First Call 5k Race Recap/Chilly Willy Series Wrap Up

The First Call 5k is in the books - and so is the Chilly Willy Series since this was race number 6 of 6.

It started like any other race morning: curse cold temperatures, shower, add extra layers over running clothes, followed by the usual trinity of coffee, water, and a Clif bar (which I couldn't even bring myself to open) in the car.

Mr. R&R and I parked and made a quick stop at athlete check-in to switch ourselves from the half marathon to the 5k since a) neither of us was in any shape to run that distance and b) we both suspected we'd get a lot more series points by switching.  The switch was super easy and we headed back to the car to strip off our outer layers and do the usual warm up jog and strides before retreating to the warmth of the building to stretch and wait to be called to the start line - and to be honest, I would have been perfectly content to stay in that toasty building until spring decided to make an appearance!

About 5 minutes before the gun went off they herded us outside and Mr. R&R pushed his way to near the front and I seeded myself just a little further back and tried to psych myself up as a child counted us down to the start.

3...2...1...GO!!!!!!

Posted by Silver Circle Sports Events, LLC on Sunday, April 10, 2016

Can you spot me?

I took off a little too fast, but I got a clean start and after a short stretch we hopped a curb and onto the Glacial Drumlin Trail.  I settled into an uncomfortable, but manageable pace and my mind pretty much switched to auto-pilot mode as I mentally checked off landmarks on the way to the turnaround point.  Railroad tracks, rickety wooden bridge, graffiti-covered underpass, road-crossing #1, road-crossing #2, long stretch of nothingness.

Mile 1: 8:47

Somewhere around the 1.5 mile mark I started seeing the front-runners coming back at me.  The lead guy was so far out in front it was ridiculous.  He was flying and it looked effortless.  Eventually more front-runners came into view and I was shocked to see that 2nd place overall at that point was a female! Usually the first woman is about 5-6 people back from the lead male and tucked in with a pack of guys.  Not this woman. She had a pretty good gap on the pack behind her.  Go girl!

I made a nice, tight turn at the turnaround and happy to be rid of the slight headwind that had been in my face on the way out and I was amazed at how many people were still streaming along the path toward the turn.  I'm usually a solid middle/back of the middle of the pack runner, but I was starting to get the feeling that I might be doing a little better than that today.  It was motivation to keep pushing the pace even though I was starting to come off auto-pilot mode and hurting.

Back along the long stretch of nothingness.

Mile 2: 8:50

Then the pain started to break through the auto-pilot fog in a very real way.  I slowed a little on the way back to road crossing #2 and picked it back up on the way to road crossing #1.  That crossing screwed with me since the officer controlling traffic let a couple cars go at an inopportune moment, causing me to come to a complete stop.  So much for momentum. By the time I made it back to the graffiti underpass I was almost out of gas and my pace had slowed to a crawl and I couldn't seem to fix it.

I shifted from auto-pilot to damage control mode. I glanced over my right shoulder.  There was a couple maybe 100 yards behind me, but they didn't seem to be gaining on me so as long as I held my position, my pace disaster was somewhat less of an issue.

Back over the rickety wooden bridge and another look back to check on where the couple was.  They were still there, but a woman in a raspberry-colored jacket was gaining on them fast and I was pretty sure it was the woman I've been trading off 4th/5th place with in my age group for most of the series. Crap.  I channeled my favorite wizard and sped up marginally.

Mile 3: 9:40 (Abysmal and I'm still beating myself up over it)

A slight incline and a curve and I could see the finish line.  I checked my watch and saw that I was already at 3.1 miles.  The course was %&#@-ing long! Ugh.  Time to shut it down.

I kicked as hard as I could to that finish line and smiled for the camera while reaching for my watch the second my foot hit the timing mat.

I may be smiling, but I'm not particularly happy right now

I found Mr. R&R parked under a tree (waiting for the puke feeling to pass) and we hightailed it back to the car to put our layers back on and grab our coffee cups before going back inside to wait for results to post.  After milling around for about 20 minutes or so, the race director came in and told us that there had been a mishap with the timing system and that results weren't going to be available until later that night.  Ugh.  We dragged ourselves back to the car and headed home to await the posting.

