Lake Run 12k {May 6, 2017}

Lake Run 12k

May 6, 2017

Start: 8:30am

Finish Time: 53:18 (7:08 pace)**

(PR of 1:39)

Overall Ranking: 16/188

Female Ranking: 3/89

30-34 AG: 1/10

Sixth Race of 2017 (third with stroller)

So Sunday, the day after the IL Marathon, I realized that the darn ol’ Lake Run was just TWO WEEKS away!  I ran my mouth (or fingers, I guess) and had typed in my race report that I wanted to try to be the top female finisher in the 12k (Exact quotation: “I was the top female finisher in 2015. I hate to be greedy, but it would be awesome to repeat that performance! It scares me to put something like this kind of a goal 'out there' - but I think I need to start being more brave”). Insert eye-roll here. While I am not exactly poo-pooing my performance that year (I know I should be proud/satisfied...and I am), it was on the slower side of Lake Run 12k Top Female finishes, historically.  I won with a 54:47 (7:21 pace) that year.  That’s all good everything, but the winner last year/2016 ran a 50:33 (6:46 pace) and the winner the year before my win (so 2014) ran a 51:30 (6:54 pace). So, yeah, I should’ve thought things through a little more before putting THAT crazy/unrealistic desire out there!!

Somewhat going along with that topic (running my mouth/fingers), at some point I commented that I wouldn’t be running again post-IL Marathon until the Lake Run (so, in effect, taking two entire weeks off).  Well, that lasted all of three days.  My crazy brain and body was itching to run Monday!  I was running again on Wednesday with an easy-peasy little stroller-pushing’ 5k (with the last mile at 7:44/my marathon pace).  So, yeah, in other words I never really know what I am going to be doing. Clint! Get me under control!

The week of the race, once I realized how stupid my comment about wanting to win the 12k was, I thought about doing the 7k instead (out of embarrassment, truth be told). All along I had planned on pushing Gabe in the race even though I had multiple people offer to watch him (thank Tim for me, Holly-Rae ;)).  I genuinely enjoy pushing Gabe and I really don’t think it slows me down all that much. Ok, let’s be honest. It probably does. But it’s ok/worth it.  I also, for just about one hot minute, considered registering for the third distance - the half marathon.  Yeah, no.  On Thursday I finally bit the bullet and registered - for the 12k, my fav Lake Run distance (ok, the ONLY distance I have ever run at this event).

With race start being 8:30 AND local, we didn’t have to wake up as insanely early as we had to for some previous races (here’s looking at you, IL Marathon/Champaign and Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon/Springfield!).  I had my alarm set for 6am and rolled out of bed around 6:15am. I showered and then ate some breakfast (thanks, Chef Clint, for preparing it as usual!), packed my bag, and then got Gabe up and ready to go.  We headed out around 7:25 (later than we wanted, as per usual) and got to the race site at 7:49 (I remember because I commented to Clint that we had exactly 41 minutes before the start as we made our way down to the starting area).

Note to future-self if I happen to read this race report next year as I am prepping for the Lake Run - LEAVE EARLIER!!!! We parked our car like a million miles away from the start! Ok, maybe not a million - but at least a half mile! It took a little longer than what is ideal to make our way down to the race start and get ready, but it really all worked out ok. We chatted with friends and used the porta potties. Running besties Amber, Holly-Rae and I went out for a nice, easy 1-mile warmup, running by other running bestie Tanya who was doing a more-responsible longer warm-up. Someday I need to be “responsible” and do a longer 2-mile warmup and add some strides and dynamic stretching in like Clint instructs….buttttt for all of my races lately I have been cutting things way too close to race start and leaving myself only enough time to do one mile. Oh well, one is better than none right?!

Lake Run, here we come!

