Race Reports/Encouragement/Kudos for July 4, 5 and 6

[Big Vic]

Friday, July 4th

4 - Stitch lover Sith (Erin) Cazenovia 10 mile Foot Race; NY
4 – amykab (Amy) Firecracker 5K run, Brevard, NC
4 – Honeibee (Judy) and DH (Charlie) Four on the Fourth, Canaan, CT
4 - Peachtree Road Race 10K; Atlanta, GA
AmyBWV99's DH, BamaEd1 (Ed), CarolA (Carol), Cruella de mom (Cecilia), gsu1988
(Ken), lenshanem's DH, panthergirl (Susan), ScoJo15 (Scott)
4 – dsnyfan21 (Tracy) 15th Annual July 4th Weston 5K, Weston FL

Saturday, July 5th

5 – monte (Monica) Leadville Heavy Half, Leadville, CO

Sunday, July 6th

6 - littlegreydonkey (Helen) Gold Coast 1/2 Marathon; Australia
6 - blizzard (Carol) LA Weight Loss 10K; Calgary, Alberta, Canada

:jumping1: GO! WISH Team GO! :jumping1:

[dsnyfan21]

:cool1: GO Wish team, we're so patriotic racing on July4th!!:cool1:

[JacobsMommy11002]

Yeah, WISHers, GO GO GO!!!! I'll be sitting on my butt in the car for 7 hours cheering you on!

[escape]

Good luck, WISHERS!

Lots of events this weekend. Way to bring in the 4th of July!


GO Team Go!!!!

[princessrunner]

GOWISHTEAM!!

[ScoJo15]

Howdy team!

Sitting in my office downtown and thought I'd give a brief report on the Peachtree Road Race 10k that took place this morning.

First of all the weather was perfect!! Humidity was very low, clouds were frequently covering up the sun and the temps had to be somewhere in the low 70s.

This was my first year in Time Group 1A (last year I was in 1B) and it was very cool to be up there with the seeded people right in front of us. Here are a couple of poor photos taken with my mobile phone:

This makes it look further than it was...they walked us up to underneath the huge American flag and we started there, right when the seeded people did :)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b31/ScoJo15/img014.jpg

Here is a look at what was behind me

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b31/ScoJo15/img015.jpg

I had injured my foot last week and wasn't even sure if I would be running this morning...but a smart week of easy training and a lot of nights icing and elevating had it feeling pretty good.

The race was a pretty fun event once again, with lots of crowd support lining the entire way from start to finish. Due to the media created drought of last summer, the race had to be diverted to end near the Atlanta Civic Center instead of Piedmont Park. This meant one extra turn to navigate and a 2 hill uphill finish (as opposed to the normal downhill sprint to the park). Somehow that didn't seem to bother me as I ended up with a 50:07 (8:04mpm), two minutes slower than my current 10k PR, BUT about 2:45 quicker than I ran the Peachtree last year. It's really tough to run fast here due to the sheer number of people participating (55,000!). So many in fact that I heard the announcer say that group 6 (of 9 total) had just started when we crossed the finish line :goodvibes:

Kudos to the race organizers who put together a great post finish line system of water, chip return and t-shirt pickup that went of seamlessly.

All in all it was a great event this year.

This afternoon, I'll put up a more detailed report in my blog for those interested :)
http://scojo15.blogspot.com

GOOD LUCK to everyone else racing this holiday weekend!!

Happy 4th!

[Big Vic]

Scott - Congrats! WTG with the Peachtree PR!!

[escape]

Scott - congratulations on a great time and great race!!! :cool1:

55,000 racers??????? Holy macaroni! Whew! :teeth:

[ScoJo15]

55,000 racers??????? Holy macaroni! Whew! :teeth:

Thanks!!

Yes, coming into this year it is the largest road race in the world. I think the Vancouver Sun Times 10k had around 59,000 this year...

[bunnyfoo]

Scott - Congrats on the PR! Wow - 55,000 people! That's a big race :)

[windwalker]

Thanks!!

Yes, coming into this year it is the largest road race in the world. I think the Vancouver Sun Times 10k had around 59,000 this year...



That's hard to imagine, that's like the number at the Disney marathon and half combined twice over.:eek:

Great time Scott, especially in those crowded conditions.:worship:

Impressed Panda:)

[CarolA]

My quick PeachTree Report.

