With this race, i have officially completed the program i set out for myself in my running resolutions at the beginning of the year.
I’ve committed to two more races for the “spring” season - the National Employee Health & Fitness Day 5K this week at work, and the Race for the Cure 5K in June. That’s it for official races until the fall schedule starts, though i still hope to run at least somewhat regularly this summer.
The race was in Asheville, where my folks live. Lance came along for moral support, so we headed down to Asheville Saturday morning. On the way into town, we stopped to pick up the race packet and spectator tickets ($15 each; spectators do not get in for free), then headed to the parents’ house. We had a relaxing afternoon and evening, which included a nail painting party and much competetiveness concerning the Wii Fit balance games.
I went to bed at a reasonable hour, but slept fitfully. I kept waking up thinking “oh no! i’m late!” The first time this happened it was only 12:30. It happened again at 2, 3:30 and 4:30. Got up at 5, ate a banana and drank a bottle of water, then went outside with the idea to take a brisk walk to stretch the legs and get the blood pumping.
Unfortunately, it was raining. So much for the walking idea. Instead i walked around inside, impatiently waiting for my mom to get up. Dad was already gone, as he was volunteering at the race site.
We piled into the car at 6 and headed over to Grandma’s house. She was coming to watch, too. I feel quite honored by this, actually, as the race day festivities will mean she will miss church.
At the gate to the Biltmore Estates, we proudly show our tickets, but no one is interested. I was mildly annoyed by this, as they weren’t cheap. Oh well. It’s a 3-mile drive on a windy little road just to get to the start of the race, at the Winery. They are very organized, though, and everyone is arriving early.
It is still drizzling off and on, and threatening to rain heavily. The air has that muggy, pre-storm feel. It’s around 60 degrees, and my fan club is all wearing jackets while i’m sporting my shorts and sleeveless top. While the rest of them are sorting out umbrellas and chairs, i head off for a warm-up run.
The 5K starts five minutes before the 15K, and i know i’m in western NC when i hear the gun shot signaling the start of the 5K. Of all the races this year, this is the only using a real gun. Now, it’s our turn to line up, and everyone wants to kiss and hug me and wish me good luck. I will never say i’m not loved. And then we’re off!
Mile 1: The first mile was pretty flat. It was still raining, but very lightly - i hardly noticed. We passed some huge pastures with cattle in them, and i was amused to see the calves frolicking with each other and eyeing the runners. It seemed like they wanted to play. 10:05
Mile 2: This one had several hills. I don’t feel particularly bad about walking up the steepest parts of them. I knew at the time that i had a long way to go. The first water stop was along this mile. The volunteer shouting out the times promised us that the third mile was all downhill! 11:47
Mile 3: About three-fourths of this mile were downhill, and i took advantage. I was going pretty fast, for me. My fastest time was in the low 7s. The last quarter mile began a huge uphill battle, though. The volunteer at the end of this mile said it was all downhill “after this”. He was the first of several volunteers to say that. 9:05
Mile 4: The fourth mile was an almost continuous hill. There was steep and less steep. I felt okay, though, and i would use Cindy and $Bill’s trick of telling myself “i can make it to that tree” or “i can make it to that bend” or “i’ll walk if i can catch up with the person in the blue shorts”. I did walk several times, but never for more than 30 seconds at a time. The volunteer at the end said it gets better after this. 11:13
Mile 5: More uphill here. About halfway through I took a long break at the water stop, trying to convince myself that i could run another 4.5 miles. My enthusiasm was waning, though. And the volunteer at the end said “it’s all downhill from now on.” Um… you’ve ALL said that! 11:49
Mile 6: The previous few miles i haven’t noticed my surroundings much. Basically, we’ve been in wooded areas. The payoff happened here though. At exactly 60 minutes and 5.6 miles i broke through the gate to the view of the Biltmore House. It was stunning. And blissfully flat! The course took us up the right side of the lawn, past the very front of the house, and then back down the left side before exiting the opposite side of the rear lot. There were photographers taking pictures of everyone as we were running away from the house, so there should be a nice picture of me with the Biltmore House in the background. The end of mile 6 was just around the bend, at the gardens, where the volunteer once again said it was all downhill from here. I gave him shit and said “you all say that!” He yelled after me that it really was. 10:55
Mile 7: This mile was actually mostly downhill, thankfully. I was sick to death of hills. I had been revived a bit by the view of the house and the flatness, plus i knew i only had another 5K to go. I pushed it on the downhill, but my feet were complaining. I could feel the socks all around my feet, if that makes any sense. There were some nice views on the way down. 9:41
Mile 8: This mile flattened out completely. We passed a lake, and i was surprised to see water droplets on the lake. It was still raining lightly, but i had not noticed at all. Weird. With the absense of hills, you would think i’d be happy, but i wasn’t. It was becoming clear that the course was longer than 9.3 miles, at least according to my Garmin. We passed the 5K turnaround, and i did the math - the course would end up being 9.5 miles. You wouldn’t think .2 miles would make a huge difference, but at this point i wasn’t rational and i just wanted it to be over and how dare they make me run longer than necessary? I walked once here, even though it was flat. I was just plain tired. 11:08
Mile 9: Still mad about the extra .2 miles. I think i walked twice, again, even though it was pretty flat. My pace was lagging also, and the half dozen people i had been seesawing with for the last five miles left me behind. I decided to scan through the ipod for some of my favoritest favorite songs to get me in a better mood. I found U2’s It’s a Beautiful Day, even though it was quite the dreary day, but it helped. 11:40
Final .3: The last chunk is always longer than it seems. Or seems longer than it is. Still, i knew i had my fan club waiting, and the thought cheered me. I gave it a good effort and waved at everyone as i passed. 3:32
Final time was 1:41:17, which is about when i expected to finish, based on my 10K time. I’d hoped to beat 1:40, and i know i could have if i hadn’t wimped out in the last two miles. Or if i hadn’t crapped the training the last two weeks.
After i cooled down a bit and the cool weather dried the sweat off of my face, i noticed my face was covered in grit. Everyone else probably knows this already, but i realized it was salt. It makes sense, now that i think about it, i just usually hit the shower before my face has a chance to completely cool off.
My dad treated us all to a huge breakfast at IHOP, which in my opinion had the best pancakes ever. My family made a pretty big deal out of me. It was nice. 15K is the 3rd longest distance i have run. In 2007, i ran a 10-miler and a half-marathon. But even though it’s not like they didn’t know i could do it, it was the first long race they were able to be present for, and that made it special.
All in all, a good race. I’m already thinking about doing it again next year.
Just before Easter, i received an unexpected card in the mail from Grandma. I thought she had given up writing to me, but i guess that doesn’t preclude the mandatory Resurrection Day card. (Or, as my brother calls it, Zombie Jesus Day. Because, after all, every other creature that has risen from the dead is referred to as a zombie. It’s a good point!)
