Sunday, July 28, 2013

O-H! 1-0!!

Nothing reinvigorates a flagging project like a good numerical pun! (Okay, like a numerical pun, anyway.)

That's right, constant readers (hi, Mom and Dad!), I've completed my tenth race and I did it in the Buckeye State while visiting my good friends Lee and Holly and their adorable son, Oscar. Here I am with Lee, while waiting for the awards ceremony following the Tigertown 5000 to begin:

Gotta love a fuzzy selfie!
And why was I sticking around for the awards ceremony, you ask? No, I didn't magically develop the ability to run at race-winning speeds. Rather, I sort of accidentally brought attention to this blog and to my fifty-state project ... that is to say, I waffled so long that I missed the registration deadline and kind of begged via email to be allowed to participate, anyway, using this project (and my numerical pun) as reasons why it would be so cool for me to get to run the race. Well, race coordinator Doug Desgrange was so enthusiastic that he not only said I could still participate, he comped my race entry fee and made me promise to stick around after the race! But more on that soon.

I made sure to find Doug and thank him as soon as I was checked in on race morning.
But, as I've said, more on that soon. (photo by Lee Fearnside)
As seems to be an ongoing theme in this blog, I've been having trouble motivating myself, lately. In fact, I've only been running a few times since Race #9 (Brooklyn) in April. Part of that was due to the bronchial plague I developed just after that race, part of it was end-of-the-school-year busyness, and part of it was, well, being a big, lazy lump. There was also the whole either-sweltering-or-pouring ridiculousness of this summer's weather, but I don't need to pile on the excuses just now. Point is, I just wasn't feeling much like running.

I even decided against running a race at the end of the week I spent in Vermont earlier this month, even though that state is still on my to-do list. It's sort of funny, how a state which is really not that far from where I live has ended up being one I've now delayed twice. It ended up being a good idea: on Saturday, July 20, it was around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In Vermont. I mean, seriously? And also, for being so close to home, it makes sense to run there on a weekend when someone from home has time to come up and watch me, which wasn't the case this time.

Maybe Vermont will end up being #50? That would be sort of funny ... we'll see.

Back to Tigertown, aka Liberty Center, Ohio, where the 10th annual Tigertown 5000 was run yesterday morning, Saturday, July 27, 2013. It was a perfect morning for running: cool and overcast. I was nervous and excited, and not sure what to expect after Doug's enthusiastic emails, but when I tracked him down after watching the 1k Ricky's Race fun run, he was extremely friendly and just glad I was there. He made me feel like a real VIP, even introducing me to the mayor and the sheriff! This simple girl from Little Rhody didn't feel worthy of all the fuss, but it was really nice to be so warmly welcomed.

By the time we were gathered at the starting line (having found my 28:00 pace group), I was in pretty good spirits:

Photo by Lee Fearnside
... and, especially for not having trained much at all, I ran a pretty good race! I beat my Race Judicata (#9, Brooklyn) time by officially 3 seconds, setting a new second-best time: 28:22, which was good for 18th in my class, 114th among women and 314th overall, out of a field of 493 finishers. (I'd like to be closer to the halfway point in terms of place, but this was a fast race, obviously!)

As I approached the finish line, I was excited to be setting a new PR-except-for-the-Gaspee (which is a Thing, in my world, because of how much faster I ran at that race than ever before or since), and to be hitting the 20% mark in my Fifty States project:

Photo by Lee Fearnside
And then, for the awards ceremony. May I just take the opportunity to say: If you like door prizes, hie thee to Liberty Center next July, because I have never seen so many door prizes in my life! Doug did a great job of passing everything out as quickly as possible, and making sure pretty much everyone left with something: from Monster drinks to Sauder furniture to Mizumo pint glasses to Michelob running shirts, and let's not forget the most popular item, some locally-made pies that looked absolutely scrumptious!

Late in the ceremony, Doug called me up on stage to introduce me and mention this project. I got a big round of applause for making the trip, even with my visit to Lee, Holly and Oscar being the main reason for my excursion. Everyone was so nice!

Photo by Lee Fearnside
I didn't get any pie, but that was just as well, because—as I had mentioned to Doug in our email exchange—I am gluten intolerant and wouldn't be able to eat it, anyway. But, thanks to Doug and to event sponsor Anheuser-Busch, I did go home with a special prize: a six-pack of Redbridge beer! (And yes, Mom, I still have some left.)

For some more event photos, check out the Facebook page for Dave's Running Shop, which was an event co-sponsor and also gave all runners a mystery-discount envelope. I got 20% (appropriately enough) off some nifty new running attire and one of those oval car stickers. Now that I'm 1/5 of the way done, I feel I can claim my preferred race distance:

It's not 26.2, but it's honest!
I haven't decided where #11 will be, nor whether it will happen in 2013 or 2014, but I do feel reenergized to keep up the running and the blog. Hard to believe I've gotten this far in just over two years!

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