The Connection Runners

Crim 10-Mile Race Recap

Crim #4 is officially in the books!

The Crim was the first long-distance race I ever completed, and to this day, it remains my favorite race of the season. The course is challenging, but not ridiculous, the spectator support is second to none, and the afterparty beats all other afterparties I ever been to.

Here's how things shook out this year.

Kevin and I headed up to Flint immediately after he left work on Friday to join in the pre-race festivities.

We meet a big group of friends and family at Churchill's on Saginaw Street for their all-you-can-eat pasta, salad, and breadsticks dinner. (I definitely made good on that AUCE bit.)

After stuffing ourselves with carbs, we headed over to the race expo to pick up two last minute bibs for our friend Dave and his girlfriend, Brooke, and to peruse the usual booths filled with gear and GU.

We've never been to the Crim expo before. I was surprised that there was even an expo for a 10-mile race, but it was actually pretty good. The Crim is, after all, one of the largest 10-mile races in the entire nation.

I wanted to pick up a little something for our baby girl, and right as we were leaving, we stumbled upon (and bought) this adorable onesie.

Add that to her ever-growing Suri Cruise collection of clothing.

Back at Friend Kevin's house, we enjoyed a few drinks (beers for some, water for me!) and hit the sack early. Our group of 11 had a 6 a.m. wake-up call to look forward to.

In the morning, we noshed on bagels, English muffins, cereal and bananas before hitting the road at 6:45 a.m. 6:52 a.m. to make it downtown a little after 7.

Our three carloads met up with the rest of our race party, and we headed towards the start line with the 10,000+ other participants. (Along with the 10-mile race, you can do an 8k, 5k or 1 mile run/walk.)

Everyone partnered/grouped up according to pace; I ran with our friend Matt's girlfriend, Kara. We planned to keep it at a steady pace between 10:00-10:30/mile.

And suddenly, we were off! Kara and started off a little quick, but soon reined it in and fell into a comfortable pace that we were able to maintain throughout the race.

Miles 5-7 were definitely the toughest, as runners face the dreaded Bradley Hills, a series of short but steep rolling hills; the Bradleys are almost immediately followed by a few long, steady inclines while on Miller Road during Mile 7.

Fueling: I took one lemon-lime Gu just before the Bradleys at Mile 5. Kara and I also stopped for water at mile 5 (w/ the Gu) and Gatorade at mile 8. Other than that, we took no walk breaks.

The sun really broke through during the last few miles, and we had to push to get to the end. Once we saw the bricks, though, Kara and I picked up the pace and gave it our all.

Official Finish:

Awesome! We finished right in my goal range of 1:40-1:50, and just about 5 minutes slower than what I ran at the Crim last year. Very pleased :)

After snagging some deliciously cold popsicles and water, Kara and I met with the rest of the boys, who all ran excellent, sub-1:20 times. Friend Kevin ran a 1:14:07 PR, while husband Kevin got his Crim PR of 1:16:54!

Hot pizza and cold beer (or Sierra Mist for the pregnant lady) waited for us at the afterparty, but we took a few minutes to change and pose for some photos.

Wearing my For Two Fitness tank and showcasing the 20-week bump!

We always take a photo on the Bricks after the race.

This was 3/4 of our group - a few friends had to leave before we could sneak in a group shot. Sad face.

This year's 10-mile race was the first for Emily & Kristen (far left) and Cassie (far right). It's always awesome to bring in some newbies!

When we finally ate all of the pizza and drank all of the available beer at the party felt ready to go home, I was a bit sad, like how I feel when I wait all year for Christmas and then it comes and goes in an instant.

But my pregnant lady emotions were quelled with a few more hours of post-race partying out on the lake and the though that the next Crim was just 364 days away!

Cheers to all on another GREAT Crim Race Day!