Race Reports/Encouragement/Kudos for April 19th, 20th and 21st!

[Optimator]

I was waiting for Cindy to post because she is so much better at the course description. I can just be lazy and say "See Cindy's post" then add a few of my own inpressions.

This was my first non-chip timed race, my first out and back race, my first race in a monsoon, my first half where I was concerned about time. Lots of new stuff.

It was a good experience inspite of the nasty weather. In a weird twist for an out and back (and much appreciated), to me the slight uphills didn't seem as uphill as the downhills seemed down . That really helped for miles 7 through about 9. I'm happy to say that no one passed me after about mile 3 and I was able to pick off quite a few over the last half. I ran a little faster than I planned (seems to be a recurring theme with me) but was able to keep the pace throughout (not always a recurring theme ).

I finished in 1:41 and some change so I was really happy with that.


Carol A - Way to stick with it!

Carol (Blizzard) - Appropriate screen name for today, it would seem. Nice job in those crazy conditions.

Joan - Way to go! You did great for a great cause.

Paul - Whoa! You were picking them up and layin' them down. Great PR!

Lou - Awesome, old man!

Morgan - Hooray for your first race. Many more to come, I'm sure.

Matt - Great job for you and MsTrop. Stay safe!

Kira - Excellent! It sounds like you really enjoyed your first race experience!

Allie - Fabulous race. Congrats on the PR!


Wow!! Did I miss anyone? Quite a WISH weekend!

 

[lourodrigis]

Cindy - Awesome job despite some nasty conditions. It must have been rough running in shoes full of water. Did you get a lot of blisters? It looks like the bad weather stayed away from Philly today. With my allergies I am not sure if I would have minded the rain.

Cindy, no age group win for me. I thought I'd get lucky and win the 40-49 group on my second day of being 40.

Mike - You're the man! You posted a 1:41 time in the rain? Dude, 1/2 marathons are just warm up runs for you. I'll be too old to keep up with you at Philly.

Jodi - I read about 1/2 of Chi Running yesterday and I tried some Chi today during my race. It worked.

The Penn Relay results just came in and I was 70th out of 200. I guess I showed the young kids what us "old heads" can do in a race.

Lou

 

[twoWDWfools]

Hey guys -- sorry for the delay and advance apologizes for the length of this. I'll catch up on everyone's reports tomorrow.

The Promise Run for Wellness was on Saturday 4/19 in Aurora.

This event had a 3k, 5K and 10K. I contacted them before signing up and asked about walking the 10K. Response was you bet! No prob. When the final instructions and course maps came out two weeks ago it said "Walkers are encouraged to sign up for the 3K so that runners may enjoy the longer courses." WHAT?! So I contacted them again and was told they put that out there for people who may not understand how long 5K and 10K are but I am certainly welcome to walk the longer distance. There is no set time limit. (This is all in emails.)

Was about 56 and light rain when the race was supposed to start at 8am. They decided to try to wait it out so didn't go until 8.30am. No real biggie. Did clear up and we even saw some sun.

So at 8.30 they tell everyone to get into the corral. Yes, everyone. 3K, 5K, 10K and there is no signage for times. Can you say mess? Saw couple of kids nearly get throttled when they started dodging in/out of runners.

The course was advertised as flat - not so much. Couple steep hills and the course doubled back on itself several times. Plus the 5K and 10K shared the same course at times. Volunteers were great in directing everyone to the right section and cheering though.

All’s good until I head for my last lap around the lake which is also the last mile. Come around the corner and the water station is empty. No people, no water just a table. This guy pulls up in a van full of the volunteers from that table (recognized them from first time around) and says "Are you in the race?" Yes. "Oh, we thought everyone was done so closed the course." Excuse me???? Did you send out someone on a bike or car or roller skates to check? "No, we just kinda figured everyone was done."

I can see people coming off the far side of the lake's path so obviously not everyone is done AND there was a woman behind me still. They've re-opened the lake path which is now full of groups of people on bikes, skates, etc. So I had to grab the path up the hill back to the finish line. Was at 5.28 miles on my Garmin when I crossed the line. 1:17:03 which is a 14:58 mpm – my goal was to maintain 15mpm for the Minnie so I’ve done that but these idiots took away my last mile!

Got home, showered and started to cry. All of a sudden felt like a failure. Obviously I wasn’t fast enough to finish in time. Patrick kept reminding me that I did not fail – they did. They failed to set a time limit and publicize it and to check the course before closing it. Still felt crappy all day.

Today got out on bikes and put in 20 miles in absolutely beautiful weather. Sunny and 70. I feel much better and they WILL be hearing from me tomorrow.

Sorry so long but thanks for ‘listening’.

Liz

 

[AmyBeth68]

Mike: Another incredible race.

Cindy: Ditto! I'm so impressed with your pace girl!

Liz: Don't be discouraged...you raced hard and got out there...don't let THEIR failure as a race organizer make YOU feel bad. Think of all the people who stayed home and didn't move their bodies or sweat!!!. Don't focus on your pace or the stupidity of the race director...but instead focus on the overall accomplishment. Besides...your pace will easily get you through the Minnie...and it WILL be better due to a better course and better organization. Minnie course is actually flat ...it's not a lie! Hang in there and be proud of yourself. GREAT job on getting the 20 miler in as well!