I made a final pit stop to empty the bladder (being a good post-bladder prolapse patient…my PT says the seemingly simple task of frequently emptying ones bladder can stave off many “issues”! Ladies, you hear me!) and made my way to the start. I smiled confidently as I pushed Gabe/the stroller to the front of the line-up. This is the most uncomfortable part of stroller racing. I KNOW people look at me with irritation but, trust me, it’s a whole lot less invasive if I just start up there as opposed to starting toward the back and doing my best not to run into peoples’ poor ankles. I set Gabey-baby up with one of his fav applesauce pouches and awaited the starting signal.

Oh crap. I had forgotten that they use a freakin’ CANNON to start this race. Uhhhhhhhh…. The SLP-mama in me started to mentally hyperventilate about the potential damage to little G’s hearing. I quickly strategize that I would lean my body over the stroller and cup one hand over each ear as best as I could to at least muffle the sound somewhat. As soon as the cannon blasted, I would jump up and blast out of the start as quickly as I could to get out of peoples’ way…and start my watch.

They lit the cannon…I leaned forward and cupped my little boy’s precious ears as he slurped on the applesauce, unsuspecting.  I held my watch in my teeth…oh yeah, important note, I had made the decision with Clint to run this race “blind”/without my Garmin on my wrist….BUT I still wanted the data, so I had planned to start the watch and then drop it into the cup holder on the back of the stroller so that it would gather my splits.  After a few seconds (that felt like minutes!), the fuse burned down and the cannon blasted! Gabe didn’t even jump (WHEW!), I sprang up and simultaneously hit “start” on the watch and rushed forward as quickly as I could with the stroller. As we took off, I dropped the watch face-down into the cup holder on the left side of the stroller handle. There was no way I would be able to see anything unless I put forth lots of extra effort - good.

We started off at what felt like a quick clip. I felt like I was moving fast but not TOO fast. I could see the leaders (a bunch of dudes + the ever-inspiring Carrie Mack) just a few yards ahead of me and settled in. I chatted with some of the runners around me, all guys, including the familiar face of Eric Fortune. He joked, “Huh, I wonder if Andy Kubiak will with the 12k” as we watched Andy round the lake to the right…at least like 200 yards in front of the rest of the runners, still speeding up. HA!  Gabe, clutching his beloved applesauce pouch in his hands, took the spout of his mouth to talk and wave to the other runners. He chattered and waved while I gave him back my typical encouraging motherese, “I HEAR you, buddy! You’re talking to the RUNNERS! Tell them HI! They are so FAST, aren’t they?! OH LOOK at the WATER! Oh there’s a BIRD! He says TWEET TWEET up in the SKY!” Yeah, yeah, I shouldn’t wast my precious running-energy on talking/narrating to my bebe…but you just can’t take the speech-language pathologist out of the mama and you can’t take the mama out of the runner…so you get what you get ;).

I heard the first mile 1 beep on my watch and took mental inventory of things - I was feeling  pretty dang good! (Mile 1 - 6:53)

The leaders were still in my sights (but by no means within striking distance) after I finished the first mile but most were out of sight by the time I hit the second mile. Things felt generally good, though it was driving me a little bit crazy not knowing what my pace was. I really wanted to ask someone but soldiered on “by feel.” I knew that if I could keep the same people around me I was probably keeping a pretty steady pace. Probably.  Soon my watch beeped again.  (Mile 2 - 7:04)

Man oh man, those little rolling hills on this course are NO joke. I had run a tempo workout with Clint on this course a few weeks back - my final tempo workout of my marathon training cycle. Monday, April 11 the three of us headed out to the lake where we completed the Clint-prescribed workout of 2 miles easy, 4 miles tempo (6:50-7:00), 1.5 miles easy. I remember really struggling through the 3rd and 4th tempo miles in particular (tempo splits - 6:54, 6:50, 6:55, 7:00). I reminded myself of the fact that I had run THAT hard WITH the stroller in basically the same conditions as race day.  Therefore, I COULD and WOULD push through to the end for a course PR! BEEEEEEP (Mile 3 - 7:06)  Looking back, I am kinda disappointed in myself that I couldn't get closer to an average pace of 6:55ish the way I did during that tempo run...but I guess that tempo run was on legs that hadn't been torched on a marathon two weeks prior so I should be satisfied ;).

