Sunday, June 18, 2006

Moon Pie Race Report

I got up at 4:40 yesterday morning to get ready for the RC Cola – Moon Pie 10 Miler. I ate my banana and oatmeal, got dressed, and then drove to Lana’s house to meet her and Holly.
We got to Bell Buckle in plenty of time. We paid $5 to park, got our race packets and waited in line for a port-a-potty. Then it was off to the start line.
The start gun fired right on time and we were off. I ran with Holly and Lana for the first mile 8:42 and was right on their tails for the second 8:37. There was a water stop just past the 2 mile marker and I walked while taking a drink. Lana and Holly kept right on running while drinking so they got farther ahead of me. Then I saw a guy that I recognized from Goodlettsville Half Marathon. I caught him and told him that I had chased him the entire half last November. We stayed neck in neck for a while, and then I pulled ahead. Mile 3 was 9:04. I saw Lana and Holly’s parents right around the 4 mile marker and waved for a picture. Mile 4 was 8:55. I got a drink and prepared for “the hill”. I caught up with Holly on the hill but she quickly recovered and got back ahead of me. I reached the halfway point in 44:46. Mile 5 was 9:23. Mile 6 was 9:11 and Mile 7 was 9:01. At about 7.5 the guy from the Goodlettsville half was back. We chatted some then he pulled ahead. I kept him in sight and chased him just like I did in November. Mile 8 was 8:51. Right before the mile 9 marker a car was driving down the road and one of the runners over compensated and ran off into the ditch. He couldn’t climb out so another runner stopped to help him and got pulled into the ditch too. He managed to climb almost all the way out when another runner stopped to help him. Together they pulled the first runner out. I am so glad I was on the other side of the road; I don’t think I would have had the energy to get out of the ditch at that point. I ran mile 9 in 8:54. I was almost there. I sped up some and then in the last tenth poured out everything I had left and started passing other runners. I saw Lana cheering at I approached the finish line. I finished the last mile in 8:08. Total time 1:28:53. Average pace 8:54. 273 overall, 69 overall female, and 12th in age group.
I met my goals: to beat last year’s time and to run “the hill”. So it was a good race.
We stayed around long enough to enjoy some of the great post race food and see the official race times.
Thanks to Lana and Holly’s parents for coming out, cheering for me, and taking pictures.
Now it is time to get ready for the McMinnville Tri this Saturday. Lana, did you get signed up??????

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great race on a tough course...Congrats!

mouse said...

woohoo! way to finish strong! great job.

Garou said...

Great finish! It sounds like a challenging course, and it looks as though you had a strong, steady pace.

Afternoon Tea With Oranges said...

Great job, Michele. I didn't beat my last year's time, so it's a little bittersweet for me.

However, I AM signed up for McMinnville. And I am freakin' $70 poorer. The next time I miss the deadline before the price goes up, I will sit at home.

Joe said...

Nice run. That's a very respectable time indeed. And it sounds like you had fun too.

Janet Edwards said...

Way to go...this hill sounds tough!

Good luck on this weekend's tri!!