miles or so. The aid stations came up regularly just about every two miles as promised. They were all well-staffed with volunteers.

There was a period when I was about halfway done that the sun came out, and I actually removed my jacket and wondered if I was going to overheat in my black clothes. But that didn't last for very long!

There was a group of three women I encountered repeatedly in the middle miles of the race. They were pretty, skinny Southern belle types dressed in cute little running outfits, chatting among themselves. I hated them. I was happy when I finally left them behind.

There was another group of Maniac women running together and I was a little envious not to be recognized as a member of their club, and jealous that they probably get to do this type of thing every weekend, being Maniacs and all. I overheard one say that she didn't even start to feel warmed up anymore until mile 20. I passed them eventually, too.

In miles 21-22 we retraced our steps on State Street towards downtown, then we made a loop of the city. This was probably the least attractive part of the race, and I wondered why they didn't do this part first to get it over with. It also started raining around this point, but it was a very light shower and not continuous. Nothing like the horrible freezing rain in Indy. I slowed to a 12:18 in mile 19, but after that I got back down
into the 11s.

We passed the Marriott, and I thought about how much better I was feeling at this race than I had when I passed my hotel in Indianapolis. I felt great, and I pushed harder the last mile to drop down to a 9:28 pace, crossing the finish line in 4:51:58 chip time. For the record, 6 of 26 in the age group (it is apparently a slow person's race), 156 of 289 women, 474 of 740 runners overall.

I got my space blanket and my medal and was going to just hurry back to the hotel to warm up (it was getting cold) but I decided to check out the food tent. I'm glad I did because they had most excellent post-race food, enough that I didn't have to pick up lunch on the way back to the hotel. They had pizza, deli sandwiches (my turkey sandwich!), hot soup (tomato basil) and red beans & rice. So I had a little bit of everything. There were tables set out on the lawn and a blues band playing but it wasn't the kind of weather to sit and hang out. So I ate my food standing up and headed back to the hotel.

Two things from the walk back:
1) There was a pretty park about a block from the hotel that looked rather deserted, and without going into too much detail, let me just say that I surmise that this is where Jacksonians go to buy and sell their drugs.

2) I passed another marathoner, a young woman also wrapped in her space blanket. She turned to me and said "Do you know you are awesome?" I wanted to say, "you are an idiot, we just finished a marathon, big whoopdeedoo, anybody can do it, there is nothing awesome about it." But I told her she was awesome too.

A couple of hours later, when I was ready to venture out for touristing, I could look out my hotel window and she the last of the marathoners finishing and the sag wagon picking up the traffic cones. I would not have liked being out there another two hours in the rain!

Tourist Time

By the time I decided to head out for some tourist activities, there wasn't very much open. I thought I could go see the Medgar Evers home, but I pushed the wrong button on the GPS and it took me to a senior citizen center instead. Then I realized that the home wasn't open to the public anyway.

Next, I had the GPS direct me to the Eudora Welty house. I thought maybe it would be open even though all the info I had said no. I found it in the Belhaven neighborhood, parts of which we had run through during the race. But the house wasn't open. I drove around Belhaven a little more, and then I took another look in the guide book to find something nearby that might be open.

I ended up at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, which is located in a state park not far from downtown. I spent about 90 minutes walking around the museum. On this rainy afternoon, the museum was full of families with young children. They were featuring a dinosaur exhibit, I guess because that is what brings families into science museums, but I was more interested in the displays about the flora and fauna of Jackson.

After a pretty thorough walk around the museum, I headed back to the hotel. I was getting hungry for dinner, but not sure if I would go to the restaurant where I had a reservation, just stay in the hotel for dinner, or go out on the Blues Tour bus to a burger place. The blues tour sounded like fun but maybe not so much for an old woman traveling alone. If I were still in my 20s, heck even in my 30s. And single. Or if I were traveling with a bunch of friends...but by myself, it didn't seem like quite the right thing.

I drove through Fondren on my way back, hoping maybe I'd see some place there that looked promising, but it all just looked too seedy and sketchy. Maybe it's really not, but I'm just saying that as a woman traveling alone that is how it looked to ME.