Why was this such a big deal?  First, and foremost, both of us wanted to know how we fared against the rest of our age group.  Second, if Mr. R&R won his age group at this race, it was very likely that he'd end up being the top male finisher for the entire series. He was one point behind the leader - and from what we could tell, that guy hadn't shown up! Finally, I've been fighting like hell to reclaim 3rd place in the F35-39 age group and I wanted to know if I had pulled it off or not.

At last, the preliminary results were posted. It was 75% good news.  Mr. R&R had won his age group by over 4 minutes - which made him not only the winner of the M35-39 age group for the entire series (by a landslide), but also the top male finisher for the entire series!!!!  Me? I took 3rd in my age group for this race, but it wasn't enough.  I missed retaking 3rd place in the F35-39 age group for the entire series by 2 points. Really though, I can't complain.  I'm usually content to finish in the top half of my age group at any race, so the fact that over the course of 6 races I racked up 2 podium finishes, 2 additional top 5 finishes, and PR'd the 5k distance twice, is nothing short of incredible.

 Time: 28:37 (9:14/mile pace)*

Overall Place: 36/121

Gender Place: 15/77

Age Group Place: 3/13 (F35-39)

*The course was a bit long, so according to my Garmin it was more like 9:02/mile

It took another 36 hours for series standings to be updated and finally, at 9:30 this morning I had the answers I'd been waiting for.

Only 45 runners in total participated in enough races (four out of 6) to be eligible for series awards.  Here's how I fared:

Overall Place: 22/45

Gender Place: 11/27

Age Group Place: 4/7 (F35-39)*

*Females 35-39 were the largest age group of series participants!

Would I do this series again?  Probably.  The races themselves were fun and challenging and it was good to have a reason to run all winter.  The only things I wasn't a fan of were cotton t-shirts for 4 out of the 6 races and the inaccurate course distances, but those are things that the race director could improve on for next year.  I plan on running a few other events put on by this company over the summer.

And now the really big question: What's Next?  As of right now, I've got a small 5k on my calendar for next month and I've chosen my first triathlon of 2016. 10.5 weeks of training starts NOW!

Last Call 5k Race Recap

3 Series Races Down. 3 To Go.

Last night I realized that I was severely under-prepared to run a half marathon and in the interest of not injuring myself to the point of not being able to finish the series/being sick for days/limping for a week in the name of being stubborn, I opted to drop down from the half marathon to the 5k distance. I wanted to run a race I could be proud of, not one that made me question why the hell I run in the first place. It turned out to be a very good decision.

It's been a fairly warm winter so far - like 50 degrees yesterday, so Mr. R&R and I were a little surprised to wake up to 30 degrees and fog!  We did the usual coffee/water/choke down a Clif Bar on the way, parked, and headed for the timing table to make the switch from the half to the 5k.

We went back outside to do a quick warm up run before retreating to the nice, warm building to stretch and keep warm while the half marathoners took off.  3 minutes before the gun went off, we made our way to the start line, fired up the watches, and listened to another little kid count us down.

Off we went.  Mr. R&R was off like a shot and I was way too close behind him - meaning I went out waaaaaay too fast!  About .17 miles in, we hopped a curb and headed out onto the Glacial Drumlin Trail - yes the same trail I rode on a bunch of times over the summer.  The course was almost pancake flat and I let my ego run away from me for the first mile.  Mile 1: 8:40 (see what I mean about the ego?)

Of course I paid for that 8:40 big time.  I did my best to tuck myself behind a dude/human windshield at the turnaround, but he managed to drop me and I was on my own.  I passed the time watching the rear of the pack still heading out and ended up doing a little walking to catch my breath. My mile split showed it.  Mile 2: 9:33.

