On the Run: Run Like the Wind 10k 2012

On Saturday I ran my 3rd Run Like the Wind 10k.  I'm so glad I discovered this race!  It's close to home and parking is easy.  It's on Labor Day weekend when the gym is closed so I don't have to miss Boot Camp.  It's a cheap race to enter and you still get a tee shirt.  Perhaps best of all, though, is it's small, making it easy for me to place first in my age group.  Well, it was easy last year and the year before but this time I had to fight hard to stay reigning champ.  Which is why I'm so proudly showing off my 1st place medal above.  Let me tell you the story.

I didn't intend to set any records when I started out.  Did I want to finish first in my age group?  Yes.  They were giving medals to the top three, however, so even if I was second or third that would be okay.  (But deep down did I really want to be first?  Yes.  Yes I did.)  But if I'm going to be completely honest with you, at this point my biggest motivation to run fast was that we were going to the Plymouth Farmers Market after the race to buy the new Fall and Halloween soaps from Cellar Door Soap Co.  I kept thinking that the faster I ran, the sooner I could get to my soap!  (I need a tee shirt - "Will run for soap!")  So I started out too fast and I knew it but I figured I would slow down later on if I needed to.  I was feeling great, the weather was perfect, and it was only 6 miles total.  So I went with it.

As I neared the turn-around, I started to realized that there were not many girls ahead of me.  In fact, there were 3.  But they looked like they were all in my age group.  Uh oh.  I knew I had to take at least one of them.  So I sped up and pretty quickly was upon one of them.  Then she and I passed up another girl so we were two and three.  My plan was to stay with her until the end, conserving my energy just enough so that I could pass her up at the finish.  I hoped maybe she would even tire out and I could pass her up before the end.  No such luck.  She gave me a real run for my money!  If it wasn't for her there was no way I would have run as fast as I did.  I even have a sub-7:00 mile 4!

Just when I didn't think I could keep pace with her any longer, we rounded the last curve and saw the finish line.  She either sped up or I dropped back - I'm not sure which.  I just know that the distance between us increased a bit for the first time.  Then as we got closer she got a little too complacent with her imminent victory and that's when I made my move.  I put on one final burst of speed and pushed past, finishing ahead of her by ONE SECOND!  (I excitedly asked Brian if it was as thrilling as watching the Olympics but he said no.  Wah-wah.)  She and I high-fived and congratulated each other on a great race.  I know I wouldn't have run so well without her and I'm pretty sure I pushed her, as well.  Oh, so I was the 2nd female and 11th overall.  Wahoo!

After I finished I grabbed my banana (perfectly ripened - another Run Like the Wind plus!) and my 1st place medal.  By the way, last year they gave out magnets so this is an upgrade!  Then I went to get my soap.  10 bars.  Hey, I earned 'em!  (And needed 'em, too!)

Time 

44:06

Pace 

7:07/mile

Fuel 

Vanilla Chia Pudding (this recipe, minus the cocoa), banana

Tunes

Out on the Road / Norah Jones

Pickin' Up the Pieces / Fitz & the Tantrums

Call Me Maybe / Carly Rae Jepsen

A Long Time / Mayer Hawthorne

Right Back Where We Started From / Maxine Nightingale

Uprising / Muse

I Don't Feel Like Dancin' / Scissor Sisters

Hooked / Mayer Hawthorne

Hang Loose / Alabama Shakes

Punching in a Dream / The Naked & Famous

Where Have You Been / Rihanna

Everyone I Know / Lightning Love

Good Time / Owl City (Feat. Carly Rae Jepsen)

Over Here, Over There / Dr. Dog

 Next race: Run Wild for the Detroit Zoo 5k and 10k - September 16th

Happy Labor Day!

 

On the Run: Run Like the Wind 10k 2011

 

This weekend I ran the Run Like the Wind 10k.  The race is an out and back on Hines Drive, starting at Nankin Mills in Wayne.  Hines Drive isn't the most exciting route but it's curvy and there are a lot of trees.  The road closes every Saturday from 9-3:30 for bikers so despite the heat, there were a ton of people out riding, running, and walking.  This is my second year running the race and what I like is that it's very small and casual.  It is chip-timed and the course is accurate, so it's professional, but there's none of the fanfare of larger races.  I like races like that now and then. 

It's such a small race that just about everyone who ran is in this shot.

After my recent disastrous attempt to run a 10k in extreme heat and humidity, I'm pretty sure we all thought I'd learned my lesson.  And then I went and did it again.  In my defense, when I signed up I hadn't realized how hot it was going to be and didn't take into account that the start time was 9:30.  Thankfully, it was only 80 degrees with a heat index of 85 when the race started.  That climbed pretty quickly but I think my last race was much worse.

Because it's a small race, I didn't feel any real sense of competition and viewed it as just another run.  I'd do what I could to finish it, preferably without having to stop and walk, but I sure wasn't going to make myself sick over it.  Last year weather conditions were much better so I could run it faster.  I was the second female finisher and came in 12th overall!  I knew there was no way I was getting close to that this year so I wasn't even going to try but I was totally okay with that.

I started out slower than usual and just set out to enjoy it.  It seemed like the majority of runners did the 5k so after that turn-around things really thinned out.  I stopped for a water break at the second aid station and followed some advice I recently read in an article on Active.com.  It stated that at each aid station, you should walk and count to 20 while sipping your water.  When you get to 20, toss the water and start running again.  This worked really well for me because then I got some water but not too much or too fast.  I did this again at both stations on the way back.

When I was sipping my water at my first stop, a girl came out of nowhere and got ahead of me.  This was the only girl I'd seen since the 5k turn-around and suddenly my competitiveness kicked in.  I was NOT going to let her, or any other female that wasn't already ahead, beat me.  I sped up to get ahead of her and never saw her again.  wahoo!

I continued to feel really strong through the rest of the race.  I didn't have to slow down or walk (other than when I got water) and I was even able to speed up a bit in the last mile.  I'm pretty sure my heart rate was through the roof but - for good or bad - I didn't look.  I was breathing okay and felt good so I just went with it.

The time on the clock is my exact finishing time!

Although my time was nearly 4 minutes slower than last year, I ended up finishing 1st in my age group again and won this cool magnet:

I love my winning "Run Like the Wind" magnet!

Is it any less exciting that there were only 4 women in my age group?  Heck no!  I was really proud of myself.  Not just for winning the super cool magnet but for feeling great, finishing strong, and enjoying the run.

Time 

53:01

Pace 

8:33/mile

Fuel 

strawberry soy yogurt with raw old-fashioned oats, banana

Tunes

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt. 1 / The Flaming Lips

Somewhere Only We Know / Keane

Listzomania / Phoenix

Fruit Machine / The Ting Tings

Mary Jane's Last Dance / Tom Petty

Float On / Goldspot

You Are a Tourist / Death Cab for Cutie

Theme from Rocky X111 /Weird Al Yankovic

I Can't Stand /Otto Vector

Heavy Metal Drummer/ Wilco

Fantastic Voyage / Coolio

How You Like Me Now? / The Heavy

The Underdog / Spoon

Bittersweet Symphony / The Verve

 Next race: Run Wild for the Detroit Zoo 10k - September 18th

Did you run a race this Labor Day weekend?