Willow Bay Run for Women Race Report

Goal C (no dnf)- Done
Goal B (sub 11 m/m) - Done
Goal A: Under 33 minutes - DONE!

Woo hoo! Official time: 32:31. 10:29 m/m. Bridget time: 32:29. She has the proof in a picture and wants me to lodge a formal protest over those 2 seconds. LOL.

Today was a gorgeous day for a race. The temps were nice and cool, probably about 60-65 degrees and the turnout was great.

After checking in, milling around and chatting, the race started promptly. I was a little nervous and the tummy was sketchy but it all settled down eventually. The plan (as I was informed numerous times during the prior week) was to run with Bridget and let her pace me. She assured me she could keep a nice, steady pace for us. First mile was 9:55. Ooops. We were passed quite a bit in the beginning but just kept running steadily.

Right after the turnaround (which took forever to get to - the freaking race felt 6 miles long!) Sue cramped up in her quad and dropped back. Sorry, Sue. I wasn't happy about leaving you but I knew it wasn't a disaster movie and that we would see you in the end. We were also running into the wind which blew up stiffly every once in a while. At one point, Bridget pulled out in front of me and said she would block the wind and I was to run behind her. Yeah, that worked. I appreciated the thought but running behind a toothpick for someone my size didn't really block much wind. LOL

Second mile stayed the same pace and we did pass a few people - not many but a few. Just past the 2.5 mark, I started to get tired - really tired from the pace. I was focused on watching for Jen and her dogs because I knew they walked down quite a way to watch. Afterwards, she said when we passed them I was looking pretty rough. Yeah, I was feeling pretty rough too. Pukingly rough. At this point, we could see the finish line but it took forever to reach it. Bridget was checking her watch compulsively and talking tough. My husband was the next spectator I was watching for. At this race, his m.o. is to show up after the start, walk down about .2 miles and stand on the right side. Sure enough, there he was. I think I was so relieved I said it out loud.

Right at the finish line, close enough she was almost in the finishing shute and had to swerve to enter it, some little 16 yr old flashed by me. Yeah, honey. Quite an accomplishment. How rude and tacky. I am old enough to be your mother. And it didn't help you much. You were still last in your age group by almost a minute, while I was 29/38. Boo-ya!****

Sue finished in an amazing 33:43 which might be a best for her too. Remarkable considering the leg cramps she battled.

Some amazing stats (and just in case I think advancing up in the age groups will help me):
Age Group 70-74: First place 24:21
Age Group 75-79: First place 34:44

Absolutely freaking amazing.

I am very happy with my time - I ran this race very hard, thanks to Bridget. I am going to consider it a PR. I have one 5K race that officially was faster - 31:59 but it was a uncertified course that had a scandalous history of being short. And I am pretty sure that I have never run a 31:59.

Next up is the Bud 10K, September 15. I found out from Bill that there is a new 5k race this October sponsored by the local Army reserve unit. It looks to be pretty small but it is the same course as today's race so it might be a good race to measure any improvement. It would also be fun to wear the USMC School of Infantry shirt the eldest son gave me. I might try to talk him and the younger son into running it with me :-) Those Army guys aren't fooling around either. The registration form says you will get your t-shirt AFTER you complete the race and check in with your race time (no chip times here, folks).

***The Truth in Blogging caveat here is that I pass so few people, that if I had the opportunity, I would probably pass a Granny in the shute saying, 'In your face' as I did it. LOL Just joking. Honestly. I would never do such a thing. ;-)