Somewhere after Mile 2 I remembered that I wanted to run a race I could be proud of - even if it wasn't a PR - and decided I was willing to hurt for it.  I picked it up and kept telling myself, 'It's okay to be uncomfortable' over and over again.  I stopped looking at my watch, knowing that if I did, whatever I saw would get in my head and screw with me.  I just pushed as hard as I could and when I saw the finish line, I pushed a little more.

Ready to die now.

I was all thumbs afterward and couldn't get my watch to stop immediately, so I wasn't really sure how I actually did.  All I really knew was that I ran something faster than a 27:39 - which is what my watch read when I finally got it to shut off.  I grabbed a cup of water and waited for the 'I'm going to yak/pass out/die feeling to pass and Mr. R&R and I walked back to the car to pile on a few more layers before heading back to check the results.

Mr. R&R turned in another amazing performance - taking 3rd in his age group and PR-ing by 36 seconds!  I ended up 4th in my age group - with a totally unplanned 8 second PR!  I wasn't happy about missing the podium by one spot, but I was over the moon about the PR.

We hung out through awards, gulping coffee and munching on Twizzlers, and then headed home - both of us having had races we were proud of.  What a way to end the year!

Time: 27:25 (8:49/mile pace)

Overall Place: 42/92

Gender Place: 19/53

Age Group Place: 4/8 (F35-39)

Up Next: JanBoree Frosty 5k

Great Gobble Wobble 5k Race Recap

Did you know that the average American consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day?  To give you a better idea of what that is, imagine scarfing down 8 Big Macs in a single sitting.  Eek!  I wasn't planning on eating quite that much on Thanksgiving, but I still wasn't unhappy to start the day by running a 5k - and as an added bonus, I convinced my mom to do the 5k walk.

The Great Gobble Wobble was the second race in the Chilly Willy Run Series and I was actually pretty excited about it since the temperature at race time was predicted to be around 50 degrees - and maybe some light rain, but really...50 degrees in late November is nothing short of miraculous! Mr. R&R handled packet pick up for all three of us on Wednesday afternoon and once again, I was a little disappointed with the cotton t-shirt.  I was, however, amused as hell by the saying on the back of the shirt 'All About That Baste'.

On Thursday morning, I woke up feeling a little iffy after 2 beers the night before, but figured it wasn't a big deal.  We picked my mom up around 8am and headed for the race site while doing the usual coffee/water/Clif Bar (getting harder to choke these things down) on the way.  We parked and my stomach got ugly - really ugly. Ugh. Not how I really wanted to start the day - and not a good omen for things to come. After that unplanned adventure, I went back to the car, put on my race belt, gloves, etc., and got on with the business of a short warm up run and lots of stretching since every muscle in my body felt tight.

I haven't really run at all since the day after the 'Stache Dash  and since my stomach was a hot mess, I wasn't really expecting much from myself.  My mom asked Mr. R&R and I how we thought we'd do and he said: 25-ish minutes. I said I expected around 29 minutes (because I really hate running over 30 minutes in a standalone 5k).  She figured it would take her just under an hour to walk the 5k course, so I said that as soon as I finished, I'd take off my number, turn around, and start walking back to find her.

I really suck at taking selfies

They called us to the line and since this was another net gun-timed race, Mr. R&R and I pushed our way near the front.  He worked his way up farther and I hung back by a dude dressed in a full turkey costume (spoiler alert: the dude in a bird suit out ran me by a lot)!  A small child counted us down, the race director blew a whistle, and we were off!

I had no idea what was coming on the course since I've never run in that part of town before.  The first third of a mile was downhill, so I found myself running in the mid-7 to mid-8 minute range. Far too fast, but at least I wasn't dodging people.  Naturally, what goes down, must go up and the course headed up a steep hill, so my pace leveled off quickly.  I was comfortably uncomfortable - if that makes any sense.  I tried not to look at my watch too much and focused on making sure I was breathing well.  Mile 1 clicked by in a very speedy (for me) 9:03.