 

[Cruella de mom]

What a weekend WISH team!

Way to go CarolA! You stuck it out inspite of leg issues and wanting to quit.
Not every race can be a PR. Some are just there to make the rest feel even better. You did it. Be proud.

Joan aka Miss Spontaniety! What a great thing to get up and run a race and help the food bank as well. And you did it with a smoking time too.

Paul - WOW!! Can you just blow some of that spped in my direction?!? I know what it took to take 4 minutes off my PR, I cannot imagine 26! Way to go!

Matt - Ditto Vic, be safe. We just get Z home and now you are off into the danger zone. I hope DW takes some time to heal those legs and hips.

About 2 years ago I started the C25K plan for the first time. I think I restarted that plan 2 or 3 times before January when I found the WISH boards. When I first embarked on this journey I really felt like running 3.1 miles was impossible for me! Today I did it in a race, and it was fun and joyful. Thank you to everyone!
Now on to the next challenge!

That just about sums up the whole idea of WISH in one paragraph. Congratulations on a great race!

Allie - You are already ahead of me since I ran my first race in the 40 age bracket. Way to go on a great race. A couple hints about this age bracket - its more competitive than the 35-40 group but with fewer participants. My partner (39) will finish with me and be 21 of 50 women and I will be 35 of 40 women. It can be discouraging. Just remember though that alot of the women in our age group have been running for 20 years or so.

I crossed the finish line at 41:17.10. I did it, I finished.....I've gone through the highs (finishing) and lows (seeing my pace) but I learned a lot about myself and my running style. So those are good things. I just need to get out there keep going, especially since one of my birthday presents was a paid entry to Race for the Taste!!

Way to Go Morgan! You ran your first 5K. There is a learning curve in racing, you have to learn how to pace and what YOU need to get you through the race. Its different for each individual so experience is the only way to figure it out.

Lou - Welcome to your new age bracket! Way to start it out in style.

The race weather was just completely brutal.

That is a complete understatement! Way to go. I guarantee you I would have stayed in bed.

Cindy- WAY TO GO!!! Can you send me a little pixie dust that I can break 2 hours this Saturday? Oh I am so happy for you!

Mike - Awesome time! Great Job.

Liz - Someone needs to be shot. How dare they do that to you? Go back and reread what Amybeth said and take it to heart.

 

[cdn_gal_eeyore]

Yesterday's Vancouver Sun Run was quite the event as 59,175 folks registered to make this the largest 10K road race in North America. A funky weather system rolled through western Canada though, making for some unseasonably chilly weather at the start, although not nearly as bad as what Carol experienced at the Tour de Airdrie! Luckily our hotel was right on the start line, and right at the corral we were in so we were able to head out at the last minute. I checked a top in at the gear check ($5) as I figured I would need it at the end.

What does it look like to line up with almost 60,000 other runners?

Our corral was the third to go as I predicted a 50-58 min finish (maybe a bit optomistic) so we crossed the start line 9 min after the official start. This race definitely holds a lot of memories for me as it was the first race I ever participated in. I absolutely love running in Vancouver and the course is amazing. My shin started bugging me after the first mile, but by about 2 miles it sorted itself out and I got into a groove. The km markers were flying by. I knew I wasn't on target to go sub 60:00, but I came in around 1:03:14 (still waiting on the official results). I hung around at the finish line waiting for my BF and he was less than 10 min behind me. There were a ton of people available to remove chips, unfortunately it was set up poorly. People were stopping at the first person they saw to get their chip removed, leaving plenty of chip removers behind them twiddling their thumbs. Apparently later in the race there was a schmozzle at the finish line with people being so backed up that they couldn't cross the timing mats. After chip removal we went to gear check and the line up was insane. This was what it looked like after 10 min of waiting:

I finally got to the front and I handed my bib number to a volunteer that I never saw again. After waiting for 20 min (along with lots of other runners that were waiting forever to get their gear) I flag another girl down to ask her to look for my bag. After several minutes I see her looking for someone else's gear as she had forgotten to look for mine. At this point in time a few of us decide to hop over the table to start looking for our stuff ourselves. I look all over the floor and nothing. As I'm about to write off my gear I see my bag on another table. I realize that volunteers are imperative to a race but the fact that whoever went to grab my bag didn't bother to make sure it got back to me - that really bothers me.

Apart from the snafu at the end I really enjoyed the race and the weekend in Vancouver was a great one. Too bad we have so much snow on the ground that it looks like January in Calgary now though!

Update on my results:
1:03:11
Overall: 15,953 out of 44,160
Females Overall: 5866 out of 24,866
F25-29: 1277 out of 3814

 

[wtpclc]

COngratulations to all teh WISHers!

FOrgive me for only singling out a few.

Paul - Way to go on teh PR!

Cheryl - WTG on your first tri!

CarolA - I think a big taper weekend will do you good. Itr's beetter to be under trained than over. So, if you stick to 3 to 5 (or less) this week, you will be fine. WTG for hangning in there on a tough race!

Blizzard - Remind me never to whine about MI winter again.

Liz - You did not fail. Repeat after me. "I did not fail" That is awful of them, but you can't beat yourself up fro their screw up!