I've really, really, really missed race day. Haven't had that I'm-so-pumped-to-run-at-the-crack-of-day feeling since Kalamazoo over two months ago.
So I was super excited this morning to wake up early for the Escape to Belle Isle 10k!
Megan and I talked about this race on our Thursday 3-miler, and she invited me to go along with her and her RunningFamily to do it since I'd been debating opting out of the Fenton Bastille Day 15k.
We met at Megan's parents' house just after 7 a.m. as they'd graciously offered to cart us all downtown. Her parents are so sweet - her dad walks in 5k races while her mom holds all of goods and snaps great pictures of everyone!
Belle Isle is actually a little island right off the coast jaggedy shoreline of Detroit, right in the Detroit River. It's a very pretty place, with lots of water views, parks, and places to walk, run and bike. I was happy to see the Isle again and make peace with it since the last time I ran on it was during Miles 19-22 of the Detroit Marathon where I pretty much wanted to die.
Once arriving, we quickly checked in (and I registered, since this was a kind of last minute thing), nabbed some funky yellow dry-fit race shirts, and posed for a plethora of pictures.
The Two Megans in action!
Megan's family (they all compete together, how cool!) + me, a creepy creepster.
The race (both 5 & 10k) didn't start until 8:30, so we had a bit of time to kill in the shade sweltering heat. We all commented that a 7:30 start would've been better to help combat the July heat.
While we waited, I contemplated my race plan. I've been running what's been, for me, rather slow since LBA's arrival in my belly, averaging between 10 - 10:30/mile. However, I know race day amps me up, so I planned to keep pace around 9:45-10:00, with an overall goal to run the race in around an hour.
Additionally, walking through water stops was a must - hydration is key during any race, pregnant or not!
The 10k course wound around the island; the 5k course cut through about halfway. While the terrain was very flat and fast, the island offered little shade or breeze. We ran the first half pretty much straight into Hell the glaring sun.
Water station placement was great at this race. I stopped at each one: mile 1.75, 3.25, 4.5, and 5.5. The water wasn't as bone-chilling cold as I wanted, but I can't really complain about free water on a hot race course.
Besides being really sweaty (like sweat dripping from every inch of my skin and got weird looks from people after because it looked like I peed myself sweaty), I felt pretty good throughout the race. Knowing that time was just something that was ticking as I ran, and not something that was governing my entire run, helped me to get through each mile and maintain even pacing.
When I saw my Garmin click over to 6.0 miles, I kicked it up a notch and strode it out to the finish line.
Thanks, Megan's mom, for being an awesome race photographer!
Final time: 58:11, good enough for a 4th place age group finish! Yippee!
ETA: Just realized this was a PR for me by 26 seconds!)
Splits:
The course was a hair short of 6.2, I think, but whatever. I'll take a 9:33 any day!
Shortly after finishing, I found Megan who finished 3rd in our age group! and we waited for the rest of our group to come in.
Despite the heat, I'd give this race two very qualified thumbs up. It was a mere $25, and we got nice dry-fit shirts and fun little medal. The course was flat, water stations were abundant, and Belle Isle made for pretty scenery.
Post-race photo bomb!
But the morning wasn't quite over, at least not until we got a post-race Slurpee. Yum. So cold. So good.
So much better than the coconut water I drank with my lunch when I got home:
Gross. Me no likey.
Now it's off to do fun Saturday things!
Anyone else racing this weekend? Tell me about it!