I fell in next to a guy and used him as a pace rabbit for a little while before he fell off my shoulder.  I pressed on up and down the hills.  Each uphill started feeling harder and each downhill started feeling shorter. And my stomach was starting to get iffy again.  I walked through the water station about half way through and then picked it up again.   Mile 2 was considerably slower at 9:38. Just past the Mile 2 marker, my stomach started cramping.  I started taking short walk breaks through the worst of them and then did my best to come back up to a reasonable pace.  My Garmin data shows that when I was actually running, my pace was in the low to mid 9-minute range, so if I'd felt decent, I think I would have been really pleased with my splits.  Those damn walking breaks messed it up!

Finally, around the 2.5 mile mark, there was a monstrous looking hill.  I was tired and feeling like crap, so that thing friggin' looked like Mt. Everest.  In the picture below, it's where the course separates from the straight line.  I could see walkers still streaming down the hill leading to the "tail" and heard an ear-splitting whistle that I know very well - it was my mom.  I jogged over to make sure she was okay before walking up part of Mt. Everest with my evil stomach cramps.

About half way up the hill, I'd had enough of my stupid stomach and the bullshit voice telling me I couldn't run, so I gritted my teeth and decided that there would be no more walking.  I was running this damn thing to the end. I brought it back down to the mid-9's and kept telling myself that as long as I kept running, it'd be over sooner.  The course leveled out and the assistant race director was standing at the top of the hill directing people around a corner.  Imagine my surprise when the finish line was right in front of me!  The course was short!  I did my best to haul ass to the line and be done.

Borrowed from the race's Facebook page

That last ass-hauling was not a good idea.  I didn't even stop for water as I pushed my way through the finish area looking for a trash can or a place devoid of people.  I. Felt. Horrible.  The only thing I hate more than actually puking is dry heaving.  I guess I should be happy that I didn't actually puke, but when Mr. R&R (who turned in an awesome performance) found me, I was still in dry-heave mode.  He pointed me toward the water table and after a few more minutes, I was able to drink it, rip off my numbers, and go in search of my mom while Mr. R&R waited for results to post.

As I walked back along the course, I started getting really cold and then it started raining.  I felt bad for everyone still on the course (and a little bummed that I wasn't in a dry, toasty warm building waiting for results).  I spotted my mom at the base of the Mt. Everest hill and decided to just wait for her about half way up it since I wasn't really feeling the idea of having to drag my ass up that thing twice!  She was red, sweaty, and tired.  I tried to motivate her by telling her that the course was short and all she had to do was make it just past the top of the hill and it would all be over.  This seemed to cheer her up a little and when we made the final turn together, I scurried ahead to get a picture of her finishing before heading inside to find Mr. R&R and the official results.

There was a pretty fierce crowd around the results table, so I squeezed in between some dudes and made my way back to Mr. R&R to let him know that I had finished 7/18 in my age group - and that we had to stay for awards because he was 2nd in his age group! I think the only thing better than winning an age group award of my own was watching him get one.

We collected my mom, jumped in the car, and headed home - with a stop at Starbucks!  Once we got home, it was 'all about that baste'.  I tossed the turkey in the oven, took a shower, and spent the rest of the time before dinner feeling far more worn out than I should have.  I also got to deliver some good news to my mom when she arrived for dinner later in the day: she was 3rd in her age group!  I'm not sure if they'll give her an age group award since she entered the 'Walk Division', but still, in an age group of 5, she was still 3rd!  Her results didn't post until after we were already home, otherwise we would have stayed for the female age group awards.

I will definitely do the Gobble Wobble again next Thanksgiving.  The course was really challenging. The race was well managed. And I really want to see how I do on that course when when I'm not battling stomach issues.

Time: 28:09 (9:04/mile pace)*

Overall Place: 79/206

Gender Place: 34/128

Age Group Place: 7/18 (F35-39)

*Average pace was actually more like 9:23/mile since the course was short

**I'm currently in 3rd place in the F35-39 age group for the Chilly Willy Series. 

Next Up: Last Call Half Marathon.  This is likely to be a disaster because I haven't run a step over 7.5 miles in months!

'Stache Dash 5k Race Recap

The first race in the Chilly Willy Series started with packet pick up on Friday night - at a bar!  I rarely drink on the night before a race, but since one of my coworkers mentioned happy hour, I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone.  Two Sierra Nevadas later, I was on my way home.

