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 getting on the bus from the DECC with plenty of time to spare, which is always nice. Then the good vibes continued rolling when I stepped off the bus…the sun was coming up over Lake Superior and the temp was decently cool. From that point on, I basically had a perma-smile on my face the rest of the day.

I saw a some friends prior to the starting gun going off, got just enough warming-up in to feel ready to run, 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 (although I did deal with some adversity for miles 7-11)!!

My only regret with the race actually stems from training – I ended up taking a gel at mile 6 that upset my stomach a bit, which sort of happened during training runs but I wanted the extra calories and caffeine. Knowing this, I would just stick with the powder mix for calories in my water bottle, and may opt for the caffeinated version next time.

In the end, I ran a 1:20:22 (6:09 pace) while having loads of fun! Mission accomplished 🙂

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!