February 9, 2014 10:00 am, Riverview, MI
Temperature: 20 degrees, windchill 11
Race #4 in 2014
Race #14 all time
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 48:21, this is an automatic PR, my first time at 4 miles
Finish: 12/19 in my age group, 198/272 overall
I signed up for this race on February 5th. It was very easy. I went to the Total Runner store, filled out the entry form there, paid $25 via check, received my shirt and bib, and was out in less then 5 minutes. They had the size shirt I wanted even though I was signing up for this race rather late, so I was happy about that.
The boys did not run in this race as it was a longer distance, they had hockey practice, and of course, this polar vortex weather we are having! For the day of the race, I had planned to meet my friend Nicole (from my running group Moms Run This Town) around 9:20 in the school. I was able to leave my house at 9 am, being I just live 2 cities over. We met up and talked for a bit. Then I had the traditional picture done with my other running group, SEMR. I actually met all of these runners (pictured) today for the first time. It's always nice to put a person with their facebook info!
The race organizers did some introductions inside the school gym, told us about the course, to watch our footing in a few places, and reminded us about the free pancake breakfast after! We were then sent outside to the start line. The course for this race was all residential and very flat. The week up to this race and the night prior we received a lot of snow and a lot of ice. The roads were plowed really well (especially compared to the race the week before). However, there was a lot of ice on the ground, so I opted to wear spikes on my shoes. I had literally just purchased the spikes the night before the race, so it was my first time wearing them. Walking to the start line I thought "uh oh, I'm not gonna like wearing these"...but Nicole assured me as soon as my feet hit the snow I wouldn't notice them. And she was right. I totally forgot I even had them on!
The race itself was pretty uneventful. There were no water stations for this race. This is my first four mile race, so I am not sure what the norm is here, but I really thought a 4 miler would have one water stop (half way through). There were volunteers at every street intersection, which I thought was nice. There were a lot of streets but we were in a sub-division so there was not any real traffic to deal with. I only came across one person pulling out of their driveway, but they were very patient, and once they backed out drove really slow passing runners until they were able to turn out of the sub.
The highlight of this race, for me, was very personal. The course wasn't exactly out and back on the same roads, but at one point you literally had to run around a cone to make the turn to head back. At some point, I came up on the last place person. I was running toward her. The truck sweeping the race was literally ON the backs of her shoes. I felt so sorry for her. I could tell this woman was on a journey, perhaps her first race. I saw THAT look in her eyes. I ran up to her, I high fived her, squeezed her shoulders and said I was proud of her, and that she COULD and WOULD finish this race. I saw the tears in her eyes as she said thank you and we parted ways.
As I approached the finish line I looked up to see a few SEMR runners who had already finished. They were cheering me on to finish strong. I wanted to cry myself...that's the first time I had someone cheering for me (besides my boys of course) at a race. It is so encouraging to have someone call your name and tell you that you can do it! They even took this photo of me right before the finish!
I desperately needed something to drink after the race, so I went back in the school, where they had water waiting in cups set up on tables right at the entrance. I wanted to go back out and cheer for more SEMR runners, but my calf muscles were really tightening up, so I needed to sit. This has never happened to me before. On a side note, later that day I purchased a foam roller and a foot roller, have been using it ever since, and the pain has not come back.
I then found my way to the cafeteria and Nicole, who finished ahead of me, and we ate our pancakes, sausage, and orange juice. I love when races do something a little different. Breakfast that morning really hit the spot! After eating, we then went to the auditorium and waited for the rest of the runners to finish, eat, and file in. First there was a guest speaker, Dot McMahan, who won the USA 25k National Championship last year. She talked about her training, the importance of proper eating, sticking with a plan, and getting a good coach. There was then a Q & A with Dot. After that, the race organizers handed out the awards, which were 3 deep every 5 years. In between sets, they were also giving out raffle prizes to random bib numbers. Neither Nicole or I won anything :( Some of the prizes included entries to other races this year.
Conclusion: I paid $25 (I missed the early bird sign up for $20) for a chip timed 4 mile race. Runners received a long sleeve cotton shirt and a pancake breakfast after the race. There were also many raffle prizes given away. The roads were plowed the best they could. I would like to have seen a water station along the way. And I would like to tell the race organizers to back off the last place person a bit. But overall, I was pretty happy with this race, and look forward to doing it again next year.
Race on runners
AP Running Mom :)
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