I was in Group 2 which while not as cool as Scott's group was much nicer then last years Group 4. Waldo was in Scott's group LOL!

Personally I thought the heat/humidity were a lot worse this year then last year.

I ran the first three miles with a woman from my Galloway Group who is faster then I am so I burned up a lot of energy earlty but it was fun. My overall time was 1:13 minutes which is a new PR for me. (And I had to sprint to the finish to get it right at 1:13 LOL)

Now I really disliked the finish this year. It was A VERY VERY long walk to the unappealing parking lot where you meet up with your family members. There's no shade there and it's just a hot piece of asphalt BLEH! I hope that the city remembers PARKS ARE FOR PEOPLE next year. (However, this issue really is not drought related IMHO, it's about folks wanting the 'riff raff" OUT of "thier" upscale neighborhood and park)


As we were driving home from Marta Waldo called his friend who was in Group 9. When he called back it was 10 AM (race started at 7:30 for the sub seeded runners and you go to the start line in groups. My group got tp the start line about 7 minutes after the start.) He was just past the three mile point at 10 AM. (And it's getting WARM!) Gives you an idea of how long it takes to get this thing done!


Now I am off to take a nap!

[dsnyfan21]

Congratulations Scott and CoralA on your Peachtree event!!

I will now report on my little local 5K. "15th Annual Weston Hometown July 4th Celebration"
Held in Weston Florida (the city in which I work)
Race time was 7am. I met an excoworker there at 6:30 to get out race packets, warm up a bit and then go. It was a very humid morning because it has been raining here in the afternoons and evenings which saturates the air. The bibs had an attached piece on them that you put on your shoe. I know some races have used these but it is a newer timing system. SplitSecond Timing decided to be the first in the South Florida area to use it at a race event. It's the ChromoTrack System. I would guess that there were aprox 500 people there. When you get your bib the strip you attach to your shoes laces in right on it and has the same number as your bib. You separate the tag and then underneath it there is a clear sticker that you remove and it reveals a sticky pad, slide it under your laces and stick the two ends together making sure the part that reads this side up is up. It is supposed to be very accurate, easy to use, less expensive for race directors and the equipment is easy to set up and take down. This is what it would look like on your shoe.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/dsnyfan/races/chronos2.jpg (this is not my shoe)
My friend found me with no probelm because I recently order a lime green shirt from RR and even though it didn't have the printing on it I felt very WISH-ish. I also had my visor. She has been troubled with some shin pain for a week so I told her that she could stick with me, run ahead or whatever she felt comfortable doing. She is a wogger. We crossed the start line at about 7:12am and stayed together for a bit, she started joggin while I was racewalking, but then she soon had to start walking so we did the cat and mouse thing for awhile and I lleft her at about 1.6 miles or so. I found the older lady that racewalks at alot of the local events and beat me last year in March. Memorial day I passed her with about .80 left to go. This time I passed her at mile 1.7 miles. I felt pretty good except for the sweat not just dripping, but pouring off me. After you cross the finish line there is no one to collect your tab, its yours and you don't have to return it. I guess that saves having to get volunteers to remove them and no backups at the finish area chute. I saw my friend about 3 minutes later and cheered her to the finish line. We then walked over to the area that the Fire Department had set up with a firehouse shooting water down from a truck like a big mister. VERY nice and refreshing.
Over all a very nice race and organized. Now I am just worried because I own a WDW Mickey championchip and can see that a day will come when it will no longer be needed.:confused3

P.S. ....Oh, my finish time on the Garmin was 41min30sec, Official time was 41min24sec. Not too shabby, about a 13:17pace. FOr summer time its good, but I am sure on a cooler day it would be better.

Have a great Fourth Everybody!!!

[Honeibee]

Alright, OK, not exactly speedy compared to the rest of you, but hey, I'll take it....:thumbsup2

Four on the Fourth, New Canaan, CT

Official Time: 47:49

224/333 (Not DLF!!)

