My first race as a runner was last Labor Day at the Blueberry Stomp.  It's part of the Blueberry Festival in a small town where Morgan Uceny was born and raised.  I had a blast, and never realized just how quirky the race was until I read a race report written by a guy from Chicago.  He was really amused by the fact that there are actually blueberries on the ground at the starting line.  The prayer is not a small part of the race, but something of an event in itself.  There isn't a starter's pistol, but a cannon that starts the race.  Hot air balloons float overhead, and the streets are lined with more people than probably actually live in that town.  The truth is that they are there for the parade.  You're simply the opening act.

Oh, and did I mention a 40 year history of shirts like this?

When my wife, and I ran this last year it was a last minute decision.  She had never run more than 2 miles.  I was still having dreams of running a marathon just months after starting to run.  That's a story for another time.

Anyway, I'm training for the same marathon again, accept this time training is going better than I could have ever asked for.  The only complaint I've had is that I haven't run a race since June 1st, and I went out after that race and ran some more.  I've been marathon training ever since, and I even set a half marathon PR during a marathon pace training run this weekend.

Yesterday, we were talking about what to do with our long weekend, and we were talking about last year and our first race.  I said, "Hey, I hit all of my tempo paces on Tuesday.  I had a great marathon paced long run on Saturday.  I haven't missed a single workout.  If you want to run the Blueberry Stomp again, I'm in.".  Then, we printed out the entry forms and laid out our running clothes.  The plan is to run the race, and then do a tempo run when I get home.  The rest of the week will just be easy miles until my long run on Saturday.  Then, I will not have really missed any quality workouts or miles.

I woke up this morning at 5AM and had some breakfast and coffee, and we were off.  It was just like last year, except I'm a lot smaller and I'm not wearing a cotton t-shirt and basketball shorts...lol  Hello running singlet and running shorts.  This is perfect, except my legs are a little tired.  Hey, this isn't a goal race though.  This is the Blueberry Stomp.

We arrived, and picked up our packets and started to walk the course.  It's just as deceptively hilly as I remember it, and the lawn chairs are already out.  This is great.  It was very humid, but the temp was only high 60's for a change.  That's not too bad.

We lined up, and before the spread the blueberries across the starting line, they invited a special guest up to give the prayer.  It was a man who had been running the Stomp for years.  Last year he was diagnosed with cancer, and the doctors informed him that it was terminal.  By the time the festival kicked off they told him that he was cancer free.  He ran the race in a shirt that said, "They said my cancer was terminal" on the front, and "God answers prayers" on the back (or something along those lines).  Well, he was running it again this year, but the doctors say he has cancer again.  I don't remember exactly what his shirt said this year, but it was obvious that he hasn't lost hope.  He said that he's already looking forward to running it again next year.

So, I know I don't belong in the front row of this race.  There are a lot of people here, and someone running a 15:XX wouldn't be a surprise.  I'm seeing people up front though that I know don't belong.  I know you can't judge an individual by appearance, but when it's a group in matching outfits and none look like they're running for the win I think it's safe to assume that they would surprise the world.  I just moved to the other side, and remained about 8-10 people deep.  I talked to the people around me, and it seemed like I was in the right place.  I thought I was in the right place.

BOOM!!!  The cannon went off, and so did the runners.  I'm immediately confused.  Most of the people around me take off at about a 7:40 pace, and we're still dodging people.  I'm not talking about subtle side to side running, but literally zigging and zagging as much as 5 runner widths from side to side.  To make matters worse, there were faster running flying by from further back.  It seemed as if we were ALL WRONG about where to line up.  This was not going to be a best case scenario race.

Once things thinned out, I checked our pace and looked around.  There are still familiar faces from the start.  The same people that said they were shooting for somewhere around 22-23 minutes were still right in my area, but we're not on pace at all.  I don't see how any of us are going to pull this off.  The first mile is flat to slightly downhill.  We should be flying.  I assess my own effort level, and it feels like a tempo run.  That makes sense.  I'm running near my tempo pace.  Well, I was planning to swap this race in as part of my tempo workout anyway, and it would still be a PR anyway.  No, let's try to pick it up.  So, I tried to pick up the pace and that's when I felt the fatigue from Saturday's run still lingering (16 miles with 12 at marathon pace).  Well, I checked my watch, and realized the added effort didn't correspond with the increased pace.  Screw it.  Enjoy the run....HA!

MILE 1: 7:31.7

Well, now we're heading uphill.  Just hang with the stronger runners in your area.  That was my thought.  Then, I started to realize that they were all slowing down quite a bit.  This didn't feel like a tempo run any more.  No.  It felt like a brisk jog.  Sorry guys, I have to get going.  Oh my.  That guy's walking.  So, I start picking out runners that I want to pass.  I set short term, to long term goals.  I'm going to pass him, and then I'm going to pass her.  Before it's over, I have to catch that shirtless dude that sprinted by me at the beginning of the race and looks like he's been hitting the P90X.  Those that I didn't gain on going uphill seemed to be ripe for the picking (get it...blueberry festival) on the downhill.  One by one, I was working on passing people, and I basically forgot about my watch.

