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Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Full Moon 5K - the Race Report



Tonight we drove to Madison for the Full Moon Run, a 5K Mike did last year with Jeff. We parked in Olin-Turville Park and headed to the shelter to register. For our $15 race fee we not only did not have to pay extra for race day registration, but instead of the bag advertised, we got Mizuno tech tees from Moving Shoes- SWEET! So far, best goodies value for the money by far.
The Schwag: several keychains that look like Reebok runnign shoes, a little rubber bracelet for my nephew Jake, a clip on flasher, and a Mizuno tech tee.

The race started on the other side of Monona Bay at 9PM (that's 2100 for you military type folks, so I thought I would include civilian time so as not to get Bigun all ruffled up again.... :-) ), which was about a 15-20 minute hike from the Park along the beach. It was buggy and we couldn't wait to get started since we were getting bitten alive by skeeters the size of pigeons.


I looked around at the crowd of about 400 and picked some folks that looked like they were about my size/speed. I picked a few folks to keep my eye on and we were read to go.


This was an interesting run. I had never done an event in the dark before. I took off with the pack and it was motivating to stay with them since it was dark and I didn't want to lose sight of them. We all got flashing light things to wear, which was really helpful in sighting where we were headed.


Because it was dark, it was harder to push the pace, but it was also harder to watch the pace on the Garmin, so tonight was about pushing perceived effort and not worrying about watching the numbers on the Garmin - no HR pacing, no pace data, just me and listening to how on fire my lungs and legs felt.


We started in the back of the pack and I stayed on Mike's heels for a while, mostly because he was emailing taunts to me all day trying to egg me on. Someday I will be able to keep pace with him and make him eat my dust, but tonight was not the night. I passed a few folks in the first mile, but made the most headway after the 1 and 2 mile markers. You could almost see it on the runners who slowed to walk after these markers say to themselves "What! Ive only gone a MILE! I gotta walk...." Slowly I overtook them, and said Good Job as I passed by whenever I could (sometimes I was pushing so hard I couldn't talk). I passed Old Guy and his wife. I passed the cross country kids who pooped out after mile 2. I passed Rocket Kid who took out from the start like his pants were on fire, then lost his mojo along the way. After mile 2, I came up on the Chubby Red Shirt Girls I had eyed up at the start. I passed them and stayed a few hundred yards ahead - yeah me. They were my goal people I had set myself to pass and I had. As we neared Olin-Turville and the finish, they suddenly ran past me with a big burst. The last 1/4 mile was up a huge hill after pushing it on a really flat course, and the Red Shirt Girls lost oomph as they neared the top of the hill. Since I am used to finishing uphill, I felt pretty at home and kicked it down, re-passing them and going as fast as I could down the short downhill and through the chute. Final time on the clock .....33:08 by their clock, 33:15 by the Garmin, but as usual I forgot to hit stop when I crossed the finish (I always get a few seconds of standing around until Mike yells "Stop your timer!!!" - every race, without fail). I am very satisfied with that. I was panting pretty hard and I don't think I could have pushed much harder.


Would I do it again? maybe. it's pretty late to start and tomorrow's a work day. I plan to be tired. It was fun though and the Tshirt whore got a techie tee, so it's all good. We'll see.





What I learned for next year:


- Bring bug spray.... lakeside + dusk = bug bites


- Bring water, there are no water stops


- Remember to bring your race belt..... hey


- Headlamp?? maybe, I 'll have to think about it. I have one, but when I wear it Mike calls me The Miner

THE OFFICIAL RESULTS ARE IN:
32:11.89 (official time) 137/162 female, 27/38 age group, 314/348 overall
(GRRRR- 2 seconds over my PR time and STILL in the back of the pack - last year I was 5-7 minutes longer and middle fo thepack - What gives????)

10 comments:

Pat said...

the miner, that's funny. Glad you had a good run. I like running at night, even if I have trouble reading the garmin.

$15 for a tech shirt alone would have been great. If I'd a known, I would have signed up for it and had you mail me my stuff.

pat

Herself, the GeekGirl said...

I heart races that give tech T's. Good job on the run! By the way, here's something you might like: (right click on the link and open it in a new window) http://www.zombierunner.com/store/product220.html

Unknown said...

Ooooh, stuff to buy!! I wish it came in pink........

Di said...

glad to hear your victory over red shirt girls!! Nice recap on the run and your progress. WooHoo!

Shump said...

Congratulations! Sounds like it was a blast. It is always fun to pass people, I did not realize how competeitve I really was still I started running.

Keep up the good work!

Bigun said...

all I want to know is, who's the chick in the bikini doing the weather?

bigmike600 said...

That's J-Wim's second job so I can get a carbon fiber bike:)

Anonymous said...

If we had headed up to Yosemite earlier, we could have enjoyed a "full moon hike" guided by park rangers. My husband remarked that we would have to plan a vacation around the lunar cycle. I said, "I plan my whole damn life around a 28-day cycle--won't be a stretch for me."

Jeff said...

Whaddya mean back of the pack? There were 30 people behind you. Forget the back of the pack. Five minutes in a year is HUGE!

BTW, what do you get if Mike gets the bike???

Unknown said...

Lora- TOO FUNNY! ain't that the truth!

Jeff- if Mike gets a bike I get one too. A pink one preferably... but we just bought new bikes last summer so that's not really on the horizon...... unless we win the lottery or something.


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