I mulled my options over while sipping one of the beers (Lazy Magnolia Deep South Pale Ale) I'd bought the night before and munching on the pretzel rods.

Dinner at Parlor Market by myself seemed appropriate, but I was a little worried about the walk there alone in the dark. It was only .3 miles from my hotel, so it seemed silly to drive or take a cab (although I noticed that the was plenty of street parking available when I drove by the restaurant, so I could have parked practically right in front of it). Downtown Jackson is not necessarily unsafe, but very empty and isolated, and there wasn't much activity going on in between the restaurant and my hotel. But I really didn't want to eat in the hotel.

So I decided to be brave and get myself to the restaurant. It was raining, so I bundled up my parka and put up my hood, and I actually sort of jogged there. One block down and two blocks over. I did pass one other restaurant along the way that seemed to have some business, and there were a couple of women on a street corner a block from the restaurant (might have been "professionals") but otherwise I didn't see a soul at 6:45 pm on a Saturday night.

In the end, it was a good decision. The maitre d' welcomed me warmly, and escorted me to a seat at the raw bar. It was cleaner and less hectic than the food bar at Bravo.

My waiter came to take my drink order, and I was thinking beer since I'd already had one and I didn't want a hangover, but they had this enormous cocktail menu---apparently it is a serious cocktail place---and, as the waiter pointed out, I was wearing martini glass earrings, so....I asked him to suggest something. Since I like gin, he selected The Aviator. This is a combo of Plymouth Gin, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur, and creme de violette (whatever that is).

It's not quite frozen, like a margarita, but it's a little slushy. Kind of like a gin slushie. I loved it. It was my favorite part of the meal.

The other things I ordered were well-prepared and tasty, but I found myself wishing I had made other selections. As an appetizer, I had the duck sausage.

This was two sausage links on a bed of grits with a garnish of duck cracklings and some sort of sauce underneath. The sausage was just a little too rich for one person. The grits and the cracklings and the sauce were wonderful, and a good balance for the sausage. Anyway, I ate one of the links and took the other one back to the hotel to enjoy later with my pretzel rods (ended up eating this for breakfast, actually, and it was pretty good that way).

For my entree, I ordered the red snapper, served with mashed potatoes and a sort of corn relish.

A green vegetable as something other than garnish might have been nice in there somewhere. My meal was a little heavy on the corn. If I had known better, I would have gone for a couple of the specials the waiter told me about: the foie gras appetizer, and the hanger steak entree. Umm, I guess that would have been a bit on the rich side, too.

A few other runners came in and sat beside me at the food bar but we did not speak. The woman on my right ordered a cup of tomato soup appetizer and what appeared to be a crock of cheese as her entree. I think I at least made better choices than that!

I did not skip dessert. The night after a marathon is no time to start a diet! I had Parlor Market's take on a s'more, which my waiter told me was his personal invention in college:

 This was sort of a deconstructed s'more. Basically, chocolate mousse in a little glass jar (was kind of hard to get it all out of the jar!) topped with toasted marshmallow fluff, and with the graham crackers on the side. I ate almost all of it.

And at that point, I was totally stuffed. I waddled back home, a bit less nervous than I had been on the way there. The rain had stopped. I did see a bunch of young women on their way in to the restaurant, and a couple of women across the street from my hotel (those two were pros, I'm pretty sure) but otherwise, nobody.

Another Half-Day of Touristing

First thing I did Sunday morning was head out for my little one mile run to continue my "streak." Oh yeah, I'm streaking again. Over a month now. If it had been raining I would have gone to the hotel gym and hit the treadmill, but it was a nice morning so I just hit the street. I thought I might just do a few laps around the block to be on the safe side, but found myself heading up towards the convention center, then down another block and back by the park.

Noticed at least two other people out running. Also saw that they had some sort of prayer service or outreach gathering in the park, where it looked like they were serving hot beverages to, possibly, homeless people. Otherwise, there was nobody out yet. Even the churches were quiet.

When I'm just doing the mile on the treadmill, I have no problem stopping, but it felt really strange to head back into the hotel after just one mile. I was just getting warmed up! But there was nothing to be gained by running any further, so I stopped.

