July 12, 2014

Portofino Run for Art 5K

I was SO tired all day yesterday. On Thursday, my friend Sarah from Arizona (and her husband) came over, and we played Cards Against Humanity until after midnight. I went to bed at around 1:00, and I had plans to meet Jessica for an eight-mile run 6:45. It was REALLY hard to get out of bed Friday morning, but I did it--I went to Jessica's, and we ran eight miles (doing the 9:1 run/walk ratio). It felt really hard--probably because I was so tired and I'd had my share of wine the night before.

Last night, I ended up falling asleep while watching a movie at around 8:30. Thankfully, I slept really well, because I had another early run today--the Portofino Run for Art 5K with Audrey! I had already told her that I attempted to run her planned pace of 8:50 on Thursday, and failed, so I wasn't going to be able to keep up. In my mind, I made a goal of just following Audrey, and keeping up with her as long as I could.

I got to Audrey's at around 6:30, and we waited there for her cousin, Karen. Today is Audrey's 40th birthday, so while we were waiting, I made a little sign for the back of her shirt that said, "Today I run for my 40th-birthday cake". When Karen got there, we headed over to the race. I was so surprised that there weren't many people there. It was 7:15 (the race started at 8:00), but there were probably less than 30 people milling around.

The race start and finish took place at Portofino, an Italian restaurant. They had the restaurant open to the runners to use the bathroom before the race (awesome!), and there was a free pancake breakfast in the banquet room there after the race.


While we were waiting, Audrey's two running buddies showed up to surprise her for her birthday! When Audrey asked them to do the race with her for her birthday, they told her they couldn't; but they had been planning to surprise her all along. Audrey had no idea, and was thrilled to see them. We headed over to the starting line.



There were a lot more people there by that point, but it was still a pretty small race. The race started, and I was trying to get past people. There were walker and people with strollers who had lined up near the front, so it took some weaving to get around them. I saw Audrey way over to my left and just slightly ahead of me, so I made it a mission to just stay as close to her as I could.

I was right behind her, and from right behind me, I could hear a woman say, "Oh, look, it's her 40th birthday" (she had obviously noticed Audrey's shirt). Then the guy she was running with said, "Oh, who cares?" I was shocked to hear that--what a jerk. I turned around and said, "Wow, that's really rude!" then I ran up next to Audrey, tapped her arm, and asked how she was feeling. I just wanted that guy to know that I heard what he said, and that I was with Audrey. I hoped he felt like an ass. Whenever I see people with things like that on their shirts, I get excited for them, and usually encourage them in some way.

There was a short segment of the route that went along the Detroit River, and it was really pretty!


You can see Audrey on the left, and the guy in the yellow shirt was the "who cares" guy. Audrey didn't know I was behind her all this time, though. I was tempted to tell Audrey what the guy said, so she could try and pass him, but I didn't want to mess with her pace. My first mile was done in 8:38. Audrey seemed to be going strong, so I kept pushing to keep up.

The second half of the race goes through a golf course. When we were approaching mile two, just before the golf course, Audrey started to slow down a little. I was tempted to slow down, too, but I knew she wanted to PR, so I had a different idea. I decided to pass her, tell her that she's on course for a PR, and hope that she would kind of latch on to my pace and "chase" me, or even pass me.

I didn't look back for a while, because I assumed she'd be right behind me. The sun was KILLER. It was beating down, without a cloud in the sky. I finally glanced back, at about mile 2.25, and I didn't even see Audrey then. I probably could have pressed on at that pace, but there was no point--I was there for Audrey, so of course I didn't want to pass her and then finish ahead of her!

I kept jogging slowly, so that Audrey could catch up (and I could catch my breath--it was so nice to slow down!!). When Audrey caught up, I picked up the pace a little, and ran at her pace for the rest of the race. I told her that it was just a really sucky day for a PR, because mid-July is so hot! Audrey said she was running her very best, and she was happy with that.

I waved her ahead of me at the last minute, so she could finish first, and then we both chugged some water and stood in the shade to catch our breath. Her running buddies finished about a minute behind us, and Karen finished shortly after that. My "official" results:



We headed inside for the pancake breakfast. I was so hot and after running hard those first two miles, pancakes didn't sound at all good to me. I just had some orange slices and a banana (and a big cup of water).


They did the awards ceremony while we sat, and in between the awards, they drew names for door prizes (lots of gift cards, mostly). I didn't win anything, but I thought it was a really cool idea!

Despite the heat, I thought it was a nice little race. I was definitely reminded of why I don't like to race in the summer months, but I felt really good when I was done. I used to despise the 5K distance, but the more I do it, the more I like it!

Anyone else running a race this weekend? Tomorrow is Noah's birthday--he'll be 10!

8 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 12, 2014

    While I am not running a race this weekend, I am running with hubby tonight. My goal is 2.5 miles in 28 minutes. If I hit it, I get to buy some expensive running shorts! Been running for several months and I still struggle with endurance and speed.

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  2. AnonymousJuly 12, 2014

    Good for you to stand up for Audrey. If that guy didn't have anything nice to say he should have just stayed quiet. Thanks for the race recap! It's always fun to hear about your mindset during the races. :) -Emma

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  3. Great job on the race! Racing with your friend is so sweet! That's something I'd love to do for someone someday! Yellow shirt guy is an a $$. There's always gotta be one *eye roll* and now I'm thinking about pancakes lol

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  4. Katie

    UGH ... No ... I don't race past April. I live in NC and if the heat doesn't kill you, the humidity will ! From April to October, it's me and the treadmill.

    I'm glad you had a response for the rude jerk .... sadly you can't escape these a$$'s even when you run !

    Hope Audrey had a fantastic birthday and Noah does too ! : )

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  5. Way to go on letting him know you heard him. Hopefully he felt bad afterwards but I highly doubt that!

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  6. People like that rarely have a conscience. If he did, he wouldn't have said it in the first place!

    I ran a 5K yesterday (Saturday) and PR'd! Woot! I also took 3rd in my age group (I'm sure there were at least 4 runners in the 40-44 range...)! 26:20!

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  7. I ran this race yesterday! I was in front of your friend to start but she passed me and I saw her sign! My friends and I are actually in one of your pictures up above...lol I'm sorry I didn't see you or I would have said hi!

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  8. Great job on your race and for being such a good friend to Audrey!

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