LHI Run for Hope 2012 Race Recap

 This past weekend, Emily and I (along with Emily's parents, brother, and friends) ran the LHI Run for Hope 2012 5K/Mile Fun Run. Living Hope International is building an orphanage in Zambia and the money raised will be going towards those building efforts. There was a rendering of the design set up in the church (Oak Pointe Church in Novi). Very cool. Adoption is a cause close to my heart as my siblings and I are adopted (domestic), and I love to run for a great cause!

To start off the race, I took out my camera to take a picture, and my battery said "Exhausted." Ironically, that is exactly how we were all feeling. Friday night, Emily and a group of friends had gone to Cedar Point for Halloweekends. We didn't get home until 2:30 AM. When I arrived home, I found out that "he who shall not be named," had accidentally left the gate open, and both Sydney and Kona had gotten loose. So, at 2:30 in the morning I was combing the woods and neighbor's backyards for my lost dog. I'm sure I frightened everyone...Sorry, neighbors, do not panic, I'm not trying to rob you. Just looking for my prodigal dog. Fortunately, I found Sydney around 3:30 AM, and Kona had run back to the house shortly before.

So after a great night's sleep, of 3.5 hours, I woke up and was out the door by 8:45, to get to Emily's at 9 to leave for the run. Fortunately, this was a 10 AM start run, which gave us more time to try and revive our tired legs. Also, Emily's parents were kind enough to do packet pick up for us earlier that morning, as packet pick-up started at 7:30 AM.

When we arrived at the church, where home base was, it was about 40 degrees and quite chilly, however, I checked the weather and it said "no rain until the afternoon." Around 9:40 we meandered to the start line to watch the end of the "Fun mile" run and wait for ours to start. In between this time, I met a new friend named Kellie. She is a friend of Emily's family and is running the Free Press Half next week. (I am running the full). We started chatting, and I decided to tag along with her on the run. Additionally, the course was USATF certified, and I was excited because this is the first time I've run a certified course! We started promptly at 10 AM, which was great because it was starting to rain and very cold and windy. Kellie and I made our way through a very nice subdivision and down a small grassy hill to a wood chip path. It was really pretty running through the woods, if only for a minute or two. Then, it was back into the subdivision, where we stayed til we reached the finish line. There was one water station in the middle, and hats off to the volunteer standing in the rain holding out water cups! I didn't stop, but I was glad there was a water stop should I have needed it. We were averaging a 8:15 mile according to my Garmin, which is a little faster than my "fast" pace, but it was really great to have Kellie pacing me, and have someone to chat with as well. I never have a racing partner, and she was a life-saver after no sleep, and freezing weather.

We got to mile 3 and all of a sudden Emily's little brother came running out of no where and speedily raced on to the finish line. I was slightly jealous. GO Ian!!! Then the rain was starting to come down and we just pushed ourselves, and I finished with a time of 25:51, over a minute PR for the 5K for me. I also won first in my age group. Kellie won 2nd in her AG! Congrats, Kellie! We then waited for the rest of our group to finish. We were standing on the side watching the runners come in, when we saw a blur of pink barreling towards us. Ian said "is that my mom???." Let me back up and tell you that Mary, is Emily's mom, and is not normally a runner. BUT, she is the fastest walker I have ever seen in my entire life, and walks everyday on her lunch break. Anyway, Mary was running her first 5K.  She said "I got so caught up in the excitement, I had to run." So awesome! Great job, Mary! So glad I got to see it!

After we gathered all our people, we went back to the church, where they had water bottles, and some granola bars and other snacks. I was so thankful that we were able to go inside, because waiting out in that weather would have been killer. We stayed for the age group awards, and since Emily and I had both won 1st in our AG's we got LHI Waterbottles! The overall winners received running store gift certs. A fitting prize, indeed. I also need to mention that this 5K gave out finisher's medals to everyone. That is pretty special, because most 5Ks do not give out finisher's medals. We also received a Brooks long-sleeve tech shirt in our race packets. As always, I am an awkward turtle with sizing, and after a few races where my size small shirt was Barbie sized, I now tend to order a medium. Well, the medium is a bit big on me, but it's such a great quality shirt, I will definitely wear it. You can see in the photos, the tech shirts, as some people wore theirs right away.