I was a little disappointed with the t-shirt.  Cotton? Really?  Have race directors learned nothing in the last 10 years? I really prefer technical shirts that I can use while training - not things I end up turning into dust rags.  

Mr. R&R and I decided to go out for dinner and were in bed by 10:30pm and I enjoyed 9 1/2 glorious hours of sleep before the alarm went off.  Did I mention that this race didn't start until 10am?  No Stupid O'Clock wake up!  

It was the usual pre-race coffee, water, and Clif Bar in the car on the way to the race - which was so close to home, I almost didn't finish munching the Clif Bar before we arrived!  We parked about a quarter mile away and took a chilly walk to the start. As we were walking, Mr. R&R realized that he'd left his watch at home, so he'd be running blind.

Race Morning Trinity: Coffee, Water, Clif Bar

We found the Start, stretched a little, did a short warm up run, stretched some more, and tried to stay warm until athletes were called to the line. While we were waiting, I figured out that this race wasn't going to be based on chip time, but rather on net gun time.  In a regular chip timed race, there's a timing mat at the start and another at the finish.  When you cross the start mat, your time starts and when you cross the finish mat, your time stops.  In this case, when the gun went off, everyone's time started and didn't stop until you crossed the finish line chip mat.  Knowing that, Mr. R&R pushed his way to the front and I wasn't too far behind him.  The gun went off and it was go time. 

Since I"m still working my way back after Hell Month, I had no real plans for this race other than to do my damnedest to run a sub-30, which kind of felt like it might be a stretch. The course started along the same parkway I ran last weekend (the one that I always find really tough).  I went out a little fast, but quickly found a pace that felt challenging yet manageable. After the first quarter mile, I stopped getting passed as people settled into their paces. The course followed the parkway for about a mile before looping back on itself.  As I was headed to the turnaround, the speedsters were already coming back at me, so I started counting guys until I saw Mr. R&R, who was about the 24th guy overall at that point. I felt pretty good as I hit the turnaround and was trying not to look at my watch too much because I was afraid I'd either be really frustrated by what I saw (too slow) or start freaking out (too fast).  Mile 1: 9:19

About a half mile after the turn around, we took a right and headed up a very long hill.  I ran up 99% of it and used the last few feet of the hill to slow down for about 10 seconds to catch my breath before picking up the pace again.  We wound through a residential neighborhood and back to the hill - to run down it! Mile 2: 9:19

I love long, gentle downhills because they're basically free speed.  I flew down the hill, marveling a the number of people still heading for the uphill portion of the course - and noting that I hadn't been passed at all since the initial surge of people in the beginning, but I was actually passing people. The final part of the race was back along the parkway.  I found myself actually enjoying that stretch!  I looked at the total time on my watch and my current lap pace and realized how close I was to my 5k PR time (27:33).  There was no way I was going to beat my PR, but it became my mission to see how close I could get.  I was getting tired and starting to hurt, but I kept pushing the pace.  I took the final turn and the finish line was in front of me.  I pushed a little harder, but not an all out sprint because it was a pretty short stretch.  Mile 3: 8:53

I hit the line, reached down to stop my watch, and finally looked down and immediately had a 'holy $#!% moment'  My watch was reading 28:03, but it always takes a couple of seconds to hit stop, so it was possible that I ran a sub-28.  I located Mr. R&R (who had run his ass off and missed his PR by 27 seconds) and we waited for results to be posted.  When they were, I was really happy. Final Time: 27:59!  To go into a race hoping for a sub-30 and ending up only 27 seconds off of my PR was awesome! 

Time: 27:59:  (9:01/mile)

Overall Place:87/212

Gender Place:33/119

Age Group: 3/15 (F35-39)

There was a bit of a mix up during the awards ceremony, so I didn't receive my age group award (a sweet looking medal) on site, but a quick email to the race director resolved the situation and my award should show up in the mail this week.

Up next: Gobble Wobble 5k.  First we run. Then we feast!