MILE 2: 7:37.1

Two miles down, and I still don't feel like I'm running at a 5K effort.  I'm passing people though, and this is a good workout.  I'm having fun.  Whatever.  Hey, there's the shirtless dude.  He's almost to the top of the hill, and to the parade crowd.  So, I just work on closing that gap by picking off short term goals.  I ease past bouncy guy, heavy breather guy, shiny skirt girl, iPod crew, headband, etc.  I name them.  It makes it more interesting.  We're back on the part that I remember as flat, but it's slightly downhill I think.  Maybe we were running uphill at the beginning.  I don't know.  All I know is that I can see P90X guy, and he doesn't even know that I'm back here or that I've been planning to pass him for a couple of miles.

Mile 3: 7:27.2

There's a small pack around P90X, but I see a bit of daylight.  Last year I wouldn't have fit through that crack, but this year is a different story.  I'm trucking now.  According to my Garmin, I'm trucking a 6:20 pace.  Not one person in the pack tried to keep up that I'm aware of, and I found it odd that I didn't get a chance to talk to any of them after the race.  I talked to a guy that believe it or not was wearing almost the exact same outfit that I have on in my avatar.  That was weird, because that is what I wore today too.  Nice guy.  Good taste in ridiculously bright clothes.

Garmin said: 23:34.xx

Official Time: 23:36.7

I jogged back the other direction on cheered my wife on.  She ran about the same time she did last year, but she was coming off of her longest run ever on Saturday and her legs were dead tired.  I think we both got going, and decided to just have some fun with this one.  We did just that.  It was a much needed break.  I love running and training, and being on the road by myself, but I did miss getting out there with  the crowd and running a race.  This was perfect in so many ways.

Conclusion:

23:36.7 (previous PR 24:11)

AG 7th out of 29

Overall 80 out of 677

I'm definitely getting faster, and I think I could run a much faster time next weekend if that were my goal.  My goal is a marathon on November 2nd though, and that's where my focus has been and will be.  Now, if you'll excuse me....I have to go run another tempo run.

Sounds like a lot of fun and it is a great shirt!  Maybe the runners in the front just wanted to get in while there were still blueberries?

And this is how far you've come- your "taking it easy" race is now faster than my "A" goal in a couple of weeks.

I ease past bouncy guy, heavy breather guy, shiny skirt girl, iPod crew, headband, etc.  I name them.  It makes it more interesting.

Yeah, if you can do that during mile 2 of a 5k, you definitely are not running at 5k effort, at least I could not!

Good stuff, faster times await you no doubt, but you are in the marathon training zone and I think we all can appreciate that.  Enjoy the rest of the days miles.

Nice job!  I think it's good to sometimes do something for fun and not because you "have" to, for sure.  Sounds like a great time.

And... yum, blueberries!

Good work, Awood. That was a fun read. It must be cool to PR without giving your best effort. Cool shirt, as well.

Congratulations on a great finish time, PR and ranking! You are running so well, Awood. And congrats to your wife also, it's awesome that she is still running!

SIAR - It's definitely unique.  For the first few years, they didn't even have the 5K.  It was only a 15K.  Now, the 15K is still there, but the 5K seems to be the biggest draw.

Zel - I consider myself lucky / blessed.  I see how many people have setbacks, and everything.  So far my biggest setback was practicing making wedding cakes for my wedding.  The funny thing about the shirt is that last year they put Morgan Uceny on the shirt.  Until last years shirt, they've always done this style of shirt. It's always different, but the style is usually so similar that my brother said he ran it 30 years ago and he remembers the shirt looking just like that.

Redrum - The bad part is that they didn't even have mats at the start.  So, everybody's time started on the cannon.  Only the finish line was chip timed.  So, it really does pay to go straight to the front.

LRB, or should I say Winky Cat, usually at 5K pace I can only think in single words of profanity....lol

Damaris - You would have loved the weather!

Jack - If only that had blueberry beer, it would have been perfect!  If you ever make it up this way in September, we can run the 15K.  The 15K finishers come back as the parade is already headed down the route.  Runners on one side, and parade on the other.

Scotty - That guy was such an inspiration.  His positive attitude was amazing.  I just wish they had a better sound system so that more people could have heard him speak.  I heard that people in the back couldn't hear him.  As for not like blueberries, I swear you could have played Mikey in the old cereal commercials.

Happy - I'm pretty stoked that my wife is still running too.  Thanks for the encouraging words.  I just hope I can get this marathon thing down as well as you and some of the others here.

Congrats Awood, fun reading your report.

Those races where no one is lined up in the right place are frustrating, well done making the most of it.

Way to pick off the "blueberries".... what, no Violet Beauregarde?