The Race That's Good for Life 2013

April 28, 2013

Sixth 5k - The Race That's Good for Life

Oak Park, IL

Time 31:48; Pace 10:15

Place 344/531 overall women's ; 53/86 AG

I finally got a tech race shirt that fits! What a difference it makes when they offer gender specific shirts. Thanks OP runners club! Not only did I get to wear my super cool race shirt, I got to bring the Barcelona tattoo out in public thanks to my Brooks running skirt. What a find! It's hard to find a running skirt with an inner shorts inseam longer than 3". That doesn't work for us thick-thigh girls (ride up isn't pretty)! This Brooks skirt had a non-compression inner short with an inseam of 4.5" and a band of rubber that gently grips the leg. So worth the 50 or so bucks that I paid!

This race was divided up by gender. Ladies went first at 9:10 am. I left my house on my bike at 8:45 am. It was so nice not having to commute far for a race and being dependent on the El to get me there on time so I can in one last pee. I also tend to freak out that I'm suddenly going to be starving right before and not have enough energy to finish. 

As with Bunny Rock I started off with friggin' technical difficulties. I didn't know it until race end that my Runkeeper app stopped working a half mile in. What I did notice was that my music player stopped. I had to take the whole arm band off to get to the phone. My headphones were rigged up my shirt sleeve. I hate these head phones. The wire is made of a grippy rubbery substance so they don't just hang inside my shirt. The wire grips and pulls and tugs. It's super annoying.

So after  I got that mess fixed I got behind some woman who was running with her kid and offered encouragement every 9 seconds as they ran with their own music coming loudly from her phone. I tried so hard to get away and I really wanted tell them to "STFU, you're ruining my concentration!" Eventually I got away.

This run was great because it went through the neighborhood and we made a few turns. I wasn't able to see where we were going which usually sends me into a defeating mode of thinking that it's going to be about 8 years before I finish. I had to keep telling myself the faster I go, the sooner it will be over.

I didn't pay attention to the clock as I crossed the start line but it had to be  about 15-20 seconds. As I approached the one mile marker, the clock said something like 10:33. Holy crap! Was I really running a ten minute mile? No Way. I was sure I was wearing Herman Munster's giant bricks for shoes on my feet. Then I came up on mile two and the clock read something like 20:54. damn! I really was running around a ten minute mile.

I was so ready for the race to be over soon after mile two. I wanted to rip my starry nights socks off my feet. I was sweating like mad in the humidity. I swear I do more thinking and talking to myself during a race that I do on any other given day.

I tried to calculate just where that damn finish line was....

• OK, so when I passed the two mile mark a new song started on my phone...
• songs are about four to five minutes...
• that song is over...
• so if that song was 5 minutes and I am running a 10 minute mile that means I should be at 2.5 miles...
• again, where is the finish line? I don't see it!

I wasn't seeing it because of the fog. As I can up on a slight downward slope I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel! And what did I do? I walked the slope. Yeah, I'm the biggest dork to ever run a race. I should have been able to fly down that slope. Oh well. I got to an intersection where some silly person was trying to make us all feel better by telling us that were all most there and there are flowers waiting for us. Oh boy "will run for carnations!"

 I wish I could say I bolted towards the end like the woman in these funky running shorts I had been watching for almost a mile but I didn't. My tank was near empty. The announcer dude called out my name a few feet from teh finish line. It felt good.

I grabbed my flower and Gatorade and went to seek out my awesome stats after I discovered Runkeeper pooped out on me. I was amazed to see that I beat my pace from last time by 16 seconds a mile. My goal is never to improve pace, it's just to finish. Set your expectations low and you'll really impress the hell outta yourself!

Inside the OPRF High School near the start/finish line was a mini health fare with a wonderful sports massage therapist waiting for me! Ahhhhh......

The bike ride home cooled me off. I took a nap after I nibbled on the free post-race goodies. For an early dinner I took my tired ass to Scratch Cafe in Forest Park. These days I am dairy and yeast free. Some people think it sucks to be me but it actually works out great because it keeps me from eating all kinds of calorie packed food that isn't so good for you. But today I decided to suffer the consequences and indulged in a beer! Yes, a beer! A very delicious local blonde ale. I think the last time I had a beer was last summer.

To go with my delicious brew I had prosciutto, pea and roasted poblano mac and cheese. OMG! It was Christmas in my mouth! So why not go all the way and enjoy a scoop of delicious full of dairy ice cream from Brown Cow ice cream shop? The total was something around $2.75. The credit card limit was $5. I guess I'll have to add another scoop to that order...

'Twas a great day!