Today is my first (Non-Disney) race that is not in my
town. Ooooh, I get to travel!
I decided to do a protein shake and just drink it in the
car. I was dressed and out the door by six. I drank my “Ovalpro” (2 scoops of
Ovaltine, 1 scoop flavorless protein powder and milk) and Powerade while
driving. It was a pretty uneventful drive – a few spits of rain, but nothing
major. The interstate was pretty quiet
this time of day and I made good time.
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| Light rain, but nothing crazy |
I got to the Deluca YMCA around 6:50 and got a good parking
spot (it was in a grass lot, so I was worried about mud, but all was fine).
I headed up to pick up my packet, and we were given a
LifeSouth reusable grocery bag with our packets. I was able to grab a bunch of
goodies before heading back to my car.
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| Bib and reusable grocery bag |
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| Note to self - ask for a LARGE next year - XXL was wayyyy too big! |
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| Awesome goodies - can coozies, granola, Post-Its, pens, lanyard, bottle opener and ... what is that white thing? |
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| Opening the white thing reveals a travel manicure case with scissors, trimmers, etc - way cool! |
My contact lens was bothering me and I was hoping that I could take it
out, rinse it with the eyedrops in my purse and put it back in. I wasn’t that lucky.
I sat in my car for almost a half-hour, rinsing the lens, putting it
back in, only to take it right back out because it was still irritating me. I
ended up putting my lens in the cap of my PowerAde bottle, and filling it with
rewetting drops.
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| Yes, I put my contact lens in there. It was either that or run the race with it in my mouth! |
Soon we were off and I remembered to start my interval timer
AND the Garmin! Win!!!
I never got a course map beforehand, so both literally and
figuratively, this was a blind run for me.
Mile 1 came quickly, and there was a guy giving out our
split times! I thought that that was great, because I don’t’ usually check my
watch when I hit mile markers. I think my split was 13:30 or so. I was happy
with it.
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| Mile 1 and the long slow incline - can you tell from this photo? |
From Mile 1 to Mile 1.75 or so, it was nothing but a long,
shallow incline. It just kept going and it was discouraging because I wanted to
run, but the hill and the heat said NO WAY!
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| Looking back at the hill I was climbing |
I kept chugging up the hill and by Mile 1.9, we turned off that road and
into a neighborhood, where the only water stop was. I gratefully took some
water, thanked my volunteers and made it to Mile 2, where there was this guy,
also giving out split times. I don’t remember what this one was.
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| Thank you, Splitman! |
At this point, I am as usual, near the back of the pack, and
I end up pacing a group that has a stroller with a bum wheel and a
fireman in full jump gear. I’d pass him, he’d pass me… you know the drill. But every time he passed me, I would get a
whiff of fire, like a fireplace or wildfire, and I’d try to figure out who was
burning, or who had their grill going this early. It wasn't until the 5th
or 6th time he passed me that I went DUH - *he* smells like fire!
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| I'll never complain about heat again! (Who'm I kidding - yes I will!) |
Around Mile 2.75 or so, there was a very nice guy in the
neighborhood who had turned on his harp sprinkler (you know, the kind that goes
back and forth like a fan?) and we all got to run through it, and it was very
welcome! It was getting way hot today (It’s June in FL, of course it’s hot!)
By this point, I could hear the announcer from the YMCA, so
I knew that I was close and I began my run toward the finish line.
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| I like that they put out a Mile 3 sign, even though the end is right there (OCD, I know) |
The finish line was great and I came in at 49.24!
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| Yes, I have hairy arms... |
I was given a COLD bottle of water
(Silver Springs, of course – they are 5 miles away!) and a yellow
carnation.
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| Frosty cold, like manna from heaven - the best bottled water in town! |
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| It looks pink next to my skirt! |
I wandered around to cool down, got another bottle of water
and a quarter of a bagel. I grabbed a
few more goodies from the “expo” (fruit gummies and a few hand sanitizers) and
ended up talking to some women for 10 minutes about the awesomeness of Sparkle
Skirts!
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| Official (edited) Finish Line Photo |
Soon, I headed towards some bleachers that were set up and I
ran into a good friend of mine, Betty and her hubby (whose name escapes me at
the moment). We chatted until the Awards started, then we all cheered and
clapped for the firemen, the benefactors of the race, and all of the Top 3
winners. Betty came in 3rd for her age group, too!
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| (1st) A Member of the Gainesville Galloway Group (2nd) Elizabeth Hanselmann - Leader of GGG (3rd) Betty! |
Once the awards were over and the chitchat was done, I
headed to the car. I needed to find somewhere to change clothes, and decided
that JCP at the Paddock Mall was perfect – I knew that the restrooms were right
off the side entrance (near the curtains), so I could slip in and out without
being noticed too much.
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| I plugged in my iPod when I started the car and this is the first song that came on - I rolled down the windows and cranked it up! |
I headed that
way, driving with one contact in, keeping an eye on my little PowerAde lid,
hoping that it wouldn't spill before I got to JCP.
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| Um, no - but my Car Tumbleweed could really use a bath.... |
Once at JCP, I encountered two old ladies in the parking lot
who were looking at me like I was a clown – I was wearing a SparkleSkirt,
compression sleeves, a big purple headband and braids. Probably pretty
silly-looking in The Real World! They
gave me weird looks as I passed them and headed into the restroom.
In the restroom, first order of business was to change, of
course, then to put in my contact. I stuffed my race clothes into my bag (I was
using my PHM mesh bag, so that the race stuff could breathe) and walked back to
my car. I tossed in my stuff, then went BACK into JCP to window shop (I ran into the Old Ladies again, and they were thoroughly confused to see me in regular clothes!) I ended
up with a new shirt, and then walked around the rest of the mall (pit-stopping
at the potty again…) and tried to decide on lunch. Part of me wanted
Chik-Fil-A, but the fat girl in my wanted Golden Corral, which was right down
the street.
Fat girl won. I ended
up getting the lunch buffet with water for $9 (not a bad price), and I
proceeded to stuff my face, as usual, until I was so full I waddled out of
there. Ugh, so not worth it….
After lunch, it was back to Gainesville to do my Wal-Mart/Publix
shopping, then I headed home. I was getting a headache……
Would I do this race again? Oh, yeah! I love my
firefighters, no matter what town they serve. The course was pretty easy
(though, I’ll have to remind myself about that hill) and everyone was very
friendly and encouraging. Definitely
want to do it again next year.
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| Photo Courtesy of The Calder Family |