Somewhere during my 4th mile, I heard gal pal and bad-A runner Aimee Dziekan’s voice behind me yelling, “RACHEL! RIDE THE STROLLER DOWN THE HILLS!!!!” I laughed and turned around momentarily to give a strong-arm gesture and yelled back, “WOOO HOOOOO YOU KNOW IT!” At this point I was SO happy to hear her voice - it gave me a mental push (SHE’S CLOSE ENOUGH TO SHOUT AND HAVE YOU HEAR HER - HURRY UP OR SHE WILL CATCH YOU!) as well as a much-needed relaxing funny moment during moments of pain.  I saw her (thanks for wearing bright yellow-green, Aimee!!) somewhere behind me - maybe 200 yards or so?  I wondered if I would be able to hold her off until the finish… Sometime during this mile I saw Tim Van Hoof, my friend Holly-Rae's hubby, and their cutie-pies Gracie+Jack set up with a cheering station basically in the middle of a terrible, terrible ascent. I yelled at them that I was thinking about passing the stroller off after all!  But…I kept on pushing.  Soon enough, another beep (Mile 4 - 7:08).

The course curved around to the right and I thought about how I was REALLY READY to be all done with this race. Man oh man, it HURT! Beep…(Mile 5 - 7:03).

Thanks for the pic and the cheers on the course, Andy!

I knew that soon I would be making the right-hand turn onto the longest straight-away of the race…whenever I get to this point on this route I remind myself that it is ALMOST over.  Well, I made the right-hand turn into the FREAKING WIND and felt like I was pushing my stroller into a stinkin’ WALL. HOLY OUCH. As I made the turn, I peered back over my right shoulder to see if I could spot Aimee.  Yup.  A yellow blur was not far behind me.  At that point I made peace with the fact that she would be catching me, but I still did my best to hold her off for as long as I could.  RAWR AIMEE!  At some point, I recall feeling a presence behind my left shoulder. I glanced back and noticed that a guy in a red shirt was tucking behind me … drafting! HA! Seriously, though, way to use your resources guy! I am pretty sure that the stroller+I did offer him up a bit of relief from the wind for a bit. No skin off my back - I had to fight through it one way or the other. Someone else might as well benefit from the battle I had to fight regardless of my surroundings! ;).

As I ran down that sixth mile marker, Tim and the kiddos drove by in their familiar black Jeep.  As they passed me, I waved as Gracie and Jack leaned out the open back window and yelled at us, “GO GABEY! GO RACHEL!” It was so silly-adorable and I was grateful for the push!  I definitely feel the love from those Van Hooves! ;)

Somewhere right around the sixth beep (Mile 6 - 7:19), sweet Aimee pulled up alongside me and fellow area runner Kevin Hanrahan. Kevin and I had been running back and forth together for much of the race. When she pulled up, she even stuck around to chat with me a bit instead of just blowing by me like she could ;). Thanks, Aimee!!  Aimee and Kevin both pulled away from me after mile six and I continued to fight on through the blasted blasting wind.  Soon, it was time to turn left - and earn a bit of temporary relief from the wind.  I cruised along over the bridge and made a right…back into the wind and UP that darn final hill.  The seventh beep couldn’t come quickly enough (Mile 7 - 7:19).

I turned to the right again and was welcomed by a little less wind…almost home! The final turn is left - back into the wind, but at least here you can SEE the crowd and the finish AND there is some cover from the houses and trees. I tried to pick it up and push it in faster, but my legs and arms were pretty darn exhausted. I crossed the finish with a smile and grabbed a water bottle as I was welcomed back by familiar faces - teammates and other area runners.

Total- 53:18 (watch said 53:26 - took me just 8 seconds to stop it in the cup holder;))  Final 0.49 by my watch was at a 7:17 pace. So much for finishing with a stronger pace! Oh well…I really didn’t have much left!  As usual, Gabey was an angel (true to his name!).

