The day could have gotten off to a better start. I woke up with a headache, totally self-inflicted so I was determined to power through it. See, I'm a caffeine addict. I don't mean I'm cranky before I have my morning coffee. I mean I get migraine-like withdrawal headaches if I don't keep up with the habit, and I was on the go so much on Friday between a morning run, afternoon at the park, and evening getting a new dog that landed on our doorstep settled in that I just didn't feel much like anything other than water. And I was paying for it as I got ready to go, but after a breakfast of Motrin and toast I was feeling a bit better by the time we got on the road.
It was cool and cloudy when we arrived, but as the morning progressed the sun did make an appearance. The weather really couldn't have been better - probably mid-60s with a gentle, warmish breeze. We got to Lake St Clair Metropark around 8:30, which gave us plenty of time to pick up our race packets and stretch a little before the 9:30 start.
Shanna had to have her picture taken in front of the giant manatee balloon.
It was clearly a family-oriented event. The race packet for under-12 runners included a really cute stuffed manatee. A DJ was on hand to entertain the crowd, playing a very beachy selection of tunes, heavy on the Jimmy Buffet. Very apropos since Jimmy Buffet is one of the founders of the Save the Manatee club. An adorable clown was on hand making some very creative balloon animals for the kids, including manatees of course.
The first race of the day was the Mini-Mile and it was really cute watching the little ones line up to run. The youngest child out there couldn't have been more than 3 or 4, and it got me thinking that next year maybe Katie would like to join us.
Then it was our turn. The turnout was bigger than I'd expected, about 1200 people registered for either the 5K run or 2 mile walk, but once we got a few hundred yards from the start the course didn't feel crowded at all. Shanna and I ran together for about the first half mile, then I slowed to walk some and she left me in her dust. I only caught sight of her once after that, when the course doubled back on itself, and according to her time she was at the finish line about as I hit the 2 mile marker.
The course itself was very nice. The park occupies a small outcropping into the lake, and the course went all the way out to the end before doubling back and winding through the more developed parts of the park.
I ran about half of the first mile, then walked all of the second, then alternated between running and walking through the rest. My overall time wasn't bad - 46:47, which breaks down to 15:05 per mile. I'm shooting for 15 minutes as my first pace goal, because that feels comfortably under the 16min/mile pacing requirement for the time-limited races I'm interested in, so I did get close and was slightly faster than my best training run so far. I was disappointed with myself for not running more, though. I wasn't sore and was only mildly tired afterwards, so I know I could have pushed myself harder.
I was very proud of Shanna, though! Her final time was 31:11, pretty good for a first effort especially since she abandoned me on our C25K program for the duration of track and baseball seasons!
All in all it was a very nice outing. I'm taking today off to work on things in my garden and around the house, but I'll be right back out on the track tomorrow morning to get ready for the next race, which right now is looking like it'll a local charity fundraiser on July 20th.
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