1) 11:26
2) 12:01
3) 12:14
4) 11:24

I'm happy. :goodvibes Now it's Mojito time! :banana:

[gsu1988]

Here is my report from Peachtree. I wasn't sure if I would run this morning either since I spent all last week fighting a cold but decided to go anyway. I thought the weather conditions were fine. It wasn't too hot and the humidity really wasn't that bad for July. I was also in time group 1A and it is neat to get to see the elite take off (The last time I would ever see them). I went out at a pretty good pace and felt pretty good but later in the race could feel the effects of the cold. I ended up running 1 hour flat. That is about 13 minutes slower than my normal 10K but hey its Peachtree and the best part is just getting to be a part of that huge crowd and getting that famous t-shirt (best one on past 4 years by the way)! I wore my WISH shirt for the first time and got several compliments on it. The people that comented loved the saying on the back. Congrats to all the others on their Peachtree and other 4th races!!!

[lenshanem]

Ken, it must have been you my DH saw today with the WISH shirt. He tried to come over and say hello, but couldn't get to you.

He ran in group two and ran right at an hour.
Next year he has a time to submit to get in group one. I was sad I couldn't run this year cause next year we'll be in different groups. Both our bibs were two this year. Oh, well!

I like the blue shirts.
Good job everyone!

[BamaEd1]

I did the Peachtree as well. I was in group 2 and had a great time. I was not prepared for the hills; it's hard to prepare for hills in my area. With that said, I PR'd the 10k distance!!!!:cool1: I took about 5:37 off my previous 10k PR. It was a very well organized race and there was incredible crowd support along the whole route.

After finishing, another runner and I began talking. I asked him if he was happy with his time. He just grinned and said that last year on the the 4th, he was in the hospital fighting cancer so "You better believe that I'm happy with my time." He was wearing a "Live Strong" shirt and said that the Lance Armstrong Foundation helped him out a lot. April and I had tickets to the Brave game that night (Braves beat the Astros 6-1-woo hoo) so we had some time to kill. We went to Dave and Buster's for lunch and to play (it's a Ruby Tuesdays like restaurant with a bar, pool hall, and video arcade in one place....very fun) and then to the Mall of Georgia. I'm now wearing a Live Strong bracelet in his honor that I got at Dick's Sporting Goods in his honor.

Way to go everybody! I had fun running with you (even though we didn't know we were running together). Thanks to Cruella de Mom for the Peachtree number. She didn't get one but her DH did. They decided not to run so the let me have the number and I'm sooooo glad they did; DW and I had a blast!

[Tiger Lily 03]

Congratulations WISH Team!

You did it! :yay:

Seems that it was mostly a good weekend so far! Hot/humid/warm, but good!

Way to go!

[getnthinr]

Wow, what a bunch of great reports! Thanks, WISHers -- and congrats on the many PRs!

[Big Vic]

WISH Team - http://members.cox.net/bvbd1/congrad.gif

[UP Disney]

I walked in a 6K this year. It is called the Black Bear Run and is a run from my hometown of Engadine to Naubinway in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. You run through the woods of the Hiawatha Sportsmen's Club which owns like 35,000 acres. My father and a high school teacher are the ones that built it into being a race that people come from all around to run. It is always run on the morning of the 4th. I intentionally walked the whole way this year at a steady pace. I wanted to get a starting time as I just started training. I did 15.67 minute miles.

[blizzard]

This event was my first “big” race. It is part of the HSBC Calgary Marathon. In addition to the marathon, they have a half-marathon, and a 10K. The 10K is the most popular race, with about 2,000 people signed up. (about 1700 finishers)

We went to the package pick-up and Expo on Friday night. We arrived about 15 minutes after they opened at 4:00. There were huge lineups and mass chaos to get bibs. After we finally got the bib and chip, we walked through the Expo. As we were leaving at about 4:40, I noticed that there were no lineups for package pickup now. Lesson learned – arrive for package pickup at least 30 minutes after they open.

The bibs were personalized with your first name, as long as you registered in advance. I thought that was a nice feature, although I didn’t hear anyone cheer for me by name. Maybe the spectators saved their breath for marathoners and half-marathoners who might need the support more.

The marathon and half-marathon were set to start at 7:00am and the 10K start was at 7:30. We arrived downtown in time to see the 7:00am start. We found a place for John to take some pictures of the 10K start, and then wandered around a little bit until about 7:20. I warmed up a bit, and then went toward the back of the pack of starters. Since it was chip timed, I wasn’t in a big rush to get to the line once we started. The horn sounded, and we were off—slowly at first, and then faster as we got to the line. It was a little cramped for running room at the beginning, but not too bad as everyone sorted themselves out.

