Abby post race!
I ran this local race about 8 years ago as my first ever 10K. I really liked the course and at that time had never seen the covered bridge on Everett Rd before. I finished that race in 50 minutes and ended up with a nice red plastic cup as a trophy. I still love drinking out of that cup (even if it IS plastic).
I somehow managed to coerce Abby into running this race with me this year. It would be her first 10K - that's 6.2 miles for the non-runners who happen upon my blog. We have done quite a few one hour runs this summer and I felt really confident that she could cover the distance. We discussed at length our plan for the day. I didn't want to hold her back but she didn't really want to run on her own either. We decided to start together and stay together for two miles, at which point we would re-evaluate. If she felt the pace was too slow, she or we could pick it up. She could leave me but I would not leave her. I was not out to PR or anything. I really just wanted to run the course again and introduce Abby to the 10K distance.
Well Saturday was an extremely hot and humid day. We left the house at 7:30 and arrived at Howe Meadow around 8:10. It is quite a trek to the registration table inside Old Trail School and we were sweating already! Much to our disappointment, there were no more small t-shirts. What an unbelievable disappointment that was. We were just smiled at and sent on our way with two mediums.
We began the process of pinning our bib numbers on. Abby was wearing a minimal amount of clothing and had to strategically pin her number to her shorts. I had many more options! Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a table way in the back with more t-shirts. I strolled over and inquired. They were leftovers from the kid's race held earlier and there were lots of youth larges and two adult smalls! Yeah! We made an exchange and felt much better. I doubt Abby will ever wear an adult medium.
Then a trek to the port-a-potties and all the way back to the car to deposit our goodie bags and t-shirts. Whew! So darn hot. Then more walking and a warm-up run to the starting area. I felt bad for Abby - there were way too many older men with no shirts on. It was stifling hot and we tried very hard to not bump into anyone.
Finally we were under way. We ran the first mile in 8.57. I thought that was just perfect and Abby said it was fine. Mile 2 was steady at 9.00. We took some water from the first water stop and slowed to a walk to get it down. We discussed the pace and Abby said it still felt fine. Mile 3 at 9.22 which was fine considering the water stop. I was starting to regret not carrying my fuel belt! We turned onto Bolanz Rd and the sun was beating down. Abby was quiet and I tried to talk just enough to keep her going. Mile 4 was a 9.40.
Jerry was running with Andy and Mike and we had planned to look for each other along Everett Rd around the covered bridge. Well we made the turn onto Everett, climbed up a rather small but steep hill and I heard Abby gag a couple of times. Uh oh.......
It is common knowledge that she gagged at the end of every cross country race last fall. It was sort of the indicator of effort. She knew that if she started gagging at the end of a race it meant that she had run hard. No gagging meant she could have gone harder.
A few more steps and she said, "I'm gonna puke." We switched from running to walking. She puked while walking. The funny thing was that at that very moment I saw Jerry and his friends happily running down the trail beside the road. Abby said, "Oh this is great..." We kept walking and shouted a few things back and forth with the guys. I tried to just say enough to indicate that we were not doing so well.
We actually only walked about one minute and then we started running again. There was water at the covered bridge. Mile 5 was a big fat 11.45. There was another round of puking and many little hills to manage. We had 12 minutes to get in under one hour and I sincerely was hoping we could do that.
About one-third of a mile from the end there was a policeman. I thought I was going to get in trouble for abusing Abby this way. We somehow managed to shuffle by. Soon enough the entrance to the finish line appeared. It was a nice finish. Lots of cheering and kind words. The clock read 1:01.40 and that was just fine for the day.
What can you say about a 12-year-old girl who would endure that?! I say she is stronger than she thinks! She never said "I can't do this" or "Can we just stop." She just kept moving forward and if you ask me that is what life is really all about.
