Glenda Mooney Half Marathon Race Report 2013

The second annual Glenda Mooney Half Marathon doubled in size this year with nine participants.  This race among friends on the American Tobacco Trail was held on June 29 with temperatures in the mid 70's at the start with very high humidity.  Our group stayed close together this year throughout the race.  I met three of these runners for the first time that morning.  They live and run in my neighborhood and are friends of a friend.

My friend Carrie and I keep a similar pace and shared each mile.  Our final miles were quicker than our first miles.  In the last 400 meters, I noticed we were close to the 2 hour mark, so we picked up our pace to come in at just under 2 hours.

Our friend Holly printed race bibs again this year and included Bible verses for each of us. Race Director Glenda organized the post race celebration featuring fresh, homemade muffins, chilled lavender cloths, and the medal ceremony.  The medals were crystal sun catchers.  Mine was blue to match my eyes.  While the glittering crystals were significant in the moment, Glenda shared with us later why she chose the crystals.

 This is what she wrote:

"A couple years ago while I was at the beach, I had been collecting pretty pieces of sea glass. Hours later, I looked at them again inside and wondered why I had picked them up. It then occurred to me that they were only beautiful when the sun was shining through them. That made me think that even when my skin is clear and I'm having a good hair day, I'm only beautiful when God's light is shining through me. If you hold the sun catcher in your hand, that is you. If you put it up in the window with the sun streaming through, that is you with God's love shining through you. Now you have become beautiful." 

Esprit de She Race Report -- Cary, NC

Last Thursday evening my friend Christine and I ran the first Esprit de She in Cary, NC.  More than 700 runners were on hand at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre for the combined 5k and 10K race.  Christine hadn't run a 5K in years, and this was her first event since I insisted on dragging her to 5:30AM track sessions a year ago. We ran together, finished together, and celebrated her accomplishment together. This was a great event, and I recommend it -- especially for women new to the sport.

This is not one of the many 5K races for a cause or a charity.  It is an event and a girls night out. Athleta and Lifetime Fitness sponsored the race and pulled it off brilliantly. In a week filled with rain storms, they somehow managed to keep the rain away.  The heat was there at first, but by the time the after party was in full swing, the summer night felt just right.

When we arrived at 5:30PM for the 6:30PM race, the temperature was 88 degrees and the humidity was high.  At 6PM fitness instructors led runners assembled inside the amphitheatre in a zumba like warm up.  At 6:15PM we left the area for the starting line.  The competitors were already at the start.  Behind the line I noticed how easy going the crowd was pretty far back. Women chatted in friendly circles, and mothers gave advice to their young daughters.  From where we were, we couldn't hear what was being said over the announcement system, but when the National Anthem played, everyone could tell.

Christine and I wove in and out of runners for the first mile.  We ended up behind people who were walking or running slowly at the start.  I hadn't anticipated that.  We ran on one of Cary's fine greenways, and the view around the lake was beautiful.  The path was a little narrow for the number of runners, but no one around us seemed to mind.  After the lake was an uphill portion, which Christine dreaded before the start.  I told her to take small steps and to not look toward the top of the hill.  We ascended it in no time.  At the top of the hill, an irate woman in a large SUV was yelling at a race representative.  She could not leave her subdivision because racers were passing.  The race representative jogged toward a nearby police officer, and I was glad to leave the scene.  We ran around a neighborhood and back toward the amphitheatre.  It was hot, we were hot, and there was no shade.  No one should plan on a personal record at this race because of the summer evening start.  A quarter mile from the finish, I told Christine that if she had anything left, this was the time to turn it on, and she did. We finished strong together.

We got a bottle of water and made our way toward the finish celebration where we feasted on scrumptious carb laden creations catered by La Farm Bakery, one of the best bakeries in Cary.  The food was great, and we could use tickets for wine, champagne and beer.  I took a glass of champagne just because I've never had champagne at a race.  We relaxed, recovered and enjoyed dinner and good conversation with one of Christine's neighbors and one of her friends.  Before leaving, we visited some of the vendors on hand including Wild Planet Tuna.  In another booth, we could have had our nail polished changed, hair braided or a massage of some sort, but feeling a little sweaty, we passed.  Just before leaving, we watched the award ceremony for the 5K.  The first three young woman to finish ran fast and were competitive.  So, while this race is a fun girls night out, competitors can also find their place at the event on the podium.  Christine and I checked our posted finish time and went home happy.

My friend Christine and I crossing the finish line together.
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Tourist Running on Marco Island

With my friends still asleep in the hotel room, I tried opening the door quietly in the dark only to hear the loud thud of the extra security latch.  I muttered that I was sorry, undid the latch, and stepped into the bright hallway.

I set out on an exploratory 8 mile run on Marco Island that Friday morning at 8AM. This was to be my last taper run before the upcoming Glenda Mooney Half Marathon.  On the beach it was already hot and sunny.  If I had ask a helpful staff member about running options, I probably would have heard that it’s best to run early, like 5:30AM early.  I was enjoying a long girls weekend with grad school friends who have scattered across the country, and catching up on each other’s lives seemed more important the night of our arrival than turning in early and setting an alarm clock.

I started from the Hilton, turned left, and ran on the packed sand at the top of the beach.  I ran out of beach one mile into the run.  Off the shore a crane was placing huge boulders in the water to protect the shoreline, and more boulders blocked my path.  I turned around and decided to run near the shore.  On the southern beaches on which I’ve run on the east coast, I do not like to run near the water because the beach slopes too much.  On this Florida beach on the Gulf coast, the beach did not slope.

After four miles I texted my friends to let them know that I was moving slowly and stopping to take pictures. They had just gotten up.  I reported that I had four miles to go and that they should go about their morning.  I would catch up later.

   

I reached a wildlife protection area and stopped to read a sign about it.  I was feeling warm, but was hydrated and fine.   I was eager to explore this pleasant surprise, but I discovered that this wasn’t a good place to run because the beach began sloping and the vegetation crept to the slope.  There was no room to run.  I turned around and ran back toward the Hilton.

I arrived at the hotel after six miles to cool off and take a break.  I saw my reflection in a mirror and became alarmed at the sight of my red face.  Again, I assessed how I was feeling.  I was overheated.  I reasoned that having heat exhaustion wouldn’t be a good way to begin this reunion trip.  The heat and the extra work running on the sand would have to suffice for my 8 miler.

   

Trying to pack light, I brought one set of running clothes.  Deciding I might want a do-over, I washed them in the sink and set them out to dry.  When I went to sleep I thought Zumba on the beach sounded like more fun for the next morning.  I slept right through it.