I was able to maintain the pace I wanted, but then right around the 1K mark, I had an “equipment failure”. The Velcro on my bra strap decided to come undone. (a problem I have never dealt with before) After assessing the situation, I decided that I was going to have to stop to fix it. I pulled over to the right, and began to reassemble myself. I had to stop for about a full minute to get things fixed and then I was off again, trying to pass again all the people I had just passed.

With my incident, I missed the first km marker, but at the second I was 0:45 off the pace I needed. I picked up the pace a bit, and managed to get myself close to required splits at 3km and 4km. The increased pace took its toll though, and my pace started to drop. I was running a consistent pace, but I wasn’t able to make it as fast as it needed to be. I knew well before the end, that I wouldn’t make my goal of going under 60 minutes, but I was still focussed on under 65 minutes.

The last km of the race featured two overpass “hills”, with a downhill into the finish chute. Once we were into the downhill, I was able to sprint to the finish, except for two guys who were jogging it in ahead of me. I did finally get around them and finished just under 1:04 on the clock.

I collected my drinks and food, and then we headed across the park to see what else was going on. By the time we were doing that, they were posting results, so I was able to check my chip time. My chip time was a PR of 1:02:03. (This was my first 10K race so, it was bound to be a PR) I finished 944/1703 overall, 452/1024 women, and 65/149 in my age group.

I was happy with my result, and am planning to run the half-marathon here next year. The race will be moving to May 31, and will have a new course for next year.

[laxdef69]

I ran a PR 5k on the 4th in the Lemont Freedom run.

24:38, 65th of 244 runners.

The course was very hilly...what made this one really special was that I ran it with my nephew...who blew my doors off, but beat my brother by about 20 seconds...we ran together for the whole race until the last 1/4 mile when I picked up the pace.

Mike

[hoosmi]

Sunshine Festival 5k on July 4th

Hey WISHers-

I ran a 5k this weekend with my mom. The background is that I'm 30 weeks pregnant and my mom is signed up for the Disney half, but has never raced at any distance. We planned on doing this race because it's about 3 blocks away from us. My mom was starting to waffle about the heat/humidity/etc. We left it the night before with the promise that I'd call if I decided to go.

I didn't set an alarm thinking if I overslept, it wasn't meant to be. Sure enough, I was wide awake at 6:20 and we had to be there before 7:30 to register- no problem! I called my horrified mother and picked her up along the way. We registered and got our t-shirts, but had no where to put our shirts. We walked over to the Village Inn and Pub and they let us store our shirts, use their mirror for bib placement, and use the bathroom. Sweet! (I'm thinking it's going to be difficult for my mom to deal with portapotties at Disney...)

We started at the back. I've walked with my mom and we've jogged a couple of blocks, but I had no idea what to expect with her. I told her we'd start out running and just play it by ear. I did keep us at a pretty slow pace so she wouldn't burn out too fast. She ran the entire first mile! I was amazed. We then added a little walking to the last two miles. I asked her if she wanted to run more in the last mile, but she declined. Of course, we ran in for the finish!

Our time was somewhere over 43 minutes. Later on my mom was talking about how she wished she'd run more in that last mile so she could have had a faster time! Obviously, she's hooked.:laughing: I think she still has a healthy fear of the Disney half, but feels like it's not completely out of the question that she'll get her medal- that was my goal in forcing her to do this race, so I'm happy.

That's it for my racing career pre-Goofybaby's arrival in early September. Not so much because I don't want to run in any more 5ks as I can't find any local ones until the fall (ok, it's a relief I can't find any other 5ks...;) )

Jen in GA

[amykab]

Sounds like everyone had some great races!

My Mini Race Report:

I did the firecracker 5K in brevard, NC. I ended up with bib #13! I am not horribly superstitious but I still felt a little :scared1:

It went well despite numerous hills and my cough! I have had no hill training at all! I did PR ( 39:36 2 minutes faster than the Minnie 5K) I think if I hadn't had the cough I could have come closer to the 36 minute time I was hopeful for. My average pace was 12:33! I definitely started out way too fast (first mile split was 11:56 with 2 huge hills!!). They didn't have water until well into mile 2 ( I thought this was poor placement), I assumed it would be around 1.5 or so, so I didn't carry any with me. Miles were not marked off, so I am very glad I had my garmin!! All in all it went well! :cool1: