Hi everyone! Back from Charlevoix after a wonderful weekend enjoying the company of several RA people whom I had not met before. Everything was greta from the weather to the results to the camaraderie, although my stomach has not recovered from the unfamiliar mix of pasta, beer, wine, ice cream, whitefish, brats, sauerkraut (not all at the same time!) and other gourmet treats that we indulged in.
I'll start off with the photos that I took and other can chime in with their RRs and comments. Charlevoix was a perfect venue for a meet-up like this since it is such a compact event, taking place in a small town whose total purpose is to serve the tourist trade. So within a couple minutes walk from the party house was a strip of restaurants, shops, book stores, parks, a marina, etc., not to mention the race HQ and starting line.
So here are some of the crew on their way back from packet pickup on Friday afternoon. The unfamiliar faces are Holly's friend Tara and Tara's daughter Leah.
And here we are with a photo taken by a bystander. On the left is SteveP's lovely long-suffering wife, Michelle. Then it's Batman Steve, Leah, Holly, Slo-Hand Steve, Aamos, TomS, Dave59, Rochrunner Doug, and soon-to-be RA Master Tara.
Back at the house, a view of our always-on buffet spread:
Ready at the starting gate for the half-marathon at 7:00AM Saturday, a half hour after the full marathoners started:
TomS checks the results (I'll let him tell you what they were):
This was my first medal with moving parts! It's quite appropriate since the town is noted for the drawbridge that goes up about every 30 minutes, backing up traffic on US-31, which is the only way to drive up along the Lake Michigan shoreline in that part of the state. It is not a quick trip in a car through town during boating season!
At least the drawbridge is scenic and the start/finish was north of the bridge so that the route doesn't cross it!
Gathered at the Village Pub to satisfy Holly's post-race cheeseburger cravings. Some had burgers, others of us had the local specialty of broiled whitefish.
Don't ask :-)
It was a blast. Wish more of you could have been there!
Doug, runnin' cycling in Rochester, MI
"Think blue, count two, and look for a red shoe"
MM #5615
Nice report and pictures, roch...what's with the Speed Sticks?
#artbydmcbride
None of the folks who ran this stink at all!
Runners run
Ask Holly or Slo...
Why do I always seem to be making excuses in advance for what I expect to be a slow race and then go out and do much better than I expected? But in this case I think it was justified – really! My last HM was long ago in September 2013, and since then I'd only run as far as 10 miles and no more a few times. Then there was my nagging injury from the 5K in March and not being able to train due to our trip a couple weeks ago.
So my plan going into this race was to use the run-walk method that I'd used just to do 10 miles a few weeks ago and figure on a 2:30-ish finish time. That plan lasted until a couple minutes before the starting gun when the crowd, the cool-and-clear conditions, and getting pumped up by the folks at the house had me canceling out the run-walk timer on my watch and deciding to run it straight, with walk breaks at the water stations.
And that's how it went. The water stations were at about every 1.5 miles and I took water and walked generally at every-other one, so not all that much walking and I was able to keep my running pace below 10:00 for most of the time as my finish projection gradually went from 2:30 to 2:20 to 2:10. One nice thing about an out-and-back is that you are bound to pass everyone else in the race at some point, so I was able to give shout outs to Slo, Dave59, and SteveP along the way.
The out-and-back course is really very flat with no real “hills,” but instead there are a few long gentle grades. One that I really noticed was at the turnaround, when my fast slightly downhill pace going into the turnaround turned into a much slower slog for about half a mile going back up it. Likewise, the nice early downhill at about the 1.5 mile point became an uphill in about the 12th mile going back and I did have to walk a bit of it since it had also warmed up a lot by then.
At least the finish was downhill, and I crossed the line at 2:10:59 chip time, which was far better than I had a right to expect (my last HM, with end-of-season conditioning, was a 1:59:58). As for the 65-69 AG, I was sadly 3 of 3, missing 2nd place by just a couple of minutes. At least the AG winner was out of sight: he ran it in 1:41 for a 7:45 pace! What planet is he from? But I did do well overall – there were only 2 or 3 older males in the race and I managed to finish ahead of quite a few younger guys.
