Super 5K, Novi MI

Super 5K
February 2, 2014 9:00 am, Novi, MI
Temperature: 26 degrees, windchill 19
Race #3 in 2014
Race #12 all time
Distance: 5K (3.1 miles)
Time: 39:16, PR is 30:31
Finish: 103/186 in my age group, 1302/1930 overall

I signed up for this race on January 13th, via their online registration.  Easy peasy, as most races are these days.  Again, because of the weather this year and risk of injury, my children did not run this race. The main group of ladies in one of my running groups (Moms Run This Town) all ran this race and we met after for a group picture (above). The ONLY positive things from this race were: the easy sign up, running with friends, and the bling.

We were offered packet pick up on Saturday only between 2 and 4 pm at the Novi Civic Center.  I do not see this as a large enough time window.  I was in Frankenmuth running Winterlaufe on Saturday.  And while the race was finished by 11, I still had to check out of the hotel, change, eat lunch, and do some sight seeing.  Combined with the nasty weather on the way home, I was not in the Novi area until about 4:30 and packet pick-up was already over.  I sent a message to the race organizers asking if they would be staying a little latter due to the weather and never received a response.  Strike 1.

The race was at 9 am Sunday.  The race did communicate by telling everyone that the roads to get to Novi may not be clear yet, from the previous days snow storm, so to arrive early.  I left Allen Park at 7 am, and arrived in front of the Novi Civic Center at 7:55 am.  The roads were indeed very bad, the highways near my house were a sheet of ice, so I hopped off at the first exit and opted to take Telegraph all the way to Novi.   I was pretty proud of myself for still getting to the race IN PLENTY of time to get my bib and get settled.

As I arrive to the civic center, police are directing traffic into the civic center parking lot.  That's GREAT I thought!  As I go up and down every aisle, along with hundreds of my closest running friends, I discover not one single parking spot.  As I am exiting this lot, a race volunteer is directing me, and my hundred friends, to go to the parking lot behind the one I was just in.  We follow her direction.  Again, up and down every aisle.  Some aisles had no way out because people were parking where-ever they wanted to!  I then exit that lot, again, to be directed by another volunteer to a third lot on the side of the civic center.  And again, up and down every aisle, ALL full!  Strikes 2, 3, and 4.

I am now truly flustered, as it is 8:46 am.  I spent 51 minutes just trying to find a parking spot! I fully understand if lots are full, as there were 2,000 runners in the race, but for the love of God, why I was DIRECTED to totally full lots?  This was a major lack of communication within the race organizers control. As I was exiting the civic center completely, the police and the race volunteers told me to make a left on Ten Mile and go to Taft Road and find somewhere to park.  Had I listened, I would have never made it to a parking spot, then to get my bib, then to the start line in time.  As I was waiting at the light to turn, I noticed a side street right across from the civic center.  I thought it would be packed with runners parking there, but I tried it, and low and behold no one was there.  I got a good spot, ran across a very busy Ten Mile, and made it in to get my bib at 8:56.  I then ran to the start line (it was a little hike) and while running tried to secure my bib the best I could.  I had to place the beanie and the pin in my jacket pockets because I did not have time to return to my car. Strike 5.  I also had to wait for the volunteer to finish her personal conversation with 2 other girls before helping me, 4 minutes before a race!!!  Clearly she was not a runner (I hope).

I arrived to the start line out of breath (already) from running, but got there just in time as the end of the line was moving forward because the race had already started.  I did not hear a gun, not sure if there was one.  I also did not hear the National Anthem or anything else.  I crossed the matts and I was off.

The first section of the race went down Taft.  For the most part, this road was pretty decent after the snow the Novi area received the night before.  Was it perfect, no, but it wasn't bad.  It was definitely more slippery than the race the day before, and they (Winterlaufe) had much more snow to deal with.  I'm not sure why this was, but after all, I am the one who signed up for a race in February, so I figured I would deal with it.  The race then turns into a subdivision.  The first couple blocks I was feeling great, trudging thru 4 inches of snow. Until I realized the entire subdivision was like this!  The roads were not plowed AT ALL before this race.  Strike 6.

While I realize the city of Novi has many more important roads to clear before a sub division, I would like to believe something would have been worked out to have this done.  If not, I know many snow removal/landscaping/plow people who could have done a 3 mile route in no time for a fairly low cost.  By this point in the race, I am really pissed.  But the new me will not give up.  I had to keep reminding myself this is the new me and I will NOT STOP.  If you have ever been in this position, where the old you would have stopped, you know how mentally exhausting it can be to fight this battle mentally.  Let alone the actual physical battle.  Strike 7 (even though I will own this strike as my own fault).

Did I mention this quote from the race website "Accurate, paved, mostly flat 3.1 mile course.  You gotta see that post-race junk food!"  To a newbie like myself, I take mostly flat course meaning NO hills.  Perhaps a slight elevation change per the garmin, but nothing we would significantly notice.  WRONG.  There were hills.  To an experienced runner, these hills were probably not a big deal.  To someone who just began running and has never trained for hills, yes, they were a big deal.  I just did hills in the race the day before, and while those hills were also unexpected, the race was not advertised as mostly flat.  They just didn't say anything.  So prior to this race I was expecting NO hills, and yet, they had hills.  Strike 8.  Try running (lol) in 4 inches of snow up a hill with no hill training.  I. WAS. DONE.  I walked out of the sub-division.  I didn't give up, but I physically and mentally was too drained at that point to run.

When we were back on Taft road, headed back to the finish line, the road cleared up.  I was able to run from there to the finish line.  I'm not going to lie, it's the first time I have cried during a race.  Not from pain, not from being happy, but from being so upset over the entire day, and I was also mad at myself for letting it all affect me that much

I waited at the finish line for my friends to finish the race.  We got our medals (which were AWESOME) and our pint glasses (not so awesome) and a water.  We walked back to the Novi Civic Center for this post-race junk food that was bragged about in every single communication from the race.  We arrived to find hot dogs.  That was it.  Nothing to drink.  No "junk" food.  We were lucky to find a ketchup bottle that still had ketchup in it!  I have since heard from other runners about all this great food.  None of this food was available when we went in.  Strike 9.

Later in the day, the results were posted.  I can't even begin to explain how confusing the results page is, as they are reporting your net time and your finish time.  Several of my friends still don't have the correct times on either aspect of it.  Their times are not corresponding with their garmins, etc.  The whole thing just seems too confusing.  Because I have run previous races with a delayed start because of so many runners, I get the difference, but it was hard and confusing to first time racers.   Strike 10.

Conclusion: I paid $37.95 for a 5k chip timed race.  I received a finishers medal that is by far the best one I have ever received, a beanie that will not stay on my head even though it's a one size fits all, a pint glass (which I could have done without), and a button (again, can do without).  For very well seasoned runners, I would recommend this course, given the same snowy conditions.  However, I would not recommend it for a new runner, a slower runner, or someone who is looking to PR a race.  I will NOT be doing this race again. This is my first race with Running Fit.  I truly hope future races with them are better.

AP Running Mom :)