I had considered eating a big breakfast in the hotel, but I was still full from the night before. So I just nibbled on my leftover duck sausage with a few of the pretzel rods before I checked out.

After looking through my assortment of informational brochures, the one thing that looked like it was open to the public on a Sunday morning (besides going to church) was the zoo, which was just a couple of miles away. So that's where I went.

Jackson Zoological Park is a nice little zoo. I was one of their first customers that morning, and for a bit of time had the place all to myself, except for the workers (who kept waving and smiling at me). After a bit, I was joined by a couple of families.

I spent about two hours at the zoo. It was a sunny morning and warmer than the day before, which made for a pleasant walk. I spent a lot of time looking at the big cats (among them, Sumatran Tigers and Florida Panthers) and the giraffes and the birds. The zoo has a nice collection of animals, and although the enclosures were not all exactly state-of-the-art, the animals all looked healthy. It was just around feeding time for most of them and they were pretty active.

Here's a picture of some kind of crazy bird that makes a lot of noise when he flaps his wings:

Here's a picture of the Australian Kookaburra, which makes a lot of noise in general.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

Merry, merry king of the bush is he

Laugh kookaburra, laugh kookaburra

Gay your life must be!

Walking around I realized that it has been a long time since I've been to a zoo of any kind, and that I had forgotten how much I enjoy the zoo. Note to self, rejoin Cincinnati Zoo. Try to go there more often than once in a blue moon.

So, after I had made a rather thorough tour of the zoo, I still had a little time to kill before heading for the airport. I drove back downtown to the art museum, which would now be open.

I found a parking spot on the street right in front of the Mississippi Museum of Art, which is right downtown next to the convention center. This museum is in an attractive modern building and is free to the public. It took me about an hour to go through their permanent collection of works by Mississippi artists and artists who had spent time in Mississippi. I wish I had stopped in there sooner because it was really worth a little more time. I could have even walked there Saturday afternoon if I had thought about it.

And then it was time to head for the airport. Another state conquered at a slow and steady pace, and a little bit of tourist activity on the side, although not quite enough for me to feel, unfortunately, like I really got a sense of the place. So, I'm going to read some more Eudora Welty in compensation.

Dayton River Corridor Classic Half-Marathon

I had a sucky race this time in Dayton, for a variety of reasons but mostly maybe it just wasn't my day.

Previous Years at this Race

I have some fond memories of this race from previous years. It was one of the first half-marathons I ever raced. The first few years we did it, the start and finish was in downtown Dayton at a rather run-down convention center. The course was a mix of downtown Dayton and trail along the river. They even had a little expo where you could pick up anything you might have forgotten, and a pasta dinner for people who came in the night before.

One of the first years I did it, I remember that Bill Rodgers was there competing. I think it was the year he turned 50. This race even makes an appearance in sequel to the classic running novel, "Once a Runner" by John L. Parker, Jr. ("Again to Carthage" is the name of the book, if you are interested). Quenton Cassidy comes up to Dayton to compete in this race while he is training for the Olympic Marathon Trials. He beats Frank Shorter, but there are about 13 guys ahead of them. So this used to be quite a significant race, back in the day.

It's not what it used to be.

The course has changed multiple times in the past dozen years. There always seems to be some construction going on in the Dayton area that affects the course. There were a couple years where it started and finished at the Dayton Art Institute. The last few times I've done it, we started and finished at the University of Dayton arena. We usually go through a bit of the industrial area (which I have always enjoyed because it takes us by the Dayton Dog Training Club) before hitting the paved trail that runs along the river. One year I seem to remember that we made a foray into Carillon Park and had to run across a grassy field section that was not especially well-marked. We don't do that this year but you can see the carillon itself in the background of some of the pictures late in the race. (I won't be getting any of those pictures because they just make me think about how a woman with a gut that big cannot possibly be thinking she is going to qualify for Boston.)

This year we get on the trail a lot sooner and skip the industrial part (more about this later), which is undeniably more scenic but I am a little disappointed not to pass by the dog training club.