The Prodigal dog was found safe and sound.

Also, most of the pictures I will post are from DS Photography    Dan Smith of DS photography, kindly donated his time, and photography skills to photograph the race. AND, he allowed us to download the pictures from his website, free of charge! Most race photos, you have to pay for, so this was a really neat opportunity! Thank you very much Mr. Smith! This was a great event, for a great cause! I hope to run next year as well! Overall, it was very organized and had a great set up. Thank you to all the volunteers, and race coordinator for such a fun time!

Us, the night before at Cedar Point. Some how, I managed to look super geeky. Yes, I am wearing the same neon orange sweatshirt as race day. I had a fear of getting lost at Cedar Point. Made sure everyone could see me at all times :) Photo courtesy of Emily's phone!

Finisher medals: Courtesy of DS Photography

Headed towards the finish: Photo-DS Photography

Ian speeding past Kellie and I. He is also wearing the LHI tech shirt we received in our bags-Photo-DS Photography

Jim crossing the finish line- Photo- DS Photography

Emily, finishing strong: Photo- DS Photography

And it was raining at this point: Photo- DS Photography

Mary, Emily's mom about to cross the finish, a more joyful runner you have never seen! Photo: DS Photography

Here you can see it is pouring. Photo- DS Photography

Miss Heather about to cross the finish line! Photo: DS Photography

Myself, Emily, and my running buddy Kellie! Photo from Emily's phone

Age Group Winner Photo: Courtesy DS Photography

We went to Leo's Coney for breakfast afterwards! Omlettes for all!

Run for the Hills 10K Recap

So, I was super excited about this 10K. It was my first 10K I've run much farther than 6.2 miles, but never on an "official" capacity. I found out about this race through my favorite site to plan all my runs through: Active.com.

I was even more excited when I found out that a race fee discount was available if you registered as a team, and since Jon thinks I am breaking the bank with my racing, a team was created. Girls from the Hills, team name created by my sister in law, Melody. Our team was my BFF Emily, a new friend (to me) Lauren, and my sister in law, Mel.

Day before the race dawns, we receive an email. "Sorry folks, the race website has been hacked. We're sorry for the inconvenience, hope it will be fixed soon." This caused a little bit of chaos, since packet pick-up was supposed to be one place and then at the last minute it was somewhere else, but no harm done. Emily and I picked up our packets, and were greeted by a most enthusiastic race director and lots of help. It was well-organized and quick. Having spent crazy amounts of time at packed pick-up places, this was a welcome relief.

Saturday came, and it was beautiful weather. The weather could not have been more perfect for racing. It was sunny and just a tad bit cool, and after the scorching weather we've had all summer, I'll take it. We arrived at Sorrows Catholic Church, where we were directed to park, and there was plenty of parking, which was so convenient and helpful. Mel and I made our way down the hill to Shiawassee park to meet up with Emily and Lauren. While we were at the bottom of the hill, Emily reminded us that in order to get out of the valley we were in it was going to be a steady incline of many hills. I hadn't previously given that much thought, and was suddenly slightly nervous.

Before the race start, the crowd judged the teams who were in costume. Some of them were more "creative" than others. Some of the memorable teams were "Kiss 2.0" (complete with face paint and costumes), and "The Knights who say knee." "The Knights" had plastic swords and cookie sheet shields. In the end, Kiss 2.0 won. Although, in the end all I think they had was stinging eyes from sweaty face paint. "The Knights" placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in their age division.

After an interesting rendition of the National Anthem (I was not expecting the high-pitched trill, from the female vocalist), we lined up at the starting line. The gun went off, and so did we. Slow go at first, and then I started to pass people, when I'm racing I get into what Emily calls my "Energizer Bunny" mode, and completely focus on racing. I didn't realize notice anyone at all, except for the mother runner pushing a newborn in the jogger, wow SHE WAS FAST! I was so impressed, and tried to keep up with her, no such luck. We parted ways at the split off for the 5 and 10K.

