• Race with Grace 2018

    From Ed Prochak@21:1/5 to All on Mon Sep 17 07:25:12 2018
    Standard intro :)
    I have not been running races very much so each one is special.
    Race with Grace is doubly special because it is a family event.
    The Grace Foundation is a great organization to help those battling
    all forms of cancer. Find out more at:
    http://www.marygracefoundation.com

    Well this year, several of the nephews bailed on the race and
    just did the walk. So there were only 5 of the family running.


    Two weeks before the race I had gotten some severe back pain.
    Now I hate to take anything stronger than aspirin, but the
    pain was bad enough that I used a couple left over prescription
    pain pills left over from some dental work I had. I was concerned
    because I did not know if this was a pulled muscle or a possible
    kidney stone. Thankfully the worst passed in a couple days.

    Now the day of the race and I am still slightly worried about
    the back pain. Will it flare up and cause me to have my first DNF?
    I decided against taking any preventative pain killers. I did feel
    much better so just had to sick it. But I did try something.

    Although I have been caffeine free for a few months now, I
    figured that I could use every boost I could, since age and
    lack of regular training certainly would not positive factors!
    So 20 ounces of Breakfast Blend and about 8 pretzels were my
    breakfast on the way to the race.


    This race keeps growing. I had to park at one of the outer lots
    and take the shuttle to the starting area.

    It was slightly cooler than last year when I arrived, but the
    rising sun was quickly burning off any remaining fog and starting
    to warm things up. Stupid me forgot to pack a hat or even a
    sweatband. That did make it difficult during the race as I had
    to wipe my eyes regularly. (official race time temp was 72F

    I haven't been running regularly, but I had a goal pace of
    8 minutes per KILOMETER. Impressive? NOT. But as a dear friend
    used to say, it is what it is.

    Once I started actually running (lots of walking at the start
    due to the crowd of runners), I remembered how much fun this
    could be! I varied my pace quite a bit meaning that I passed
    some folks and then got passed back in return. I did play this
    leapfrog sort of game with my nephew (in-law) for 4 kilometers.

    A couple young ladies encouraged me on that last kilometer.
    I must have looked worse than I felt! 8^) We ran about the same
    pace, but they pulled ahead of me in the final straightaway.
    I crossed the line at 41:10. Of course I forgot to stop the
    timer app on my phone! So it says over 42 minutes. But it did
    tell me that I managed my pace fairly well. First kilomeeter
    was right at 8 minutes, and the fastest was the last kilometer
    at 7:29!

    I checked and last year I did it in 38 minutes, so I am off
    by 3 minutes (1 minute per mile)! I need to make that up!

    Well thanks for reading and remember

    Enjoy the run!

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