Pre-Race

Ok, so anyway, I left the house around 7 and got there around 8 for the 9 am start. Plenty of parking at the arena. No lines for the bathrooms, either. That is what makes this a good staging are. I pick up my number and shirt, but am surprised (as are many other people) to discover that there is no chip-timing. I guess they don't really need it but it's starting to seem so old-school not to have chip timing. Even my local 5k races have chip timing now.

The shirts are shortsleeved technical tops and the woman's one is hot pink. I ordered a medium but they give me a large, which I do not notice until I am back at the car but it looks like it runs kind of small so I decide not to try to exchange it. Apparently there was some kind of issue with the shirt sizing and distribution because I overheard a lot of people complaining.

The Dayton race was previously a pioneer in providing more interesting shirts than average, but I guess the rest of the racing world has finally caught up. The first few times I did this one we got sweatshirts, then there were a couple of years when we got windshirts, then longsleeved tech shirts, and the last time I was up here, we got a shortsleeved gray tech shirt, which I happened to be wearing for this race. I was also wearing my black cap from the Delaware marathon. I had a brief period of wondering if I was inviting bad luck by wearing these items. I had worn the Dayton shirt for Delaware and that a miserable day. I did kinda wish I had worn something brighter, because the gray shirt was bringing my spirits down on this overcast and dreary day.

I sat in the car for awhile. It was a bit chilly and extremely windy outside, and there was nowhere to sit down in the lobby of the arena. I wished I had brought a throwaway shirt or a thin jacket.

Lined up in the street with the rest of the runners and waited for the gun. Would have liked some pace signs but there were none so I just had to guess.

Confusion on the Course

Once we got running I warmed up pretty quick. We ran down the street as I remembered and made a turn and went over a bridge. But then all of a sudden we were on the trail, and that was interesting because I did not remember us hitting the trail that early. But I had expected the course to be different, since it always is! Not until we passed where I would have expected to see the first mile marker did I become increasingly concerned.

My GPS said we had gone a mile and I had run it in 8:05. Ohoh. That was not good. That was a minute faster than I should have been going. Would I pay for that later? I would. I started asking people about where the mile marker was and nobody seemed to know what was going on.

All of a sudden we came upon the mile 2 marker. Ohoh. At this point it was apparent that we had cut off about half a mile. In fact, the lead police vehicle had gotten confused and taken us the wrong way. But I didn't know this, so I was wondering if we were going to run a short course or if we were going to make it up somewhere along the way. And this bit of uncertainty, along with the fact that I had gone out way too fast,  conbined to detract from my performance in this race. Or that is my story and I am sticking with it.

As we continued along the path, I began to wonder when we were going to see an aid station. I had expected them roughly every two miles, but we were approaching the three mile marker (although in fact we had only run 2.5 miles) and we hadn't hit one yet. One finally appeared around 3.5 miles into the "official course" so I had a bunch of water and my first GU there. If I had known there would be no water until that far in I would have carried my own. This was another thing that affected me negatively, no doubt.

Rather than look at my splits based on where the mile markers appeared, I will just record the lap times from my GPS:
1) the aforementioned ridiculous 8:05
2) 8:20 (still too fast)
3) 8:34 (still too fast)

Somewhere in this early part of the race I caught up with a female race walker. She was really moving and it took me a bit to catch up with her. I had overheard some other people telling her she was amazing, and I stupidly decided to chime in on that, and her withering stare told me how it went over. Should have kept my mouth shut. I am just an asshole I guess. She was pretty serious, and I heard her tell a friend who was along side her how hard it was for her "not to race." I guess this was just a workout for her?

After mile three (or 2.5 as it were) my pace climbed. Not ridiculously high but higher than my goal. Higher than I would have expected. Higher than it needs to be if I wanted to place in the AG in this race, or expect to qualify for Boston in a couple of weeks:

4) 9:37
5) 9:17
6) 9:38
7) 9:11

I had my second GU at the aid station that was somewhere past mile 7, I think. I didn't have another later because of the placement of the aid stations, but I did take Gatorade a few times. Hmmm, maybe I needed that GU to get me through the last three miles. Worth pondering.

In the second half of this race we were running into the wind, and it was brutal.