It was WEIRD to cross a finish line and not have Clint there waiting for me!  This ONLY ever happens if he is running a longer event.  After I crossed and got a snack (dates and figs FTW!), I walked back on the course to spectate/cheer for others and to see Clint cross.  I stood and chatted with area super-star runner Carrie Mack for a bit, congratulating her on her win in the 12k and her super-great race (sub 3 hours!) at Boston a few weeks ago.  We watched two guys cross the finish of the half in 1:15. I was REALLY surprised but just figured they were faster than I realized.  Before long…there Clint was, in all his glory! As he rounded the final corner, I cheered for him and started running after him. I shouted, “You better run faster or we will catch you!” Some lady who was running the 7k or 12k turned and looked at me like, “WHAT?!” I smiled and nodded toward Clint - hope she knew I was yelling at him and not her. I tried to stay with Clint but alas I couldn’t hang, not even kinda. I backed it off to walk/slow jog it in, pretending like I never was trying to keep up with him in the first place. Oops.

I was super proud of his finish - 1st in his age group and 2nd overall in the half with a nice sub-1:30 (in spite of not really focusing on training for this distance!)

After I caught up with him we chatted with friends, teammates and other area runners and helped cheer people in/pass out a few waters at the finish. One of the best parts of the Lake Run is seeing so many familiar faces. It’s such a fun and festive event - everyone is usually in a great mood and all pumped up for SPRING and RUNNING and FRIENDS oh and the beer (I always forget about that since I don’t care about it ;)…I’m always like, “where is everyone?!” ohhhhh……beer garden….).

Little angel-boos!

WHAT I LEARNED:

• Pushing a stroller for 12k is hard.  Pushing a stroller for 12k over hills is harder.  Pushing a stroller for 12k over hills in the WIND is hardEST!
• I STILL need to incorporate some strength training into my weeks. (*insert eye roll*)
• I can manage a watchless 12k (Though I do wonder how things might’ve been different had I worn a watch. Would I have pushed harder at some points if I knew how much my pace had dropped those back miles? I don’t know!)
• I love the strong women in our running community. I already knew that though. (Ok, ok, the strong men are pretty cool too) But in all seriousness, the camaraderie of strong women has lately begun to mean even more to me - women who push one another to achieve higher levels of strength (both mental and physical) as opposed to being rudely competitive and condescending are where it’s at. HEALTHY competition is one thing - when it pushes us ALL to be better. The nasty stuff that makes everyone feel awful and even sick-y - not so cool. Glad to be on a team with STRONG women and to enjoy camaraderie with the other STRONG women in our running community!

WHAT IS NEXT:

• Steamboat 15k (June)! (sans stroller!)
• Park2Park 5-miler (July)! (with stroller!)
• Enjoying as many Tues/Thurs/Weekend group runs with my running crew as I can! (with stroller!)
• Helping to lead an area summer running group for women on Monday evenings (with Gabe!)

THANK YOU TO:

• You know, all the usual suspects….Mitch, Saucony, teammates, Coach/Chef/Hubby Clint and Gabe! Y’all are amazing!!

**So weird - 7:08-7:10 pace seems to be my current jam.

1)  Run for Hope 10k with stroller March 26 - 7:10 avg pace

2)  Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon without stroller April 1 - 7:08 avg pace

3)  Lake Run 12k with stroller May 6 - 7:08 avg pace

Looks like I need to start pushing myself out of my default/comfort pace!

Fun times with this guy!

Often Running Racing Team {love these guys}

Daddy + Son :)

Clint with his sweet age-group award: a Lake Run/Destihl pint glass!

Oh c'mon Tanya. Be proud. You did great!!! :)

Gary had to get some practice wrangling a baby boy...preparing for his own baby's arrival in just a month!

When a half marathon isn't enough...you run home to make it 24 miles for the day. HA!

Park 2 Park 5 Miler {July 4, 2016} - First Post-Partum Race!

Park 2 Park is one of my favorite races of the summer.  I've done this race for the past 3 consecutive years and at least twice prior to that as well.  This year I went into race week fully intending to push Gabe in our jogging stroller during the race and had no goal for myself other than to simply finish the five miles.  However, a few days before the race Clint told me he would spectate and hang out with G$ and I could just run my race.

Hm. Generous offer, sure. But...I was also a bit nervous and had kind of been banking on the "excuse" of pushing the jogging stroller as to why I wouldn't be nearly as fast as I had been in past years ;).  Regardless, I decided to take him up on the offer.  I've been pretty excited and somewhat anxious to get back to my previous levels of pre-baby fitness (knowing, of course, I needed to give myself grace and be somewhat patient during the process!).

Gabe was born on April 22, 2016.  I had run 450 miles during my pregnancy, the last pre-baby run being a 2-miler I ran at 38 weeks, 3 days pregnant (2 days prior to going into labor).  I had fallen short of my goal of 500 pregnant miles, but seeing as I dealt with nasty sciatic pain for the last weeks of pregnancy ... I really just had to be forgiving of myself and my body. There was a 22-day period from late March until April that I didn't run at all because of the sciatic nerve pain.

That last 2-miler was run on a Monday after work.  I had texted Clint at some point during the day and asked if he wanted to run two miles with me after work.  Long prior to this, he had said that he wanted to be sure to run my last pregnancy run with me.  We went out to a park near us, White Oak Park, and ran two 1-mile loops around the pond there.  It was SO nice to be out and I was thankful for his support and company.  I was definitely crampy and had a few contractions, but soldiered on regardless.  Afterward, Clint coaxed me into taking a shirtless photo in the parking lot. I was kind of embarrassed...but also found the situation pretty funny as well.  Looking back, I am SO glad we had that "last run" together to remember and I am glad we have this CRAZY belly pic to show for it as well.  It's kinda funny, I even titled the run, "last pregnancy run?" in my Garmin Connect account.

The bottom picture (OBviously ;)) is the aforementioned photo post-final-pre-baby run! The top, to contrast, is a similar photo taken when I was just a few (unknowingly!) days pregnant...taken post-13.1-mile run in Moab, UT on our honeymoon! WOWSA...what a contrast!!!

After Gabe was born, I started walking right away but didn't start running until the day before he was 5 weeks old.  The healing process was ... interesting to say the least.  Fellow mamas, you know what I'm talking about.  I learned through it all that I really just HAD to be patient, HAD to "take it easy," and HAD to take care of myself {and, it goes without saying, my son!}.

My first run back was on a Thursday with my beloved Thursday Night Running Group.  That night, Coach Clint had planned a mile time trial at the ISU track.  The plan was for the group to meet and run to the track and then run back to their start.  I opted to drive to the track, ran quarter mile warm-up and then ran my mile. I was pleased and surprised to complete the mile in 7:57! That night I ran a total of 12 minutes and 50 seconds with my quarter mile warmup and cool down.  It felt GREAT to be out there, but I definitely also felt challenged!

My next run after that was three days later on Sunday, May 29.  We were in Davenport visiting my family (and celebrating baby Gabe with a shower with my aunts/cousins on Saturday and then celebrating our niece Charlee with her 1st birthday party on Sunday!) and I decided it was a great idea to invite my 3 1/2 year old niece Macy to accompany me on the run in her mommy's jogging stroller.  EEK! I pushed her for 1.5 miles through that hilly neighborhood in 17:06 (pace of 11:25).  I felt a little bad-A after all that ;). HA!!

At that point, I started (with Clint's guidance) slowly ramping up my days running each week, mileage per run, and pace.  I had my sights set on running some of my favorite summer races, "race-ready" or not:  Park 2 Park, Dog Days (a local 5k) and the Bix 7 (in Davenport Iowa) all in July.  On Sunday, June 5th I ran 5k/3.1 miles for the first time since Gabe was born (I was 6 weeks, 2 days post-partum at this point) in under 30 minutes (29:05) which was encouraging....and I actually did it pushing the stroller for most of the time!

Here's what I wrote in my Garmin Connect write-up:
Coach Clint told me to try for 2 miles today...woot!  After the morning song-and-dance of feeding/diapering/pumping/diapering again, we loaded up G in our Beast of Burden (*fun fact...BOB as in BOB jogging strollers stands for Beast of Burden!). This was its second excursion and our first time running with it. I caved and bought the infant seat attachment because I decided I am DONE waiting for him to have enough head control to use the stroller w/o the special attachment that allows you to snap in a car seat. I need "freedom" and need to start running more! So, $60 "infant attachment" it is...thanks Amazon! Anyway, we went out together (after Clint ran and biked this morning!) and Clint pushed the stroller for the first 1.5.  After a mile, he kept asking if we were turning, and I smiled and kept running...saying I wanted to do 5k/ He commented about the fact that my only runs have been 1.5 miles and that's a big jump ;-)...but I was stubborn and soldiered on regardless. At the turn around, I took control of the stroller for the next mile and was excited to see how easily it handles. As we approached 2.6 miles, Clint suggested that I "do work" for the final half mile so I handed over the stroller and pushed my pace bit harder for the final half mile. The pace (7:57 minute/mile pace) was basically my BQ marathon pace (8 flat)...funny to think that I did 26.2 miles at that pace 9 months ago! All in all, it was a great run...hot but refreshing. And, G slept the whole time! Thanks for the help and support along the way, Clint!"

The day after that inaugural post-partum 5k marked the start of Heat Wave, a Monday night summer running program for women in Bloomington-Normal. Last summer I volunteered as a mentor for the program and I decided to do the same this summer.  My desire to help out with this program again this summer was another reason I decided to get the infant car seat attachment...though the program was in the evenings, I had to leave to make it to our meeting place each week prior to the time Clint gets home from work so I knew that participating meant that I would have to bring baby G! Once again, Mondays in this program ended up being some of the highlights of my summer.

I stuck to 2-3.1 mile runs for a while and then on June 19 ramped it up to 4 miles! My first 4-miler was run on a HOT Sunday afternoon, sans stroller, while Clint watched our little man.  On June 23 I ran my first 5 miler...and this 5 miler included five 0.2-mile hill repeats while pushing the stroller! I ran my second 5 miler on Thursday, June 30th and at that point was at least confident that I would FINISH the 5 miles at Park 2 Park on July 4th (no matter how slow and, if I needed to, perhaps walking a bit!).  On Saturday, July 2 I pushed for my "hardest" 5k distance of the summer and ran the 3.1 miles in 25:48 (8:20 avg pace). I officially felt READY for Monday's race! Though I knew it was a bit lofty, I made a goal of running in a slightly-sub 8-minute/mile average pace for a sub-40:00 finish.

Now, if you're not local and/or have never run this "glorious" race ... you are blissfully ignorant of its hills and the HEAT that is typical of 7:30 am on the 4th of July in central IL. Expecting five 8-minute miles on this course out of myself when I hadn't really run much at that pace since like December of last year wasn't very realistic, but I wanted to TRY and basically see what I could do.

Clint and I got up around 5:30am and I started the cycle of feeding and diapering and getting myself and the little man dressed (I realized quickly that race-morning-prep looks a LOT different as a mommy than it did in my pre-mama days!). I packed a bottle of pumped milk (I am breastfeeding) in a little cooler *just in case* G got screamy and felt the need to eat while they were waiting for me to finish. My plan was to feed him in our car right before the start and then, of course, to feed him again after crossing the finish line. At this point he was eating every two hours or so during the day which meant that I SHOULD have a big enough window of time to run the 5-mile race without him getting hungry, but...as anyone who has interacted with an infant knows...things could be unpredictable ;). On race day he was just 10 weeks and 3 days old...so still pretty new in the scheme of things!

We headed to Miller Park, where the race began, around 6:15...aiming for a 6:30ish arrival so that I would have an hour to prepare before the race started.  We got there a bit later than we wanted but in "baby time" we weren't nearly as late as we COULD have been! We chatted with some of our friends and area runners before the race. It felt SO GOOD to be there, back in one of my "happy places!" I just love the camaraderie and excitement before area races.

