The Longboat Run was a race that I decidedly joined because there was a discount for it after doing a run earlier in August. It was also probably not my wisest choice either, lol considering that I had a wedding to attend the night before - that lasted till 2am in the morning! Thankfully the wedding took place at a boutique hotel and a room was booked for our stay. I recall asking my friend susan if she wanted to do the run with me, and she had skyped me "LOL", and declined saying that we would be up too late into the night before.
At any rate, she was right.
I didn't get to bed till 4:15am in the morning, and was up by 8:30am. The race thankfully was later in the afternoon at 11am, so I had some time to relax when I got there.
I was out the door of the hotel room by 9:15am and managed to grab some breakfast at... McDonalds. lol Oh the choices we make. The night before I didn't have my pasta (delicious steak instead!), so I thought to substitute it with eating bread and .. potatoes. lol At any rate, I thought eating hashbrowns would be helpful... I have to admit, it was a pretty bad idea. Although normally I love McDonald's hashbrowns, it felt more heavy and greasy then I expected. No time to regret though, once I ate it, I just had to live with it lol - flash back to french fries eaten hours before a race a few years ago.
I got to the island with probably about 40 minutes to spare, so I put on my Bib and checked in my heavy luggage (overnight clothes and dresses for the reception). In some ways, I had hoped to get there pretty much with less time to spare since it was so chilly.
Race Start
The 5ks were the first to run at 11:00am sharp. 10 minute later, we finally started the run. In one hand I held a bottled water and in the other I held on to my phone. I know, really not the most stylish, I should get some sort of armband for the phone, but I hadn't had time to go shopping for one that would fit my new android phone. I had one previously for my iPhone, though even for that one, I rarely used it. I would just tuck into my running water belt since it was small enough to fit it. I wouldn't dream of trying that my android phone lol, likely burst the seams of my water belt.
The run started off well, I kept up with a good group of people, but I was really tired. I guess sleeping for 4 hours doesn't really make good for race day. The cool air, which I had complained much about earlier, though actually aided me. It was really refreshing. It reminded me of my training in the winter time (when I had a goofy race to do in January). Although those training days made my face freeze up ("I can't feel my face when I'm with you"...), this was more of a consistent cool breeze.
The course for the race was rather nice. I didn't have a chance to look at it, so I didn't expect a section to be grassy nor a section where we would run on the boardwalk. It was really pleasant. Well, the grass part anyway. The boardwalk was not quite as fun as I imagined it since it had rained the day before, making the wood a little slippery. There were two runners in front of me, one had slipped twice. Ouch. I felt very bad for her, but good on her she kept on going.
Near the end of the boardwalk, there were a few walkers, including myself, since it was pretty slippery. I had nearly slipped, and started walk-jog, slowing down the pace.
It was kind of funny; near the end of the boardwalk path, there was an Asian volunteer standing who saw us, and he started to mock run to encourage us. LMAO. Sort of a "You can do it!! Your almost there!" with no words required. It was quite funny actually, totally put a smile on my face.
I jogged just a little faster, and then once I hit the drier pavement, I kicked it up a notch. And then I got distracted by a cat. I think I got a strange look from one or two volunteers. lol. Oh well. It was a really cute cat. Worth the stop.
Back to running, I kept my pace on and off for the duration to the finish line. I had a twinge of regret that I should have done more training (like any at all), but my allergies had been bothering me so much lately, I felt completely drained by the end of the day at work.
Finally, the finish line came to view and with a final sprint, I crossed it. Yay, another race completed. lol Until the next one... next weekend.
The best part to the Longboat run, was that there was food involved at the end of the race. lol There was a BBQ involved, and you had a choice of hamburger or hotdog, with also a small bag of chips and a drink (apple juice or peach).
I will be back again, longboat run, next year :D
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