Notes
Ahhhh!! Nice, solid run! I worked really hard for this though! It's far from a PR or anything stellar from the past, BUT it was my longest run since the injury, and really the first time I've really worked hard or pushed a run in quite a while! I am very pleased with how it went and how I felt.
Headed to KC w/ Lisa and Mary Ellen Fri at 1600. Met Elaine in KC. 4 gals in the hotel room with one king bed! Elaine brought an air mattress and Mary Ellen scored a cot. Lisa and I got the bed since we were running the Half. Lisa is so tiny I didn't even know she was in that king bed with me so sleep was good. We had a good dinner at Ricco's Italian Bistro that evening. It was much warmer in KC than it had been in CoMo so we sat outside on their porch, ate pasta, drank a glass a wine & just had a nice time. In bed by 2230 and up at 0530.
The forecast called for rain and severe (we're all gonna die type) storms. We headed to the start. Port-a-potty & then to line up. Oopsy! Gee, this is a BIG race! The corrals were packed and I ended up going to the very, very back just to get in. Had to push my way just to get to the 2:35 position. Oh boy. I know I haven't done any speed work, but I really was hoping for a sub 2!!
Finally got started. It was so packed I could barely move. Quite frustrating. I finally took to weaving around and hopping on the grass to get around people. I used the pacers signs as goals to try to work my way up to the 2 hr folks. It took 7.6 miles to do that! This is a nice race though, and it was pleasant. After I got over my fear of getting over a 2 hr Half I was able to really enjoy the people and the scenery. I saw two young men spectating holding signs that said, "You've got stamina - call me!!" and then it listed a phone number. Very cute. Also saw two people dressed as bananas. I came up on a young man and woman running together. The back of their shirts said, "Running to the Alter - June 1st, 2012." As I went by I had to turn to look at the shirt fronts. His was made up like a tux and hers like a wedding gown. Cool.
This is just basically an out and back (ish) course on the Parkway. We had the whole street to ourselves, but it was still a crowded field. Water stations took some planning to get past efficiently. I just carried a throw away bottle that I sipped on till about mile 8 & then tossed. That worked perfectly and I was glad to not have to go through the stations.
The storms and rain held off. It was perfect. Up till about mile 12 we had clouds. Just as I was finishing the sun started to peak out & by finish time the sun was out, it was warming up and life was good!
This course has rolling hills. Nothing was high, but some seemed to roll a bit more than others. I enjoyed the hills though as they are fun to dig into and I can usually pass quite a few people on them (thanks to CoMo training!) I was, however, ready to find the described "long downhill finish" by mile 11!
I was ready to quit and pretty tired at the end, but not totally spent. I worked hard. The entire first half of this race I felt like I was trying to play catch up. Part of me thinks how much better I could have done if I had started further up & not wasted so much time & energy weaving & such on the first 2 miles. However, knowing how I am, I really am sure that those first very slow two miles are what enabled me to finish strong.
Lisa, Mary Ellen & Elaine were waiting for me at the finish so we joined up & walked around. The post race goodies were great & we enjoyed that.
It's been hard figuring the results, but I did get 10th age group. I THINK I figured 100 people in my age group. If so, that's pretty damn good considering my first real time back with minimal training. I'm pleased & really had a great time.