8) 9:25
9) 9:41
10) 9:19

I ran up alongside a young woman in mile 7-8 or so. She seemed unaware of my existance and started to actually run me off the road! These zombies with their iPods are really getting ridiculous. So after that I stayed right behind her for a bit and used her to block the wind (she was on the wide side) until I had a chance to pass her outright.

The wind was making my nose run like crazy and it was quite unpleasant. Then late in the race I was running behind a pair of women who decided to farmer's blow their noses at the same time, and so I got hit with their snot. That was one of the more disgusting things that has ever happened to me in a race. So of course I had to pass them after that. Should have blown some snot on them too but I did not.

11) 9:57
12) 9:51

Those last couple miles were brutal. Flat but the wind was just ridiculous. Finally we made the turn down into the parking lot. I ran the last .1 miles in 43 seconds. My official time was 1:58:41, which included about 7 seconds to cross the start line.

The Aftermath

The race director apologized about the misdirection that cut the course off. He said they thought it was 12.66 miles, but I ended up with 12.8 on my GPS. In the second half of the race, it seemed like we picked up a couple of tenths along the way. So I guess if we had not cut off that part in the beginning maybe the course would have actually been long.

Post race, they had LaRosa's pizza, and pancakes. I went for the pancakes. They had this set up outside and the wind made obtaining and eating the pancakes a bit challenging. For some added fun, the pancake flippers were throwing the cakes in the air and you were supposed to catch them on your plate. That was just nuts. There were pancakes flying all over the place and landing on the ground. I finally got one on the third try, then I demanded the guy just lay some on my plate because catching them was too much work. I had my pancakes wrapped in sausage, and I had a little orange juice, and I checked my name in the results to verify that I had not won anything, then I changed my clothes in the bathroom and it was time to head for home.

In the end I was 9 of 29 woman in my age gorup and 266 of 579 runners overall (not sure where I placed among women).

I'll be back for this one again, but I won't be making it a priority. At this point it seems that the State-to-State race has definitely surpassed it in quality as a local half-marathon.

State to State 10

This is the one I've done all ten years, a half-marathon in Oxford. This year was the best ever.

 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.

Powder Keg Trail Race

I did this race on Saturday, August 25. It was my second time at this event. I ran it two years ago but had to miss it last year because of a dog show. You can read my report from last time here.

This particular race is a benefit for something called the Mason-Deerfield Arts Alliance, an organization which provides and supports arts programs in the community. See the pretty painting on the barn we run around during the race:

The race started at 9 am. I got there a little after 8 and parked in the lot by the elementary school. Packet pickup was a little less chaotic than I remembered from two years ago. They had goody bags that included a bunch of coupons and a small bottle of Gatorade. I didn't get the shirt this time.

Went back to the car and attached my chip and my race number, then headed out for a warmup. Still sore from my fall on Thursday morning, but felt okay once I got warmed up. Ran a little on the trails close to the Kings Mansion, which we cover in the early part of the race.

Here's some pictures of the mansion:

It's not in as bad shape as I remember from two years ago. At least it does not seem to have deteriorated any further. Would make a nice event space/conference center/bed & breakfast. Hope the community can find a way to get the property restored---while still hosting this fun race each year, of course!

Finished the warmup and got ready to go. We all gathered at the start line, and then the race director decided that we should wait until everybody was off the portapotty line. That was nice of him but I was getting impatient! People need to time themselves better so we do not need to wait for them!

Goal was around 34 or so. Ran 37:56 two years ago. Cyndi K. ran 34:05 last year. So 34-ish seemed possible. Two years ago I won the age group but did not stay to get my award. This year I planned to hang around a bit longer if I thought there was a shot. Of course, if Cyndi was there and she beat me, I would know I didn't need to stay.

But did not see too many other old ladies there. Did not see Cyndi K.

And so we were off, a few minutes late.

I wore a black run skirt and black top, and a blue hat from the Hyde Park Blast. I was not wearing the stupid GPS watch. I have decided that it is too much information for me to deal with during a race, and plus I am prone to interpreting the information in the wrong ways. When I race, I need to just race, not try to do data analysis.

