Race Reports —- The Races that were not...

 Six Pillars Black Water Tour - 56 miles

I got everything ready on Friday night and when my alarm went off at 4:50am on sat I wasn't too tired. I was out the door about 5:15 and thought I had everything I needed: bike, check: helmet, check: sun glasses, check: cycling outfit, check!

We parked the car and I changed into my cycling shorts in the middle of the road by my car, which Jason thought I was crazy for doing. I'm sure everyone who saw me has seen a girl in underwear before, right? We picked up our numbers, got our que sheet, went to the bathroom one last time, and made our way to the start line. This was a rolling start and not a timed race, so everyone was so relaxed, which seemed so different to me than a running race. And off we went.

Just two miles into the ride..pop!...Jason gets a flat!! The best way to describe this is with a lot of F_ing and mother F_ing going on! I stopped my watch because I knew it was going to be awhile. Everyone who rode past us was super nice and asked if we needed any help! Finally after 25 minutes we were on our way again!

The ride was going great and then..smack..head wind! No! I hate wind! It seemed like the longest stretch on this highway and the wind was really making my legs start to hurt. Finally we turned off that road and got a break from the winds. Rest stop one came up pretty quickly and I had to stop to use the potty! We were probably stopped for about 5 minutes only and I got a chance to talk to a DC Tri Club member (I just signed up yesterday!). I tried my best to keep up with that group ... but NOT A CHANCE! So I settled back into my nice comfy 15-18 mph. About 25-30 miles into the course they had a great newly paved road. There was no head wind and I felt like I was really going fast! I think this is were I hit 22 mph! Although I almost ran over a buzzard that was eating a dead squirrel in the middle of the road. The bird wouldn't let it go and ended up dragging the squirrel across the road as my tire nearly missed it! I didn't need to stop at rest stop 2 and kept on riding! But just about 2 miles after the rest stop the signs were confusing and there was a bunch of cyclists stopped because we had no idea which way to go? We all took a leap of faith and hoped we were still heading in the right direction! Which we were, yippy!

My legs/back started to hurt a bit about mile 40 as there was no time to really coast on this course because it was so flat! (which is a super thing)! I would try to coast and draft off Jason for a bit. I felt like I was running out of energy about this point as well and ate some of my shot blocks and drank some water. As soon as I put my water back I see signs for rest stop 3 (mile 43). We coasted into the rest stop for a quick 5 minute break were I had a cheese stick and some gator aid, then off we went. Only 13 more miles to go!!!

Before I knew it we were back on the same stretch were Jason got his flat .. only 2 more miles! I changed gears and tired to ride strong for the last miles. Before I knew it, I was crossing the finish line!!! 3:24 minutes!!! this is about 17 mph average which is better than I had excepted to ride. This of course is the time without the flat tire and two 5 minute breaks included. But still, I'm happy.

This was my first ever cycling event and I had so much fun! The course was nice and flat and the weather was perfect at 75 or so! As I mentioned at the earlier, I thought I had everything, but about half way through the tour I remembered that I forgot to but on sun screen! Ouch, my alarms and legs are still super red!

Dead Man's Run - 5K

The race started at 8:00am and I wasn't nervous at all because it was such a short distance. I live only about a 10 minute walk from the start of race, so I didn't even have to get up super early. Although in the middle of the night and sat up and said, OMG this race is not timed! This was such a bummer to me, before and after the race.

Once I got there, I tired to make my way to the front of the line, and got as close as I could and off we went! The race was though a cemetery so as I was dodging people I was also trying to look at all the cool grave stones. At mile one I looked at my watch at I was at 7:10 pace! What! I never run this fast! I tired my best to keep this pace and did not look at my watch at mile 2. I just kept running and passing people :) Right before the finish we had to run up a hill.. thanks a lot! ... but I really tired to push it! I crossed the finish line at 22:40 on my watch! The little clock they had was about 20 seconds ahead of my watch time. Wait ... is this fair since it was not chip timed? In the official results I ended up finishing 8th out of all women and 5th in my age group with a time of 22:56. Wish I had made my way to the front of the line so my watch time matched their official time.

Although this race was fun and I loved that it was different and went through a cemetery, I don't know if I want to run it again since it was not chip timed. But, I suppose I can always just start closer to the start line. I would say this is a pr for me, but as mentioned I have never ran a 5k before. So, now I think I have to sign up for another that is chip timed and see if I can beat my time.