Free to Breathe 5K, Raleigh, NC, Nov 7, 2009

This race is part of the Second Empire series so I have to say I probably wouldn't have run one so soon after the NYC Marathon if it wasn't for that fact. I'd run 3 races in the series so far, and can only run two more so since they use your 6 best races to do the scoring, I needed to run this race to remain in the "running". The race raises money for lung cancer and I could definitely see the passion that the organizers, volunteers and runners who had loved ones that been impacted by this disease had. It was inspiring to hear the stories of the difference advances in cancer research have made. It made me glad I decided to do the race even thought I wasn't able to raise as much as I hoped, due to registering a bit later for this one.

I went into the race assuming it may not be a PR but was kind of hoping I'd be wrong...I wasn't. But it wasn't due to lack of trying or not being recovered enough from the marathon. It was due to all those darn hills! Those hills being mile one and mile 3. Yikes! That first mile was pretty tough. I didn't want to go out too fast and was going at a fairly speedy pace initially but once I hit the first hill in that first mile which was a really long one, I knew that mile would not be record breaking. It ended up being 6:49 so still not too shabby for the hilly course. Mile 2 was all down hill so I was able to pick up speed and pass at least 2 women (and maybe some men too but I don't recall) on this part of the course and managed to stay ahead of them for the rest of the race. That mile was 6:29 so pretty fast for me. If I could just do a similar pace in mile 3 it would be great. However since I hadn't looked at the course ahead of time I didn't realize that mile 3 was fairly hilly as well and while I continued to give it my best, there was no way that this was going to result in a PR. So I just kept the best pace I could.

Within mile 3, the course turns left at one point (you can see it on the map above, the weird little "tail" between mile 2 and 3) and then makes a u-turn and goes back straight (up a hill) so that it forms a T and you can therefore see all the runners that have already passed the u-turn. First of all, that is intimidating to see how many are in front of you, second because it curves around so much you can't see how much farther you have to go before you turn around and it seemed like that took forever and third, you can see that you have a hill coming once you turn around, before you even get there so that is also mentally challenging. The strangest part was that the u-turn goes right over a grass median. So you have to jump up on the curb to get over it (not fun for those with jogging strollers I'd guess!). And even stranger was that a few yards further down that street was a break in the median which is paved (so that cars can turn there). I wonder why they didn't just measure the course with that in mind and move the start/finish around a bit. Guess that would be more challenging to figure out, but I've never seen a race where you had to run up over the grass median.

Once I got past the u-turn point, I just kept plodding up the gradual hill. I was able to pass a few folks so I didn't give up by any means. But I was starting to feel that breathing was getting harder and I was feeling nauseous. I haven't really felt like that in a race in a while, not even in the marathon, so I knew I was pushing it pretty hard. I had my sights on a woman in front of me and kept gaining on her little by little up the hill. I saw the '1/2 mile to go" sign and then the "1/4 mile to go" sign (I was glad it was almost over!). I sped up but the finish was still all up hill. And she sped up too so she clearly wasn't out of steam. So I kept going as fast as I could but so did she so she finished 1 second ahead of me (gun time, 3 seconds chip time) but I was ok with that since I didn't give up and since I also found out she was 19. Mile 3 ended up being 6:51. The pace for the last 0.1 was 6:16. My chip time in the end was 21:05 (gun time 21:06).

I still felt a bit nauseous but stayed near the finish and saw Linda and Cindy finish. They did really well but also said it was a hilly course and not a PR. I think most runners who had run this one and the 5K 2 weeks before agreed that one was a much easier course to run. That one was hilly too but the hills were rolling and this was big long hills. I felt maybe the nauseousness meant I needed to eat so I saw they had some pizza and decided to have a slice which unfortunately only made things worse. So I went to the car to change and get the Yoo Hoo I had grabbed from the fridge this morning on the way out. Usually I'd have a Power Bar but was out of them and had kept reading that chocolate milk was the perfect recovery drink so that was a fast option (as long as the kids didn't see me stealing their Yoo Hoo, which they didn't). I changed and drank that and felt much better afterwards, so I think I found a new recovery drink, but now I just have to sneak it out of the house before races so the kids don't get mad at me for stealing their stuff!

My 12 yr old friend who I see at lots of races did really well. It wasn't a PR either but I could tell he was running strong and I never did catch up with him, he was about 8 second ahead of me. Whereas in the 5K 2 wks ago, I passed him after mile 2. So he ran a great race. He came first in his age group, as did Linda. I actually placed 2nd in mine, which is unusual. Usually I get third if I place. I think some of the top women overall who sometimes run these local races weren't there so that bumped up one of the 35-39 yr old women into the top 3 which bumped the rest of us up. Overall I was 52 of 335. I was 11 of the women (not sure how many, it wasn't posted and I didn't count them). I was 2 of 17 in my age group.

For this race they did a great job of getting the results up there and posted quickly which is great. Sometimes it takes forever and usually I just want to check it so I can see whether I should stick around or not in case I have someplace to be afterwards. They also got right on with the awards which was also great. No gift cards this time, but that was fine. I got a nice medal which my kids are usually more impressed with over gift cards. They took pictures of each award receipient which I am not sure if that was great or not, depends on how the picture comes out and where it gets posted I suppose!

While waiting for the awards ceremony I did get to meet a woman and her husband who also placed 2nd in their age groups (they were in their late 20's). They were very nice to talk with and it's always great to meet new people at the local races. I bet it's great for them to be able to run and race together and share that interest. I also got to meet Cindy's family which was nice.

So while not a PR and not the most fun course ever because of the hills, I did have a good time and a good first post-marathon race. I am kind of glad I didn't take much time off but after a 3mi easy run on Wed, the race on Sat and a 10.4 mile run on Sun, I am definitely looking forward to a rest day on Monday!

My next race is the Free K-Wayne 5K being held on Saturday, Nov 14, at the American Tobacco Trail. It's the first year for this race and it's being held by the family of a young man who lost his battle with depression. The race is free but donations are requested in his honor to raise money for mental health research. After that I may or may not do a turkey trot in Myrtle Beach while I am there visiting my inlaws for turkey day. I haven't registered yet because I am also considering taking that weekend off before jumping back into marathon training in December.

I have already registered for the remaining races in the Second Empire series, the Jingle Bell 5K and the St. Michael's Jolly Elf Trail Run. I did the Jingle Bell last year which raises money for arthritis research. I haven't done the Jolly Elf before, which is in Bond Park. I'm looking forward to those. I also registered for the Myrtle Beach half marathon (Feb 13) and the new Tobacco Road half marathon (Mar 21) which should be perfect tune ups for the Boston Marathon in April. Looks like some RTR and other running friends will be running one or both of these races so they should be lots of fun.