We started the race by running a little lap of the field near the mansion, then we headed off into the woods. I was in a good spot, moving at a comfortable racing pace and not feeling like I needed to squeeze by anybody or like anybody was running up my heels. I got passed by a few younger women in the first mile or so after we headed into the woods but that didn't bother me.

The trail is fairly narrow, but for the most part there are not the sharp drop offs that appear in some of the other races, so it's not too scary. It's also not as hilly, overall, so you can move at a more consistent pace. There is one spot in the first mile where you run along a rock wall with the Little Miami down below on your right side. That part is a little scary. The young people around me were jumping and running over that part, and a guy right next to me almost fell down. Me, I stopped and climbed down gingerly.

Also, in approximately the first mile or so, there's a steep set of wooden stairs that you have to climb up. People around me were whining about this part, but really, it is nothing compared to some of the other races. I actually had to push my way around some of those young women who had passed me earlier! And, as was especially gratifying, nobody I passed on the stairs was able to overtake me later in the race.

There was an aid station somewhere in the second half of the race, when we briefly came up into a clearing before heading back into the woods. I grabbed a cup of water there but mostly just swished it around my mouth. Poured some on my arms---it was getting warm out---before remembering the giant bandage on my right arm where I have the big road rash from my fall. But fortunately the bandage stayed on.

Late in the race we came back out onto the grass by the elementary school, and we had to climb up a short but very steep hill to get back on the grounds of the mansion. I was just glad that we were going up it and not down. You can always crawl up. I managed to pass an old man right at the top of the hill, and he did not catch me after that. Here's a picture of the hill. It is steeper than it looks in the picture, trust me:

 

I was hoping that we were close to the end, and that maybe we just had to run across the field to get to the finish line. But no, we had to make another loop around the property and come around the back. Bummer. The only good thing about this was that it gave me a chance to catch up to and overtake one more woman ahead of me, and every position counts in the Dirtiest Dozen.

Got some water and walked around for a few minutes to catch my breath. Debated whether or not it was worth hanging around. Went to the car and got my phone and snapped these pics. Then it turned out that they were doing this neat new thing: you could go up to a table and give them your race number, and they would print out for you a little piece of paper with your results. So then I would know if I needed to hang around or not!

So, it turned out I had a reason to stay. Generally pleased with my results---ran my goal time, got the age group win---although I would have liked to finish farther up in the overall gender place. They adjusted the results later but I still only finished 21st of 86 women. Just too many younger women there who were faster than I am. Final results were 1 of 3 in the age group, 21 of 86 women, and 84 of 209 runners overall. There were also a bunch of walkers, 20-30 or so, and I beat all of them too, of course. Classifying yourself as a "walker" in one of these trail races is a bit odd, to me, since so much walking has to go on anyway unless you are some kind of mountain goat, or young and fearless and stupid.

I don't know why I can't get this picture to rotate but there it is.

I stayed around a little longer because I got to chatting with an old acquaintance from the running clubs I used to belong to, and then discovered that they were giving out door prizes. Not just the usual pair of Asics trail shoes that I can't wear. So I waited around to see and was rewarded with a $20 gift card to Claddagh Irish Pub, which is a chain restaurant, the closest one to me which is, of course, in Deerfield, near where the race takes place. Maybe Tommy and I can go to a movie up there sometime and pop into the pub to use the card. Or maybe I will use it when I am at a dog show in Columbus, or Indy. Anyway, it was a good day at the races. The entry fee was just $10, so I made that back plus gas money and more!

Tramps Like Us, 2011

A few recollections about the Born to Run 5-Mile race that I do with members of my family every year on the day after Thanksgiving:

This year my sister actually even signed up in advance so she could be sure to get the special Born to Run shirt, which for every other time we have done this race was a sweatshirt.

So we were all pretty bummed when we got there and it turned out that this time it was a technical, short sleeved tee. I guess that is the in-thing now but I am actually getting pretty tired of them and would have much preferred the sweatshirt, or even a cotton long-sleeved t-shirt.