So in sum-up I would do this event again in a heartbeat, especially if I could repeat the fun that I had meeting so many RA members whom I had known for so many years only through their online personas. It was a real treat!
Trails are hard!
Doug--thanks for all the pictures and recap. Sounds like the blast we all thought it would be. Nice half for you, too!
Need a fast half for late fall. Then I need to actually train for it.
Hi everyone! Back from Charlevoix after a wonderful weekend enjoying the company of several RA people whom I had not met before. Everything was greta from the weather to the results to the camaraderie, although my stomach has not recovered from the unfamiliar mix of pasta, beer, wine, ice cream, whitefish, brats, sauerkraut (not all at the same time!) and other gourmet treats that we indulged in. I'll start off with the photos that I took and other can chime in with their RRs and comments. Charlevoix was a perfect venue for a meet-up like this since it is such a compact event, taking place in a small town whose total purpose is to serve the tourist trade. So within a couple minutes walk from the party house was a strip of restaurants, shops, book stores, parks, a marina, etc., not to mention the race HQ and starting line. It was a blast. Wish more of you could have been there!
Like Roch said, it was fantastic. For myself, it was more like a reunion than a first time meet up. The fellowship was simply outstanding. After a brief introduction between Holly and myself, Holly said, "I'm sorry Michelle" and gave DW a hug. That happens a lot. Tag, Michelle and I didn't stay at, what I called, "the Frat House". If we did, I'd have gained 10 more lbs. Setting up camp a few miles away gave us an opportunity to nourish the local mosquito population and have breakfast at one of Hemingway's old haunts.
Friday was a little pre-race R&R and every one that joined the little group was greeted like "Norm" from the show "Cheers". The only somber side was that the day had to end before a new one began.
Saturday at Jay O'Clock, gentleman TomS picked me up and we met up with those of us who chose the shorter, less insane distances. Holy IRC Batman! I had zero pre race jitters.
The vocalized goal for the half was to start, have fun and finish. The secret goal was a 3 hour half. I met up with the 2:45 pace group and chatted them up for about 1/4 of the race. Until my liquid breakfast suggested a porta john stop.
Then I went back to old school. I sang songs to myself and danced until the turn around.
At the turn around, I met "Ginger". A hound who runs halfs with her dad, Dr...I forget.....
After I was running solo, I fired up the psycho-billy and just had some fun. I didn't see DW at a predetermined location but did see a glimmer of hope.
Around the two mile mark, she showed up and let go of Tag's leash. He was bolting happy to run run run! I had a new motivator and picked up a pace I was happy with. We joyfully trotted long the last mile and WHOOSH!!! AAmos zipped past us. No "Hi", "Get out the way pork-chop!"...nothin. Tag cried and cried. We ran up in order to take a group selfie while on the go. I could have touched her shoulder, but I didn't want to startle the delightful woman. She was focused and in her zone.
After 1/4 mile, the dog and I fell back into my comfortable pace. We finished in 3:03. 31/32 AG and it was fine. If there were a division for those with capes on their socks, I'd have been 1st OA
I picked plantago when we were done. Mashed it between my fingers then rubbed it along my arms, neck, shoulders and knees. It didn't hurt anything.
After a little R&R, us merry band of misfit runners went back down town. DW, the mutt and I had our caricatures done. It's difficult to exaggerate DW's smile.
SteveP
Speed Stick...SteveP and Amy each stole a case off the pallet that was supposed to be put out for free samples.
I took a case so I could have a stock pile of Christmas presents.
Great photos and RR, Steve! I had my phone with me, intending to take a few on-course, but never thought about it again after the start.
Here's a link to a show that was put together automatically by Google Photos from the pictures I took on my smartphone over the weekend. I added some captions, but the show was basically auto-selected by the Google software.
Fantastic RRs and photos - thanks, Roch & Steve!
It looks like everyone had a great time and great races. Congrats to you all for another successful RA meet-up!
Jay
Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.
Carolyn
Thanks for the pictures and RRs! I love RA gatherings, and seriously thought about Charlevoix - if it wasn't flat and paved, I would have joined you guys! Sounds like everyone had a great weekend.
I hammered down the trail, passing rocks and trees like they were standing still.
