Shamrock 15k

I ran my first race of the spring today at noon, and I mean, exactly at noon. You're probably wondering where I'm going with this...

Well, the race was supposed to start mid-day, which I thought was nice because I didn't have to rush out the door early in the morning, and Travis and Avery were able to come and support me. I picked up my race packet, shirt, and number/timing device yesterday in Tallmadge. I got a bright green shirt, which I ended up wearing under a black jacket. It guessed it would take about 30 minutes to get to the race, so we left at 10:45 to allow enough time to use the restroom, stretch, and relax before the race. 

About 5 minutes after we left, I realized I forgot my iPod, but we had enough time, so we came back home to get it, and left again. About 10 minutes away from the race, I realized I left my running bib (and timing chip) on the kitchen counter!! At this time it was between 11:10 and 11:15. 

I immediately started crying. I couldn't believe I had done that, and I've NEVER done that before!! Travis calmly turned around and said we could still make it...we had plenty of time. Hahaha. We drove home and grabbed the bib (and I took a pit stop knowing I wouldn't have a chance to pee again before the race), and we were on our way AGAIN! A few minutes into our drive, I mapped out how long it would take, and it said 22 minutes, and it was 11:38!! We actually made up some time at some lights that were luckily green for us, and I figured we'd make it, but I'd literally be running out of the car. I was really hoping that it wouldn't start on time (like most races...but no such luck.)

When we got about a mile away from the start, the road was closed, and a cop came over and asked where we were going. I yelled "the race" and he let us through (and looked at us kind of funny.) Travis pulled into the parking lot and dropped me off, and I ran over to the start line. I heard them announce "two minutes til start " so I stretched briefly, and was off! The only good thing was that it was only about 20 degrees when we started, and everyone looked freezing because they had been waiting outside, and I had virtually NO wait time.

The race started out pretty easy. I started in the back with the twelve minute/mile pace group but quickly made up some time. I had researched the course ahead of time and knew that the first several miles were mostly downhill. They weren't kidding! My first four miles were about 33 minutes, which put me at about an 8:15 pace. It felt awesome running downhill for that long, but I knew the second half would be back uphill. At around the halfway point, there was a giant hill, big enough that mostly everyone around me was walking. I know that is sometimes a strategy, but I hate walking, so I just jogged slowly, and made it up! My 5th mile time was around 11 minutes. The next several miles were mostly up hills, but slightly rolling, so I had a few chances to recover. Knowing that the hill would just continue actually allowed me to not stress about it too much, but just settle in my pace and breathe. The course flattened out for the last 2 miles, with just a few uphill and downhill 'grades.' 

I felt great overall and my time was around 1:25:30 or so for 15 kilometers or 9.3 miles. I don't have the official results yet. That puts my pace around 9:10/mile. It's not my fastest, but given my pre-race stress, the cold, and wind, and the hills, I'd say it's pretty good.

When I finished, I grabbed a banana and bagel slice, and we headed out pretty quickly. Travis and Avery were cold, and ready to go home. It was definitely a race that I'd do again in the future.