Another change this year was that instead of gathering at the Freehold fire station for packet pickup and the little mini-expo with all the great deals, they had the pickup outside in front of the Court Jester restaurant. And there was no mini-expo. Just a table set up selling Freehold Area Running Club items. Cathy was extra bummed about this because she was hoping to find some gloves for Ted.

We did have very nice weather this year, though. Not too cold, not too hot.

Before we started our trip to NJ, I spent a few minutes reviewing my old running logs for insights into what went right and what went wrong for me in previous attempts at this race. The big thing is that I had frequently made the mistake of overdressing for it. The race starts at 11 am, so even in a relatively cold year, it usually isn’t too bad.

Except, that first year. That was a cold one, as I recall. Somewhere I have a picture of us all bundled up in our warmest winter running attire, standing in front of the old hotel where they used to have the packet pickup. We were there with Jim Ahrens, a friend from my online running club, who lived in the area. Jim passed away the following year, victim of a sudden, massive heart attack. Running does not protect you from that, much. When your number is up, it’s up.

Anyway, I have learned to dress in lighter clothes if I plan to run “fast.” And not eat too much that morning, which has been another one of my mistakes.

Unlike in the past few races, I had a big, stretch goal for this year. I wanted to run under 40 minutes and place in the top three in my age group. I’ve broken 40 there before (in the 38s actually) but that was ten years ago. I’ve never placed in my age group. I figured that it would likely take a sub-40 to do it. Realistically, I thought I was in more like 42 minute shape. That’s why the sub-40 was a stretch goal. 42 was the realistic goal.

So we got down there about an hour before the race start, and after a bit of confusion figured out where the packet pickup had moved from the firehouse, and we even found a parking space on the street. We pinned our numbers on and attached the D-chips to our shoes. Tommy and our nephew, Michael, were planning to run. Cathy and our niece, Tori, were going to walk part of the course but not do the whole thing.

I hit the portapotty and went for a warm-up jog, and soon it was time to gather near the start line.

This year I tried to line up a little closer to the start than in the recent past. It is a USATF-certified race, and awards are given by gun time, not chip time. Should have gotten a bit closer, because it took me 16 seconds to cross the line.

It is a pleasant, mostly residential course. You run a mile and a half or so down to a park, then you run a loop on the wood chip trails in the park, and then you basically retrace your steps back to the start (which means the last bit is mostly uphill). Past experience told me that my second mile should be the fastest.

Okay, mile one was a 7:53. I only needed to average sub 8s to achieve my goal, but I was hoping to be a little quicker from the start. Oh well. Mile two was a 7:50. Consistent, but again I really hoped to be a bit faster, especially since this was likely to be my quickest mile.

Now we were into the park. I became aware of a woman in a teal-colored jacket, who looked to be around my age. I pulled ahead of her, then she pulled ahead of me, and I decided to just hang right behind her and draft off her. If that’s how you want to play it, if you won’t stay passed, then I am going to draft off you for awhile.

Did not hit my watch for the mile 3 time, but miles 3 and 4 were 17:09. Well, there goes the sub-40.

There are two significant uphills in the second half of the race. I let teal woman pull farther ahead. I always slow down a bit on the uphills. I was not having a bad race. Yeah, I wanted to be a little faster but this was okay. I saw Cathy and Tori when I turned the corner in the last mile and it was fun to have people cheer for me.

Coming up the slight incline toward the finish, I realized I was not too far behind teal woman, and decided to kick past her. My last mile was a 7:53, for a chip time of 40:45.

After she crossed the finish line, teal woman surprised me by asking me what age group I was in. She was bummed to hear that we were the same age. I was pleased to find out that somebody else cared about how she raced besides me. It is always nice to learn that you are not the only one who cares. And I was happy that I kicked past someone who was in my age group instead of just letting her go.

In the end it didn’t matter much, because I was 5 of 50 in the age group (52 of 326 women, and 193 of 691 overall). Yes, would have needed that sub-40. I did find out, however, that all the other women in the top ten or so in my age group had gone off from right behind the start line. This meant that I actually passed a few of them along the way even though they had a 16-second head start. It also means that next year I have to start closer to the front if I really want to have a chance at placing. And I do have to get a little faster, because the top three women were still more than 16 seconds faster than I was.