Yep, a race recap post from Grandma’s weekend almost in August – that sums up how work/life has gone lately!

As mentioned in my previous post I took a more relaxed approach to this race and focused on having fun vs. running a fast time. I typically stress out over hitting every workout and get overly nervous on race day – leading to less-than-ideal results. Not this time! By attempting to maximize the amount of fun I had instead of the fastest splits possible, I ended up having a pretty dang good race!

It started with a great bus ride to the start line (much shorter than for the full, which was nice) where I chatted with someone I used to run cross country against way back when.

Then the good vibes continued rolling when I stepped off the bus…the sun was coming up over Lake Superior and it’s a sight I’ll never forget. From that point on, I basically had a perma-smile on my face the rest of the day.

Saw a bunch of friends prior to the starting gun going off, got just enough warming-up in to feel ready to go, and eased into the race during the first several miles.

I ran by feel far more than normal in a road race, but certainly checked my watch to make sure I wasn’t way off (faster or slower) of where I thought I should be based on training.

In previous longer road races, the wheels end up falling off for me at some point. This thought was always in the back of my mind, even when I continued to feel good. I could feel I was actually getting stronger as the race went on – which my competitive soul loves when others are starting to fade a bit. Luckily those wheels never ended up falling off!!

I really enjoyed the new course detour onto Michigan Street with construction going on up on Superior Street. Having spectators up above you cheering and hanging signs was a blast!

My only regret with the race actually stems from training – I didn’t test out any gels (I had one in my back pocket) leading up to the race. Knowing this, I just didn’t feel right giving it a go, even though I’m sure it would have helped – I didn’t want to risk my stomach not agreeing with it. I could have used the gel at the 9 or 10 mile mark, and ended up feeling some slight cramping coming on in the final mile, but was able to hang on just fine.

In the end, I ran a 1:20:34 (6:09 pace) while having loads of fun! Mission accomplished 🙂

To top it off, we left right from downtown following the race (and after cheering on others as they finished) to head to the family cabin in Solon Springs, WI – what a relaxing way cap off race day!!

Congrats to all who participated in the 5k/Half/Full Marathon, and thanks to every spectator/volunteer who lined the course making Grandma’s the BEST race weekend you can experience!