There is really nothing quite as fulfilling as running a first race with a friend...unless it's successfully indoctrinating them into the cult of running. Which I think I've successfully done with Nick, now. Spoiler alert, but at the end of this race, he told me he'd definitely run a half again...just not right away.
And less than 6 hours after we finished, he sent me a link for a 12k he wanted to do. So yeah, I think my work here is done.
This was it. The big race we'd been training for. Elizabeth's first half marathon! Our birthday race. To say we had high expectations would be an understatement. Despite lingering calf issues and a minor cold, I was feeling ready and excited!
Unfortunately, this race went the way running things seem to be going lately for me. I was chock-full of Sudafed and Advil and race day dawned hot and humid. This was going to be a battle.
I should've taken this more seriously.
But let's start at the beginning.
Saturday
Matt, Elizabeth and I arrived in Fort Lauderdale around 1pm.
Five minutes after being in the car: "By the way, I'm going to make you take tons of pictures this weekend! Smile!"
We dropped our things at Oden's and then went to lunch, then finally to the expo. The A1A expo is always excellent, and this year was no exception! I made sure to stock up on free samples and half-priced Gu while dragging Elizabeth into a million photos.
Of course, finding our names on one big wall wasn't enough; we had to sign another! We also found our names on a Lexus, but I didn't get a picture of that one.
After the expo, we relaxed at Oden's until dinnertime. I had a huge baked potato and chopped salad and felt full and well-fueled. We laid out our things for the morning and got to bed at a decent hour.
Yes, our outfits were accidentally opposite-coordinating colors. We did not really plan this.
Elizabeth is new to "flat runner" pictures and was perplexed when I added all my accessories, Gu, etc. She asked, "So, should I put everything I'll use on race day?" and tossed the box of anti-diarrheal into her pile. We died.
Sunday
I woke up easily at 4am and drank a Starbucks Espresso Doubleshot in bed. When I felt a little more awake, I made my UCAN and had most of a pop-tart. We were out the door by 4:50 and by 5:05 we were parked in our usual off-site spot.
Oh. Great. 100% humidity and actually partially cloudy was a dirty, dirty lie.
After a long wait for the bathroom, Elizabeth and I packed our pockets and gave Matt our castoffs. He left us before the start gun because he was going to put Skirt Sports discount cards on cars before he went back to rendezvous with Oden and get a bike, etc.
Ready to go!
Still waiting for the countdown!
Elizabeth and I made one more bathroom stop and then the race began! The beginning was so crowded that we had to dodge, weave, and sprint a bit to stay together. It was frustrating. Although we started closer to the front than I usually do, we were still behind a lot of people who were walking within the first quarter mile...many of them did not use proper etiquette, which aggravates me!
Just getting ready to run with 4000 other running buddies!
My calves felt a bit tight but not bad. At mile .19, we had just crossed the train tracks when we heard the train! A loud whistle sounded not far from us and the crossing lights and bells went off. Yes...a train cut through half the runners less than a quarter mile into the race!
(I borrowed this video from a Sub-30 buddy. Those runners waited 10 minutes for the train to pass, then got a second start with adjusted times. I'm so glad we were past it when it happened!)
Here we go!
By mile 3, my legs felt great. The humidity was making it hard to steady my breathing, but for the first six miles everything felt doable. We were keeping a good pace and the crowds had mostly cleared up, so there was no more dodging.
We passed Matt and Oden around mile 4; Matt had his OneWheel and Oden had rented a bike.
Mile 4 and feeling fine!
See ya!
Around mile seven the humidity and all the unintended fartleking caught up with me. I couldn't get my heart-rate under control and I felt sick. I had goosebumps even though I was really warm; my stomach hurt; I felt dizzy. I had told Elizabeth not to let me walk if my calves were "annoying" but not painful. But this was different.
I hated to do it, but I had to walk. I had a Gu, hoping the sugar would help, and it did, but it also made my stomach hurt more. We were pouring water on ourselves at every water stop but I was fried.
Bye, wheels.
I feel very guilty about all this. Elizabeth was great. She offered to call Matt to see if he could get my inhaler to me, but the issue wasn't really asthma-related. I kept apologizing and she finally told me to just STOP and have fun and let's do this together, who cares what happens to our goal? She was the best, but I felt so defeated. We had started out with lots of cushion to meet our goal, but I could see it slipping away from us...and it was my fault.
Around mile 9 I stopped at a medical tent for ice and shoved it down my bra.
I can't imagine I really looked strong but she is really nice for saying so!