Our little family pre-race! I'm sporting our 2016 Heat Wave shirt!

This race is a point-to-point race and the finish line is five miles across town at another park (hence the name...the runners run from one park to another park), the Normal Cornbelters' stadium.  Clint planned to drive he and G to the finish line and wait for us there.  This meant he needed to get going before the congestion got too crazy at the race start. So, I fed the little guy in the car around 7 and they headed out around 7:15.  I jogged around for about 5 minutes prior to taking my place at the starting line just outside of the park.  I knew I didn't really "belong" at the front of the pack, but I positioned myself just about 4 rows back from the front. The race is chip-timed, but there is no starting mat...the time starts with the gun, so I wanted to be as close to the starting line as possible so as not to "waste" any time making my way to the starting line!

While I waited for the start, I chatted with other runners in the starting area and did my typical "dance around nervously" movements as I mentally prepared myself for the pain that was to come. I tried to chase any thoughts of self-doubt out of my mind. "Can you REALLY run FIVE WHOLE miles?!" Yes, yes I CAN! Five miles is NOTHING. I've run 5 miles twice recently and a bajillion times in my life. I will finish!!

Soon, the starting signal sounded and we were OFF! I started out fast and strong and chased some of our Often Running Racing Team members for a bit (knowing, of course, that I wouldn't be able to hang for long!).  Mile 1 ticked off in a WAY-too-fast 7:40.  I knew I needed to dial things back but I didn't really want to...not just yet anyway.  I figured I could try to push for a while just to see how bad I was able to hurt.

The second mile runs down Main Street through downtown Bloomington.  I enjoyed coasting down a not-long-enough-downhill portion and mile 2 dinged in 7:50.  Slower than mile 2, but still sub-8. Nice! I had accomplished something I hadn't been able to do since late 2015 and the second trimester of pregnancy - two consecutive sub-8 miles!

Mile 3 started to hurt for sure....8:04.

My friend (and fellow Heat Wave mentor and former Often Running Racing team teammate) Karen pulled up next to me as we approached University High School shortly after the water stop at the 3-mile mark. I thought about trying to stick with her but decided to let her go, knowing that I really had no idea if I would be able to keep with her for the final 2 miles.  Looking back, I should've stuck with her and pushed a bit harder (she finished 44 seconds ahead of me!) and been a bit more confident, but alas I didn't in the moment.

During the 4th mile, the course turns to the left and runners are greeted by a nice downhill and then a gross UPhill (arguably the worst part of the course/race).  Area runner Julie Sibley came up behind me and encouraged me to push it up the hill...I tried to hold her off as long as I could, but ended up giving in and she sailed by. I REALLY appreciated the push, though!  Mile 4 was over in 8:10, my slowest mile of the race but really still great as far as my training had been thus far!

Now the back and final mile of this race is just plain horrid. By this point you are just ready to be DONE and the rolling hills that this mile boasts are just mean.  As I approached the stadium, a man I didn't know pulled up next to me and said, "you've been pulling me through now let's finish this thing together!" I told him I didn't know if I could and that he should just carry on, but he insisted. I dug in and was able to (somehow!) find another gear and turns out that fifth mile ticked off in 7:57 (faster than miles 3 and 4!).  We crossed the finish line together in JUST over 40 minutes...DARN IT ALL!!! ;)

Approaching the finish line with my new friend!
Hooray for kind, encouraging people who spur us on to be our best self...in races and in life!

Total - 40:02 - Average pace 8:00min/mile
Overall finish - 155/588
Female finish - 39/286
Age group - 6/44

It was awesome to cross the finish line and to see Clint and Gabe (one of whom was sleeping ;)) waiting for me.  What a FUN first race back! This definitely re-whetted my appetite for racing and I was pumped for the next one. It also showed me that I could start pushing harder in training...8-minute (and sub-8 minute!) miles could once again be MINE!

Me with my "biggest fan" in the "Corn Crib" post-race!

Next up....Dog Days 5k!