My First Race Report

Two weekends ago, I had my first race since August. It was a 10 mile race. I’d never raced this distance, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it sounded like an interesting enough challenge. It was a low key race, one that really isn’t advertised or well known, but my friends kept talking about it and by listening to the excitement in their discussions and the fondness they had for races there past, I knew it would be a fun one. I almost didn’t go because I’d been struggling with a week-long sore throat that had finally turned into a cold/cough and I knew I wouldn’t be able push and run as fast as I had previously planned, but when my teammate texted me and told me she was looking forward to racing with me, I knew I had to go.

As a mother of 5-year-old twins, a constant consideration for me is who is going to watch my kids while I (and my husband—also and avid runner) race, aka run wild? Sometimes I actually just pass on races because I know no one is available. My husband works 24-hour shifts and simply just can’t be there sometimes. And when he is, he wants to race too! (Although there have been several occasions when he has forgone racing to watch the kids.) Usually, the easiest, least stressful solution is to have a relative spend the night at my house or to have the kids sleep over at grandma’s, so that the tiny people can continue to sleep while I sneak out in the early morning hours, way before the sun is up, to adventure off to my race. However, no one was available for this, so we opted to bring the kids and grandpa kindly volunteered to watch them at the race. This turned out to be a nice option because there basically was a post race party that they all were able to enjoy!

Low-key races have many fortunate perks. Parking is usually abundant and hassle free. You can usually sign up at the last minute—I love this perk, because I can wait and see how I feel and not loose money!  You don’t have to get there crazy early to be able to make it to the start line on time. One time before a marathon, I asked an official what time he thought I should get there and he said he liked to get there at 3 a.m. (the race had a start time of 6:30 a.m.) so that he could stretch and do yoga. What?! Needless to say, on this day we left at 6:30 a.m., the race was 30 minutes away, and had an 8 a.m. start. Nice! Another perk of low-key races…port-a-potties are a-plenty. No long lines! No ducking into a bush right before the start! Finally, often these low-key races really are a celebration of running, and as such have wonderful post race festivities with delicious food.

Upon our arrival, we quickly signed up for the race (only $45—not bad!) and joined my teammate for a brief warm-up. As we were jogging around and checking out the course, we were debating what the temperature would be during the race because we would run through patches that would have a crisp, fall-morning chill, but then we’d come across another patch of air that would be a blast of heat! Knowing, Southern California in the fall, we quickly concluded that because of the late start, temperatures would probably reach the 80’s easily while we were on the course. Based on this I made a last minute decision to ditch the long (and hot!) compression socks before my final pre-race pit stop. This proved to be a wise choice, as much of the course had no shade.

Lining up at the start. I'm in there somewhere. Can you see me? Wow I'm short! 

And what a race it was! My teammates had run this race before, so they knew what to expect. I had a feeling, based on how they discussed the race prior to this day, and the certain glimmer they had in their eyes, that I would be in for it. And I was! We started with a long and steep downhill, which wasn’t too bad, but of course we’d have to climb back up, and it wasn’t too long before we did. I don’t think I’ve ever run on a steeper uphill during a race, and this was only the first one! But that was ok. I truly don’t mind hills—up or down. I just knew I was going to have to work! The course flattened out—briefly and then we were diving back down hill. But this time it was a dirt trail with rocks thrown in! This I hate! I’m always worried that I’m going to trip—because I have so many times before! So today, I just played it cool and took it easy on those downhill sections. Eventually we made it to another uphill and climbed back out. This was followed by a flat, fast, paved mile-and-a-half. Then we repeated that loop again. What? Oh and did I mention the pipe sticking out across the trail that we had to hurdle twice? Luckily my teammate had warned me about that or I would have for sure tripped there!

The first hill!

Cresting the first hill! Where are my spikes? Look closely. You can see my teammate's feet and my husband's elbow.

My teammate charging down the next hill!

The "flat" fast part on the first lap.

Even though I was sick, and still coughing up phlegm before the race, I was glad I was there. I picked it up for the second half and really worked the fast, flat finish. This was, after all, supposed to be a workout. It was nice, because my coach was there racing too and he met me with a little under a mile to go and told me that I had the win and to just cruise to the finish. Of course I thought he was telling me the opposite, so it was a few minutes before I realized what he had said and eased up a notch. It was fun to cross the finish and have my twins and father-in-law there cheering for me!

The champ.

"Cruising" my way to the finish.

Now that's a team!

After we cooled down, it was time to enjoy the barbecue and awards ceremony. What a spread! By far, this was the best post race food I’ve ever had. And there was so much! My daughter decided that her first loose tooth needed to come out and that grandpa should pull it out right before the awards ceremony. I don’t think she realized what that meant as immediately after he pulled it out, she started crying and saying she wanted her tooth put back in. Ha ha! What a day!

Trying to get that tooth out with a wiggle. She has no idea what's in store.

Accepting my award with the toothless, crying kid.

One less tooth for this big girl! Happy again!