Sunday, June 14, 2009

Run with the Trojans 4-miler race report.

In true non-committal style, I had been more-or-less planning to run the Run with the Trojans race but had not signed up. I figured I would run it if the weather was nice, my legs were feeling good, the pollen count was low, my favorite racing gear was clean and I was able to wake up on time. Alas, all of those things happened so I found myself in the middle of the road across from an apartment complex and the vocational-technical school in Troy, NY at 9-something yesterday morning.

There were a few dozen of us gathered at the scenic asphalt-all-around spot, although I later learned that only 25 or so were racing in the 4-miler. See, the Run with the Trojans is a bit of a racing festival -- with an 800-meter kids run, and both a 2-mile and a 4-mile race. Three-in-one! You can't beat it . . .

Anyway, I headed to the registration table to sign up, get my bib (#186 -- how many people were in the race?), t-shirt and goody bag. Highlighter -- yes! I strolled around, waiting for the crowd of runners to appear but they never did. I warmed up. I chatted with some fellow runners and then, when the race director yelled that the race was going to start in a few minutes so we should head to the starting line, I lined up.

Now, when I was driving to the race, I noticed that there was a monster hill in what would turn out to be the second and fourth miles (the course was a 2-mile loop). A 3/4 of a mile hill, to be exact. A steep, monster hill (said, by the girl who loves hills). This, combined with the lack of racers, made me think I should adjust my expectations (not that they were high). I decided I'd shoot for 8-minute miles, and run the race as a tempo run.

Good idea.

You see, here's the thing about small races when you're a mid-packer: You end up running alone. For most of the race, I couldn't see anyone in front of me or behind me. Weird. In my last race, there were 3700 runners so I was never out of a crowd. This race was entirely different.

The course was fine. The hill was tough and long and having to run it twice just made it tougher. I managed to keep my pace around 8:30 on the uphill, which felt strong so I was pleased.

I ended up finishing in 32:42, a little over my tempo pace goal of 32. But, I'm OK with that. It felt like a really good workout. The official results haven't been posted but when the times were listed on the cardboard box-turned-tabletop-display after the race, it looked like I finished right in the middle.

Wow . . . what a long report for a not very interesting race!

* * *

Two other things: I used my Garmin in the race and LOVED IT. Done. I am officially a gadgety runner.

And, the hot water heater. There was no salvaging it so we had to get a new one. Luckily, my dad volunteered to help Owen install it so we only had to shell out for the heater itself. The difference between having it installed and not was about $1000. Crazy.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

~ Felice

24 comments:

Casey said...

Great finishing time! Pretty close to your goal even w/a hill!

Manderz said...

Great time!! I live right around the corner from the race - I didnt realize it was so close! I was going out for my run and I saw them setting up for the race and then I saw that it was running up campbell and was glad I wasnt doing the race lol

Diana said...

Great job! Good thing you like hills :)

Felice Devine said...

Amanda -- Yeah, Campbell is quite the hill and we had to run it twice! The first time wasn't bad but the second time was so much harder because it was getting hot and I was getting tired :-)

J said...

Great job on the race. Troy is definitely not a flat place! Glad you like the garmin!

Greg said...

I finished 32:57, right behind you. I did the same as you and it worked except for the roughly 7 seconds lost tying my shoe!

Nice run.

Denise said...

Great time, sounds like you had a great race!!

Mel-2nd Chances said...

Well done on the race, and yes, you'll be hooked on the Garmin :)

Heather C said...

haha! I had to wash my "favorite running gear" on friday night, when I realized my shorts were in the laundry basket I went "ah!" and threw them in right away. ;)

glad you enjoyed the run! Gadgety runners unite! can't go without it :)

Lindsay said...

congrats! you were so close to your goal so i think it was a successful tempo attempt!

glad the hot water heater situation is fixed! gotta love those fees - good thing you were able to self-install.

joyRuN said...

I feel like the biggest tool lugging around my ginormous Garmin at the local races, but I can't help it! Especially since the local races usually don't have mile markers, I like knowing my paces & how much longer I have to endure the torture :)

Great job on your race!

Abby said...

I'm sorry to hear that it was a bit of an anti-climactic race, but it sounds like a great workout nonetheless - and you got a t-shirt out of it, right? :)

Michelle said...

Great job and awesome time for a 4 miler! I am inspired!!

Marlene said...

I have never run a race with so few participants. Sounds like you held your own! Congrats!

Mel -Tall Mom on the Run said...

Welcome to the "gadgety runner" world, you will love it. Small race WOW!! I think after my 25,000 person marathon I am going to seak out a local small race so I can win...LOL.. Good work..

X-Country2 said...

Great race! Glad you're loving your Garmin. I'm a total convert too!

Chic Runner said...

YAY! So glad you loved your garmin! It's fun to keep looking down at it huh! :)

Aileen said...

Welcome to the world of Garmin...now you'll NEVER be able to leave ;)

Oh, and congratulations!!!

Alisa said...

Way to GO!!!!!!!!!!!

Quix said...

Awesome job! =)

Sounds like the 5k I ran earlier this year. It was a Friday afternoon race, so I couldn't resist the not-having-to-be-up-at-dawn thing, so I signed up. It was basically a neighborhood fundraiser, no chips, the kids kept getting in the way, etc. Plus, there was a monster hill about .1 mile in (seriously? who planned that?) and it started pouring halfway through.

Being Robinson said...

yay for a good race and joining the gadget running! ;) garmins are so addictive, but soooo helpful in a race!

ChickinMama said...

I ran this race for the first time, and will be doing so again! Great time!

Aron said...

awesome job!!! knew it wouldnt take long to become a garmin addict too :)

Anonymous said...

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