10/25/15
50:03
(8:47/mi pace)
8/34 in 30-34 age group
120/360 overall
This was my second time running this race. Clint introduced it to me last October...and I loved it and had a blast. Allerton Park is beautiful, particularly in the fall. Ok, truth be told, I have never been there other than in the fall ;). But...I have to assume it is extra-awesome in the fall. In addition to being beautiful, this race is very well-organized and is just a whole lot of fun. Since it is around Halloween, there is a costume contest and some of the runners actually run in some pretty elaborate costumes. Last year a girl ran practically naked in a tiny flesh-colored top and bottom that was made to look like she was being "blurred" out or censored. It was pretty funny and I am sure it helped some people run faster (or maybe slowed them down as the case may be...). Anyway, I didn't dress up. I'm boring.
This year's race was on Clint's birthday. How neat is that?! We left our home around 6:45 and headed to Monticello. Clint drove since I am (especially) useless in the morning. Speaking of being useless, when we were like 4 minutes into our trip I realized, "Oh crap! I forgot my watch!" Time for another blind race. When we arrived, we went to pick up our numbers and race shirts and saw a number of familiar faces (Joe, Karen, Carol, Tanya, Merlin, Meg, Dennis...hope I am not overlooking any names). We went back to our car, where I huddled for a while longer to stay warm and Clint headed out for a warm up.
After a while, I forced myself out of the car and into the cold morning air. I managed to leave my sweatshirt in the car even though it pained me to do so. I joined Tanya at the start and danced around for a bit to stay warm before the race director sent us off on our merry way! As soon as I started moving, I began warming up which was great. Oh I just DESPISE being cold!
I ran the first mile near Dennis Killian and we chatted a bit as we ran. He was just two weeks out from doing Kona (what a GUY!!) and said this was his first run since then. He introduced me to his niece Amanda (hope I remembered her name correctly :)) who was also running. He told her I had just run two marathons while pregnant and said that my baby had already run something like 7 races. She shared with me the fact that she also ran a marathon at 7 weeks pregnant (what I was when I ran the BQ2 marathon). Looks like I am not the only crazy in the world ;). I slowed up a bit (ok, a lot) on some of the really root-y downhills. No need to bite it! I saw some poor girl fall face-down, spread-eagle right in front of me and had to jump over her left leg to keep from tripping over her. Thankfully she bounced right back up and seemed ok as she soldiered on.
I passed the first mile marker feeling good. I had no idea what my pace was but guessed it was somewhere in the 9:00/mile range. I really enjoyed this race...the cool temps felt great and the trees were just beautiful. I chatted with a number of pleasant fellow runners throughout the race as well, which was a welcome change from the weird triathlete from Champaign who ran near me for much of the race last year and shared his life story with me. Around mile 3.5 or so, a woman in a cat costume ran up behind me and we ended up running together until just before mile 5. We chatted a bit and actually ended up pushing one another to speed up. She looked down at her watch at one point and said, "We are running 8's! That's really great for a trail run!" I was surprised I was feeling as good as I was at that pace but went with it!
After mile 5, the course takes you out of the woods and into the darn meadow. There is a downhill portion that is riddled with uneven ground that is just enough to keep you from speeding up to a comfortable degree before it takes you UP a big ol' hill to the finish line. MEAN, I tell you! I had no idea what my time would be for the race and saw the clock reading 49:xx as I approached. I crossed the finish in 50:03 which was just fine with me! This actually had me 8th out of 34 in my age group which is nice for being pregnant. Last year I was 4th in my AG. I am grateful I crossed the finish line in one piece and that I didn't take a spill like I saw three individuals do. UGH!
Clint got 10th overall and 2nd in his age group, which was super-awesome, but I guess I shouldn't steal his thunder and should let him tell his own story ;).
THANKS to Mitch for letting me be a part of the Adventures of the Often Running Racing Team, thanks to Adidas for the sweet gear, and thanks to the rest of the team for the friendship and fun. THANKS to Clint for being born on the 25th and for making that day even more fun with it being a birthday race-day. THANKS to Carol for the much-needed encouraging cheers on the course!!
Next up, Canal Connection report!
Run....crazy! ;-)
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