Wednesday, November 12, 2014

BCS 5 & Dime Race Recap!

The race shirt - I can safely say I've never had a shirt this color.  It's brownish-gold (and of course, we had a discussion on where exactly you might find this color if you were a parent...)

On Saturday I ran the Dime, or 10 miler, of the BCS 5 & Dime race.  I was not in a good place going into it, between feeling anxious about it for a couple days leading up to the race, and then the day before I had some sad news about an old friend, plus another issue was happening that was also upsetting.  Recap in a nutshell would be that I felt like my legs were made of lead for pretty much the entire race, I questioned whether I'd actually trained for this because by mile 7, I was D-O-N-E done, and I even had a couple of "screw it" moments where I walked for about half a mile.  I'm hoping that this was an anomaly and that this coming Saturday, when I have 11 miles on the schedule, I'll actually run those miles and feel accomplished instead of feeling like a failure, which is a pretty terrible thing to pile on yourself after such a rough couple of days.

The day wasn't all bad, simply because I got to spend it with my running club friends.  We started out with a pre-race group picture:
Missing a few members who hadn't arrived at this point.
Hilarity is always the name of the game with some of us...

Amy and I started the race together.  She was a little undecided if she would go the entire distance, but in the end she did.  It was nice to have company alongside as we ran and ran and ran and when did 10 miles get to be sooooo long?!  I can tell you, it feels stupid long when your energy never kicks in.
Just starting out - we look pretty good here.
Another starting picture, determined look on my face.

We hit the first water station around mile 2.5, which was nice to see after the lack of water stations at the race last month.  We were running in familiar territory, except that just after mile 3 we exited the fancy neighborhood we usually run in and were on a two-lane road that I don't route our group on because there's no shoulder and the speed limit is 60 mph.  One lane was blocked off for the runners, and police were letting cars go through one way and then the other, but they were backed up for nearly half a mile and there were some angry drivers that we were running next to.  I don't blame them; no one likes getting stuck like that.  It was kind of funny, though, that as we ran by the line of vehicles, several people had their windows rolled down with cigarettes hanging out - a juxtaposition of people doing something healthy on one side of the road, and people doing something harmful on the other.

We finally turned off that road and were on the top of where we did our hill workouts - we got to run down the hill without having to run up it first for a change, which was fun.  We hit another water station and then about a mile later, we were running toward a couple who were sitting at a corner, directing runners to turn.  As we got closer, I thought "I know those people!!!" - it was such a surprise to see my non-running friends, Mary and Danny, out there, and of course they got sweaty hugs from me (whether they wanted them or not, haha).  Mary was taking pictures, so Amy and I did our pretend running pose:
I'm holding my snack pack bag of M&M's in my hand and I think I had some stuffed in my cheeks as well!
Then Danny photobombed us - love it!

Seeing familiar faces at that point breathed life back into me for another couple of miles.   Then the wheels fell off and we were running up the same damn hilly road we run every Saturday, and that's when I said screw it and walked for about half a mile.  Eventually we started running again, but after a while we walked for about another half a mile.  Then the finish was finally in sight, and with that, some of our USAFit crew who were cheering us in.  As we turned toward the final push toward the finish line, we could see that there were still other runners behind us and that's when Amy and I high-fived each other - we weren't last!  Woohoo for small victories!
The race photographer caught our high-five, along with our pretty tired expressions.

Afterward, we rested under our canopy and heard about how the race went for everyone else:
See the road behind us?  We had to run up that and then turn toward the finish line.  This race series loves their uphill finishes, I'm telling you.  I however, do not.
Cristy and Julia - I can't even remember what she was saying, but I love her grand gestures as she was talking.
Diane, with Brian in the background, mixing up some Nuun.  Brian lives really close to the race start, which is a good thing because he forgot his running shoes and had to drive home to get them!
The pink ladies, AKA Pam and CC.

They had coke floats and beer at the finish line, but I don't drink alcohol, and the coke float didn't sound good to me, so I skipped that.  After we took down the canopy, we went to Blue Baker, where I got my usual breakfast minus a cinnamon twist because they ran out by the time we got there.  I should call ahead on race days and have them set one aside when I know I'll be late...wonder if they'd do that for me?

This race won't be held next year - the race director is changing things up.  If it were held, I wouldn't run it again...it was really expensive, and I run in this area for free every week - why pay for that?  That said, they did do a much better job with water stations this time, with three of them on our route, manned by friendly volunteers and sweet little kids.

21 comments:

  1. I'm sorry you had a hard time at your race on Saturday. You got through it with no injuries and you finished strong! Onward you go!

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  2. You guys should have had 5 water stations. One per two miles is quid pro quo in a race! I am sure your run this weekend will go just fine - for one you've done 10 miles so your body remembers that and second, I think your stresses will be much reduced. You're doing great whether you think you are or not - there are a lot of folks who would have chosen a DNF if they were feeling like you did that day!

    Most importantly, YES you should call Blue Baker and ask them to put a twist aside for you - you are a regular customer and that would be good customer service!

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    1. Five water stations? See, they've gotten us so accustomed to not nearly enough that three seemed normal.

      I never even considered not running. Of course, I never considered that everything would affect my legs, either...

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    2. YES. One station every two miles is normal. They are being water chintzy!

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  3. Considering how you went into this race you did very well. It's determination to go on with it even if you are not feeling it. Well done and looking at all the photo's it was worth it with the great group you are having.

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    1. Thanks - the group interaction was definitely the best part of that race.

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  4. It really sucks when your energy doesn't kick in. Oh man, I've felt like that before. But glad that you did get through it!! Hopefully you're energy levels change because that feeling SUCKS!

    Xo.

    KissTheRunner.com

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  5. I'm sorry you had a race with a lot of things going on, but you completed it and wasn't last!! I love the picture of you and Amy giving each other high fives for not being last! I give huge kudos to you for being able to do a 10 mile race, I know that I would be walking the majority of the race and would have been one of those racers finishing after you. :))

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  6. Yeah, like the others said, I am still in awe that you can GO 10 miles, any which way. And to continue on when you're feeling really down? That's called fortitude! You got it!

    That was pretty sweet, having friends stashed along the race course. Maybe you could request that at all your races? Along with the cinnamon twist :)

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    1. Yeah, it was nice to see friends along the route. Not used to that, but I definitely liked it!

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  7. Congrats Shelley! Even though it sounds like you had a lot on your mind & perhaps felt a bit pookey you succeeded as I knew you would. Friends make all the difference, don't they?

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  8. Yay for the finish Shelley and remember a bad day running is almost better than anything else :-)
    New running shoes arrived yesterday and taadaa I have a gps watch. Exciting times for Sam. Took the new shoes for a jog on my gyms treadmill last night. They go good lol

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  9. You finished upright so I would call this a successful race regardless. I like the green shirts you are wearing. The gold ones don't come out that bad looking on my screen but I could understand where they might look unpleasant in person..lol

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  10. Awwww, I hate that you felt so crummy during this race (and before). :( But as a friend of mine used to say, "Miles is miles." You clocked 'em. Feel free to shoot me an email if you need to vent .... :)

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  11. Sorry your head wasn't in the game for this run, but I think it's behind you and you'll kick ass for 11 miles this week! Hugs!

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  12. I am amazed that you made all 10 miles not feeling great. That is perserverance!

    I am not a parent and even I think I know what you compared your shirt color to.

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  13. Way to go Shelley! You hung in there, and finished!!!! And that makes you a rock star! :)

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  14. Darn. I think a 10 miler should be so much more fun than your race was. I often think (during a half marathon) that we should all just stop at mile 10 and get our medals.

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