Thursday, July 10, 2008

katie's waveny park summer xc series 2 person 6 mile relay race report: guest post


once again i am so happy to post a race report from katie! while she was disappointed that our relay time was slower than our 2006 result, she still had a great time out there (even in the hot, humid conditions) - and that's really what it's all about!
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Last Tuesday I ran a race, a 6 mile relay for two people. My partner was my dad. Since I was really excited about this race, I made a point of coming home from my nonna’s house a day early. Unfortunately, when Tuesday came, it was surprisingly hot and humid – very bad running conditions.

The entire ride to the race we listened to the new B-52’s cd in the car, which helped “pump up” our attitudes. We arrived at waveny park around 6:15, which was about 45 minutes early since the race wasn’t scheduled to start until 7:00. Within 20 minutes, most of my dad’s friends had come and were getting ready to run. Before the race started, everyone was just talking or warming up and stretching.

Around 7:10 the first teammates lined up at the start. My dad and I decided that I would run first, and do miles, 1, 3, and 5. My dad would run second, and do miles 2, 4, and 6. We thought this was a pretty good plan.

As soon as the horn blew signaling the start, I ran off with all the other runners. The first mile was my best, since I was the least tired during it. I think my time was 8:55, or around there. The course was pretty familiar since I had done this race before. As soon as I tagged my dad’s hand, I went straight over to the ice cooler!

About 10 ice cubes later, I saw my dad coming back from his first loop and decided it would be a good idea if I lined up. The 2nd mile was the hardest for me, especially the very end of the loop that zigzagged across the field. Before the start of my third and final mile, which would be my slowest, I had a really smart idea. I decided to hold a chunk of ice in my hand while I ran! The only downside to my plan was that by the time I had run around the field to where the football players were practicing, all of my ice had completely melted!

Even though it was terribly hot, and I had a side stitch, I managed to sprint in the last 25-50 yards. As soon as my dad finished his last mile and our race was over, we gave each other big hugs and said, “good job!”

We didn’t win anything, but Mrs. Stocker gave me her race tee-shirt as a gift! I was very happy after we finished the race because she also gave me a popsicle. Since we wanted to get home before dark, my dad and I said our good-byes and drove home. In the car I told him how I had fun, but was disappointed about how slow I was. He said finishing was what mattered. The slow time was due to the hot weather and I would definitely do better next time. Overall, I really had a good time and hope to run more races this summer!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great job Katie. Any finish in the humidity that we've had lately is a great finish. Be proud and excited about your finish and getting to run with your dad!

DawnB said...

Katie you did great, the day was not a good one for racing. I'm not usually selfish person, but next time hold on to your ice, no sharing :)

CTmarathoner said...

Katie ---great job with the relay and with the guest report -it was fun to read about the race through your words. Sorry that you couldn't find any water -- guess the ice did the trick. It is tough to run at 7 p.m. in the heat and humidity so you did a good job! Mia really liked seeing you also -Francoise told me that she remembered you from 2 years ago!

Laura said...

Congratulations on a good finish, Katie! It's definitely hard to run in the heat. I did a 15K on Sunday where they passed out cups of ice, and I actually took the ice cup and held the open end to my forehead so that the ice was against my skin. I looked nuts, but felt great :)