When we got there, there were so many people milling around. Different from this race a couple of years ago. It was fun seeing all the costumes. As we picked up our packets, I saw Nancy P. It was nice to see her and I wanted to give her a "real" hug and congratulate her in person since she has done her first and second triathlon in about a month's time!! I'm so proud of her. She's worked hard, even learning how to swim this summer.
I looked in the bag to see what our shirts looked like; that's always exciting to see. We were to wear something reflective since we'd be running in the dark; therefore the reflective vest you see above. BUT...when I saw the shirt we got, I stripped off the one I had on and put that one on. I've never raced in a brand new shirt before. It was a neon orange tech shirt. I LOVE it!!
I decided to run without my iPod this time mostly due to it being at night and I wanted to be alert to anyone yelling out a danger ahead of me; and I wanted to focus more on the placement of my feet so as not to trip, step in a hole, turn my ankle or fall over my own two feet. The Jazz Half is next week and I wasn't shooting for a PR in this race anyhow. So I took it easy. Another reason I ran easy was that this course is a tough one...can you spell H.I.L.L.Y.??? Wow...it was hard. With no music to distract me from the sounds of other runners breathing hard, their footstrikes and all the jingling and sounds of their Halloween costumes, it made it even tougher. This is one reason I love my iPod! It hides the sounds of running, whether it's mine or others around me and keeps me focused on MY race. But this is good to run without it occasionally. Now, to leave my Garmin at home once in a while...hmmmmmm...really don't see that one happening but miracles do occur. I'm such a tech-freak! I'm trying to do better.
One thing that was different from most races, including this one that I ran a couple of years ago, is the crowd support. It was so nice to have strangers cheer you on throughout the entire race. I really enjoyed that. Thanks, everyone!! It helped pull me up those hills. I heard off and on from others how much it meant to them, too.
I thought the last mile would never come. Boy, it seemed like it just went on and on. I was never so excited to see a finisher's clock as I was this night. On top of that, you could smell that woooonnnderrrrfuuuulll Shed's BBQ!!! Oh, my...I could hardly wait to get my sandwich AND it didn't disappoint! It was sooooo good. I'd have pics of them but this photographer doesn't do night pics well AT ALL!! You'll see.
Ran up with Bob C. before the race and chatted and then again after the race. I had NO idea where he was in the race. He's usually just ahead of me but it was dark and there were several places that it was as black as a sack of cats and couldn't have told you if there were 2 or 22 just ahead of me!! As it turned out, Bob and I actually were within seconds of finishing. When I saw him after the race his knee and leg was bloody. Said he fell right at the Finish Line. His son walked up and he had done the very same thing about 5 minutes before. His hands were tore up, too. As I went back to the Finish Line to see Kent cross the line, the guy that finished a second or two behind him fell, too, right at my feet! He fell hard and I'm sure he was sore the next day. I'm wondering if there wasn't something that caused these falls...and wondering how many others fell. There were two different shutes for men and women so we didn't cross the line at that place.
Talked with Mike B. a while the awards were called out. He is so nice and such a FAST runner and is usually one of the first ones to cross the line ALL the time!! He told me that he wanted to beat this one guy and he was ahead of Mike a good bit of the way; but when they began the hills, it seemed to have taken some power out of him and Mike caught him. I was getting excited while he was relaying the story. BUT....right at the end, this guy caught back up to him and beat him. He is the second best in the state!!! Man, I wished Mike could have won! You're so close, Mike, I look for you to overcome him real soon!
Kent won First Overall Racewalker...good job...in the dark!! Getting ready to go, Kent insisted on staying for my age group awards. I was definitely not expecting a single bit of recognition. Then all of a sudden they called out my name!! I was shocked! I was the recipient of the First Place award in my age group. The awards were very pretty handmade clay ones and am a proud owner of one now. Aren't they pretty?? I love them!
Miss Mississippi, who is from Ocean Springs, was there to give out the awards. Here are our pictures as good as I could get. A photographer was there taking photos and I hope to have these replaced when I can locate the pics.
Here is a better pic of Kent with his award. The flash of the camera blinded him. Sorry, Honey!!
A final word about the race director. Leonard V. did an outstanding job putting on this race. Seems not a single thing was forgotten. One of the best things we love about the GCRC races is the fast, efficient way LV gets the results. And, on top of that, he has their website updated within a very few hours!!! We wait only a reasonable amount of time for the awards presentation. The races in Alabama and Florida could take a LOT of lessons from you, my friend!! Great job and we enjoyed it immensely!
Run 4 It
you'll not regret it!!
No comments:
Post a Comment