As expected for the "Run for the Hills" located in Farmington Hills, there were ALOT OF HILLS! It seemed like everytime I got to the top of one hill, there was another hill waiting. I literally didn't think I was going to make it. I felt like I was running in place sometimes. Finally, I started getting into the groove, and looked around, there was no one running with me. I figured I was either dead last or everyone was running the 5K. I looked at my Garmin, the entire time I was running I was in the 8s, which for me is amazing. I felt strong and pressed on. I almost never stop for water, but was really feeling the need to. So I grabbed a cup and started to drink. Then I choked, it was not water, it was Powerade. And I ran on very sticky. GROSS! I got to the top of the last hill, and started running as fast as I could down, small problem though: The cops were not able to stop traffic for us at the bottom of the hill. So I had to wait for a cop to stop traffic on both sides and let us through. I sprinted as fast as I could towards where I thought the finish line was. No one was in front of me, so I ran as hard as I could.  Imagine my disappointment, when I realized the finish line was not as close as I thought. I crossed the finish line, but the finish line clock wasn't working. I consulted my beloved Garmin, and it said 53:04. I was quite surprised. So I grabbed some water and waited for the rest of my team. Everyone did really well, including Emily who reached her goal of under an hour! AWESOME!

We decided to stay for the awards ceremony, and I'm so glad we did, because I placed 3rd in my age division! I missed 2nd place by 2 seconds. But, because of the staggered start times, I didn't actually see anyone in front of me. Nevertheless, I was quite excited! What a fantastic first 10K!

Emily and I are running the Run for the Wind 5K this weekend. Hoping for some great times for both of us!

Team Girls from the Hills

Me, Lauren, and Emily

Mel finishing strong!

Emily crossing the finish line!

3rd in my age division

Photo courtesy of Greg Sadler Photography

SYTO 2012 Race Recap

This past Saturday, my friend Emily and I ran the SYTO Virtual 5K from The Boring Runner
If you don't follow him on twitter @theboringrunner, you probably should. Very "tongue in cheek" humor, which I appreciate.

Saturday started at 5:15 AM for me. I had a 14 mile training run on the docket, and was planning on finishing it at Emily's house, and then just running the 5K from there. Well, while running my 14 miler, I remembered that it takes what seems like countless ages, to cross the major intersections I would need to cross to get to her house. So, I scrapped that plan and decided to run a route by my house and then drive over. So, I did my 14 miler. Oh, did I forget to mention? It was 75 degrees and 90% humidity at 6 AM. By the time I finished my training run, rehydrated, stretched and drove to Emily's house, there was not a single inch of me that was dry. Also, my deepest sympathies to the folks who were subjected to my first trial run of my new compression shorts. They were rather short....Yes, I know....

Upon arrival at Emily's house at 9:30 AM, we warmed up (although with the 85 degree temps with 90% humidity), it's safe to say we were already warmed up....We set out on our 3.1 journey, and were immediately struck by how STIFLING the air was. Shrugging it off, we pressed through Emily's pre-mapped route. Since we live in a place called Farmington HILLS, there were a few tiny hills on this run, but mercifully there were no large hills, because Emily probably would've had to carry me up them.

Around 2 miles, my legs were dying and sweat was flying off of both of us. I didn't even know if I had any sweat left. Poor Emily, she put up with my extremely slow pace, and for that I am very grateful. We finished in 31:30. Our worst time for a 5K ever. We're going to go ahead and blame the heat, because we were too busy "Sweating our Thorns Off." When we arrived back at Emily's house, her kind mother took pity on my 17 total miles that day, and made me a delicious omelet. No pictures of said omelet, because I was too busy eating...Well, on ward and upward. Check back next weekend for a recap of my first team 10K. GO GIRLS FROM THE HILLS!

My 14 miler before the 5K

Em and I before our 5K

After. There was alot of sweating...

Thanks, Amanda for this lovely profile.

SYTO 2012