Around mile 10 I saw an old college friend volunteering at a water stop and forced a sweaty hug on her; she and I were English majors together and since then have bonded a bit over running, and seeing her brought back to me all the beautiful, empowering ways running has changed me, and that helped me mentally the rest of the race.
Around mile 11 we saw Matt and Oden again and I asked them to get us Coke if they could. I also realized I had somehow managed to get gum in my eyebrow.
I am grinning because I am about to yell, "BRING US COKES AT THE FINISH!"
And then, finally...oh god, FINALLY, we got to mile 13. Steph and Oden and Matt were there. Elizabeth and I finally picked it up and "sprinted" through the last 10th.
The finish is in sight!
Finishing this thing together!
I immediately got a giant bag of ice from the medical tent and put it on my neck, then chugged the Coke the boys had picked up for me.
As usual, our support team was amazing. They got up early, carried our stuff, rented bikes, saw us multiple times on the course, and managed to buy us Cokes and get to the finish line in time to see us cross. I couldn't ask for better and I am so grateful for them; I know how lucky we are!
I honestly don't know what happened to me out there. I mean, I know the heat was no joke; we saw a handful of runners pulled off the course on stretchers, but I've never experienced those symptoms before. Maybe the Sudafed had dehydrated me more than I expected? Maybe I was just not as strong and prepared as I thought?
What was so tough mentally was that my legs felt good and when we were running, they wanted to run fast, but my body just couldn't take it. My heart-rate would skyrocket after just a couple minutes and I'd have to walk again.
I am frustrated that I couldn't power through and hold onto that 2:20 goal. This feels like BDR all over again; I feel fired up to run another half at a pace I know I can feel proud of. And I hate writing race reports that sound like they're full of excuses, but it is what it is. We got out there. I did the best I could and Elizabeth stuck with me when she could have easily powered through faster on her own.
2:28:47...I've run faster and I've run slower, but this race will always be special because we ran it together.
We finished. There were times I thought I might DNF but we finished. And what's more, we finished together, just as we planned.
My mom asked Matt to get us flowers so Elizabeth could have the "full race experience." She is SO thoughtful!
After we made it back to Oden's and showered, we went for brunch at the Original Pancake House, where I had a plate of blueberry pancakes and Elizabeth had a giant apple crepe. Food makes everything better!
Full disclosure: I took this picture after already having eaten one pancake.
This may not have been my best race, but I think Elizabeth feels accomplished for finishing. She does seem a little dubious about my insistence that we do another. Although it was a far cry from my past performances and downright painful at times, I'm already thinking about signing up for A1A again next year! I just can't stay away.
Oh, and here is a video of us at the finish because I know some of you like that!
Let me start by saying that this 5k was actually 4.3k (2.66 miles), so my "23:53" finishing time is impressive, but not that impressive. This was a first annual race, so I'm giving them a pass on the short course.
I arrived at GCTC around 6:50 and texted Jenn to let her know I had arrived, and it turned out I had parked right next to her!
We already had our bibs because Ashley had picked up everyone's early and delivered them to school. There were a whole bunch of us teachers running: Jenn, Tubbs, Ashley, Kasey, Michelle, and Shelagh. Kasey, Jenn and I made our way to the staging area and the bathrooms, where we ran into everyone else. We hung out and took some pre-race photos until it was time to start.
All of us! Hero teachers!
Shelagh photobombed my pre-race lineup pic!
Michelle and I were both in our lioness skirts! After the race she told me she was buying it in the Safari print. I don't blame her; it's so cute.
Because this race was fairly small, I ended up starting right at the very front of the line! Talk about nerve-wracking. Luckily, that didn't last long. Within the first few seconds of the race, a handful of people had passed me and I was able to let up on the pedal a bit and find a good cruising pace.
Can you spot me awkwardly waving at the cameraman?
I hadn't run in over a week and was a bit worried about my stamina for this race, but everything felt good. The day was cool (73) and overcast. There was some gusty wind that made it hard to breathe at some points, but mostly I felt good.
The course took us weaving through an outdoor mall's parking lot, and while I ran up one of the lanes around mile 1.5, I caught sight of Jenn, Kasey, and Tubbs. I shouted at them but they didn't hear. Around mile 2, I could see the finish on the other end of the parking lot and knew the course would be short, but I wasn't sure how short.
I'm not sure at what point in the race this was, but I look like a confused T-Rex.
At that point, I began to feel my pace waning, but I knew I was still toward the front and wanted to try to keep pushing it. Around mile 2.4, Shelagh caught up with me (she'd been running with her daughter) and passed me. Then her daughter did. I finished just behind her.