Ditto to the great pics & RR's. RA gatherings are always great. (We also thought about going, but it wasn't going to fit in with our other trips this year)
I had a good weekend. Ate good, slept good, ran good. It was nice to meet some of the forum legends like Holly & Amy that have been imaginary friends for so many years. It's hard to believe it was the first time meeting Doug (rochrunner). I've been in Michigan for 14 years and been at many races but just not the same ones. Always good to see Tom at a race which has happened many times. I had already met the 2 Steves once each before, although for some reason I didn't recognize Slo at first. Also nice to meet Holly's friend Tara and her daughter.
I didn't take any pictures at all the whole weekend. I don't know why. I just figured I'd steal whatever anyone else posted that I happened to like.
As for the race, I have to have some goal or expectation to think about and trying to get under 2:10 (9:55 pace) seemed like a good idea. I lined up with the 2:10 pacer. but he took off too quick. He ran a couple 9:20's at the beginning and I let him go.The first half was my normal solitary run, but shortly after the turnaround the fun started. I was feeling tired and started entertaining thoughts of walking some when a woman comes up next to me and said she'd been stalking me for a long time. She was real talkative and had the same time goal so she got me through a few miles where I would have probably dropped off. She is a cosmetic surgeon from the Ann Arbor area and her husband thought it would be fun for her birthday to come up and run in Charlevoix. I joked about my hypochondriac tendencies and how I worry about dropping dead during a run, but with so many people carrying cellphones I was more relaxed because I knew help would come pretty quick. She said that if I did go down she could probably revive me as long as I wasn't dead before I hit the ground. Then another woman comes up about 9 miles in and asks our goal finish and she had the same target. So now I am running with 2 attractive blonds and it was a mini party. (They were both pretty close to my age too so it wasn't like I was the creepy old man in the group.) It is amazing how smooth he second half of the race went. Unfortunately I lost my running partners with a mile and a half to go. There was an incline which you could almost call a hill and since my legs were dead I ended up walking a bit. They finished a minute ahead of me.
I finished with a 2:08:40 which was better than I could have predicted. If I could drop 20-30 pounds and fix my sore back and hips I think I could break 2:00 again someday. (Especially if I could find the right women to pace me over the second half of the race again.)
In the second to last of Steve's pictures where he is with Tag, if you look close you can see the cape on his Batman socks.
I'm still on a high over the fantastic Charlevoix weekend with such wonderful people. Whether we were sitting around the house, walking around town, or riding in a car, the talk was easy and nonstop. It's unbelievable how compatible we were. Several of those who were doing the half kept saying they "were only doing the half". Since I was doing the 5K, I just let those comments slide.
I have gotten so that I don't worry much about goals, but thought that a 10:30 pace would be ok but not sure I could do it. My last 5K was at a 10:19 pace and that seemed out of reach. The race starts just north of the drawbridge. It's sort of neat that they started all the races at the top of the incline that leads down to the river, starting on the level and heading out of town, but put the finish nearer the river so we finished going downhill. I just plodded along, enjoying the comfortable temperatures, probably about 60°. Most of the 5K route was through neighborhoods where trees shaded the route. I never felt like I was breathing too hard or that my legs felt bad. For most of the race, I was passed by, and passed, about an equal number of runners. With about half a mile to go, I passed quite a few without getting passed back until just before the finish when a few speedsters sprinted for the finish. My GPS gave me a time of 32:19, distance of 3.14 miles, and a pace of 10:18. I was happy with that. My mile splits were 10:36, 10:30, 10:02, and I had a pace of 8:29 for the last .14 mile. When I got the results, I was 104/252 OA, 48/98 of the males, and 1/2 in my AG (70-74). There was no one in the older age groups.
An indication of the kind of people we have in RA is Aamos who finishes a marathon at just over an 8 minute pace and congratulates me on a 10:18 pace 5K. We walked many miles around Charlevoix the rest of the afternoon, visited at the house, ate at both the house and at a local restaurant, and everyone still seemed so energetic. It was sad to have the weekend end. Since most have chimed in, it looks like everyone made it safely home. I hope that work is survivable for those who had to return to it today.