Today I had the privilege of running a road race, my first race of 2011! The Beer Bottle Open. Not quite sure why it's called that. Probably has to do with people drinking beer afterward. Drinking beer after a race always sounds so gross to me. Yuck. But beer in general pretty much grosses me out, too.
The race was located in Columbus Grove, just about 20 minutes from the Bean Town. And it was awesome because it didn't start until 2pm! (My Business Man was happy for that part.) We still got to sleep in and have a lazy Saturday, and run a race on the same day!
I didn't pre-register, so we had to sign up for the race when we got there. It only cost $10 which is a steal for a road race. It would have cost $18 if I had wanted a t-shirt, and I totally would have gotten a t-shirt (they were bright green!) but they were out of smalls. I have discovered that I don't really wear t-shirts when they are too big on me because they just feel like huge sacks on my body. Not cool.
I wasn't sure what to expect going into the race... I had just run 16 miles on Thursday with some fast running thrown in the mix. I took Friday off to rest. I decided that if I could put in a tempo effort, that would be good. Anywhere around 7-minute miles.
The weather was beautiful, sunny and somewhat warm, except for one minor detail. THE WIND!! It was so. Freaking. Windy. Like 25+mph. Oh wells.
From my warm-up, I knew that the wind was going to cause some trouble. I decided to just go with the flow and see what happened. I ran a 1.5 mile warm-up, did some agility drills, leg swings, and striders. It felt strange to do a full warm-up like that; I used to do it 2-3X a week in college, and now just once every few months. I either felt super hard-core or super silly doing them, I haven't decided which.
And then the race began. It was an out-and-back/loop hybrid course. (We went out and turned around and then completed a loop.)
The first mile we had the wind behind us the entire time. 6:26 first mile! Gosh, it'd been a long time since I'd seen that time for a mile. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold it, especially once I turned around and the wind started whipping me in the face.
My two-mile split was 13:31, good for a 7:05 second mile. Yikes! Slowed down a lot. The wind was brutal; I almost felt like it was going to rip the contacts right out of my eyes. How tragic that would be. I still passed quite a few people, lots of high school boys. :-)
We turned to start the loop segment, and the wind wasn't quite as bad, more sideways-like. I went through the three-mile in 20:21, a 6:45 third mile.
But as soon as we turned to finish the last mile, it was all wind, the whole way back to the finish. Last mile was 6:46, with a finishing time of 27:07 (6:46 avg). Not too shabby! Not a PR, but good for the windy conditions.
After a 2-mile cool-down, my Business Man and I headed back to the gym where the awards ceremony would take place. And we saw everyone eating this delicious looking stew/soup/chili. Apparently they were giving out bowls of "Hobo Stew" and I totally missed it! By the time we got back to the gym it was too far to walk back to get some. (You know... I can run 7.5 miles but then am too lazy to walk a half mile... a characteristic of many runners, I'm afraid. I might have even had my Business Man drop me off at the door to Meijer when we stopped for groceries on the way home because I didn't want to walk all the way from the car. Haha.)
We sat through the awards ceremony and didn't win any raffles. But, I did get 5th female overall! Saweet! And scored this awesome beer stein. It's a Christmas-themed one. I wonder what I shall put in it?
Funny story: After the race when we were driving home, I asked my Business Man if we could stop at a gas station to get me a Diet Mtn. Dew, as my race reward. He asked if I had any cash... no, why would I carry cash? I told him that the debit card would probably work even though it was a little po-dunk gas station in the middle of this little town.
He went in so I could stay in the nice warm car. He came back out with brown paper bag, all folded up at the top. I thought, "What on earth did he buy?? I know this was the Beer Bottle Open race, but I don't drink beer! I don't even like beer!"
Turns out the gas station said you have to spend at least $5 if you are using a debit card so he bought me 4 Diet Mtn. Dews! Craaaaaazy! I told him that the $5 made up for the $8 we didn't have to spend on the t-shirt.
All in all: Great race, great atmosphere. I will totally do it again next year. And I will make sure I get some Hobo Stew next year. And pre-register so I can get a t-shirt. And hopefully it won't be so windy.
Just gotta get in 5 more easy miles tomorrow and I'll have 50 for the week! Yay for next week being a cut-back week in mileage.
Happy running!
The race was located in Columbus Grove, just about 20 minutes from the Bean Town. And it was awesome because it didn't start until 2pm! (My Business Man was happy for that part.) We still got to sleep in and have a lazy Saturday, and run a race on the same day!
I didn't pre-register, so we had to sign up for the race when we got there. It only cost $10 which is a steal for a road race. It would have cost $18 if I had wanted a t-shirt, and I totally would have gotten a t-shirt (they were bright green!) but they were out of smalls. I have discovered that I don't really wear t-shirts when they are too big on me because they just feel like huge sacks on my body. Not cool.
I wasn't sure what to expect going into the race... I had just run 16 miles on Thursday with some fast running thrown in the mix. I took Friday off to rest. I decided that if I could put in a tempo effort, that would be good. Anywhere around 7-minute miles.
The weather was beautiful, sunny and somewhat warm, except for one minor detail. THE WIND!! It was so. Freaking. Windy. Like 25+mph. Oh wells.
 |
| Stretching before the start. |
And then the race began. It was an out-and-back/loop hybrid course. (We went out and turned around and then completed a loop.)
 |
| Feeling good at the start! Check out that crazy calf muscle... |
My two-mile split was 13:31, good for a 7:05 second mile. Yikes! Slowed down a lot. The wind was brutal; I almost felt like it was going to rip the contacts right out of my eyes. How tragic that would be. I still passed quite a few people, lots of high school boys. :-)
We turned to start the loop segment, and the wind wasn't quite as bad, more sideways-like. I went through the three-mile in 20:21, a 6:45 third mile.
But as soon as we turned to finish the last mile, it was all wind, the whole way back to the finish. Last mile was 6:46, with a finishing time of 27:07 (6:46 avg). Not too shabby! Not a PR, but good for the windy conditions.
 |
| Finishing kick... that wind was like death I tell you. |
 |
| Best prize in the world! |
We sat through the awards ceremony and didn't win any raffles. But, I did get 5th female overall! Saweet! And scored this awesome beer stein. It's a Christmas-themed one. I wonder what I shall put in it?
Funny story: After the race when we were driving home, I asked my Business Man if we could stop at a gas station to get me a Diet Mtn. Dew, as my race reward. He asked if I had any cash... no, why would I carry cash? I told him that the debit card would probably work even though it was a little po-dunk gas station in the middle of this little town.
He went in so I could stay in the nice warm car. He came back out with brown paper bag, all folded up at the top. I thought, "What on earth did he buy?? I know this was the Beer Bottle Open race, but I don't drink beer! I don't even like beer!"
 |
| What is in here?!? |
 |
| Oh, sweet nectar of the gods... I will try not to drink you all this weekend. |
All in all: Great race, great atmosphere. I will totally do it again next year. And I will make sure I get some Hobo Stew next year. And pre-register so I can get a t-shirt. And hopefully it won't be so windy.
Just gotta get in 5 more easy miles tomorrow and I'll have 50 for the week! Yay for next week being a cut-back week in mileage.
Happy running!
Comments