I got a water then headed back onto the course to find the others. I found Jenn and Kasey just where Shelagh had first passed me, and I ran with them back to the finish and peeled off in time to get finishing pictures for them. Then, I went back and found Ashley, Michelle, and Tubbs.
Jenn and Kasey finishing.
Tubbs crossing the line while Ashley and Michelle cheer on the other side!
Shelagh's daughter had followed back out onto the course, and she called to Tubbs to "run with her heart" and that seemed to really perk her up.
After the race, we hung out to see results and bask in our accomplishments. I ran into Mari, who you may remember from Ragnar and various other races. I saw her at Sanibel, too, and it's been nice to bump into her at races lately.
Mari led the race for a little while; she ended up placing 4th in our AG.
Shelagh placed first in her AG, and her daughter placed second in hers! I placed 8/43 AG and 21/168 OA. For a race that was short and that I ran for fun after some time off, I'm perfectly happy with that.
My splits. I've officially given up on Nike+ and am getting used to wearing my Forerunner and using GarminConnect.
It was such an awesome experience to run this race with so many teacher friends, three of whom had never run a race before. They were really proud of themselves and so ready to find another! I was disappointed with the short course, but overjoyed with the experience and atmosphere.
If they fix the course next year to make it a real 5k, I'll probably be back.
Have you ever dressed in a costume for a race? Do short courses bother you?
Every year, Matt volunteers for the Art Fest, a huge festival featuring artists of all kinds from all over the world. He started as a lowly "tent sitter"; his job was to babysit the artists' tents when they needed a lunch break. He's since been promoted a few times, and now he helps the judges behind the scenes.
When Elisa told me that she was going to sign up for the Art Fest's first annual 5k, which would be her first race ever after completing C25k, Matt and I were happy to sign up with her. It meant supporting the arts and supporting a friend.
My expectations for this race were low, but not low enough. My lungs are still really congested and the course went over one of the biggest bridges I've ever run, the Edison Bridge. The elevation rises to 55 feet in just half a mile, and it's pretty formidable even when you're not coughing up a lung. The course map showed us turning around at the top of the bridge, hence only having to run up the bridge once, but this was a cruel lie on the part of the race website.
I probably misread this map...the turn-around being in the middle of the water led me to believe that was the apex of the bridge, but I was sadly mistaken.
The race started at 8:15, which was a little late for Florida races, but the cold morning made the late start perfect.
We all met up at the start, then Matt and I moved to a closer starting spot, as was the agreed-upon plan. I told Elisa I'd see her at the finish.
Downtown Fort Myers is pretty old and the streets are narrow, but the start went very smoothly!
I started out really strong all things considered, but the first incline on the bridge really did me in. When I got to the turn-around and saw the bridge looming ahead for the second time, I decided to walk.
Sean volunteered at the race today and got this fun picture of me just as the bridge began. I believe I was in the middle of recognizing him and shouting/waving, "Hey Sean!" haha.
Because I walked the second ascent, I was able to get a nice photo of the racers.
From the Run to the Arts website; not a shabby view, really.
I had forgotten to put my inhaler in my pocket and I didn't want to struggle up the bridge a second time and risk an episode. So I walked about 3/4 of the second ascent, and ran the rest of the way in.
The home stretch. Matt finished in just over 27 minutes and was waiting for me at the end.
Obviously, my time suffered. This is the slowest 5k I have ever run.
My time was 33:58 with a pace of 10:57. Definitely not my best.
But as I was giving myself a hard time, a stranger came up to me and totally changed my perspective. He thanked me for keeping a good pace; he said I was his "rabbit" and I helped him run the 5k much faster than he had expected. I immediately felt better about everything and extremely humbled.
I waited for Elisa about a quarter mile from the finish and we ran it in together. There were tears as she crossed the finish line. Is there anything like finishing your first race?!
Afterward, Matt and I explored the Art Fest for the rest of the morning. I'm glad the Art Fest decided to add a 5k to their usual weekend festivities. It brought 700+ people to the show that otherwise may not have come. And for an inaugural race, it went very smoothly!
Matt and Sean check for times. Matt finished 5th in his age group and was just a minute behind 3rd!
My motto.
Racers were encouraged to "leave their mark" on these silk paintings.
I'm responsible for 50% of the pink in this painting.
Matt and Sean discussing...something...as we wander the Art Fest.
There was a drone flying overhead so I hope there will be some really great photos to share this week. Despite how hard this race was for me, I placed 11 of 26 in my AG; I just can't complain about that.
The first race of 2015 is in the bag, and next weekend's half is looming. I'm not feeling very confident about it, but hopefully I'll at least be able to breathe by then.
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