Here was our obligatory pre-race photo
From L to R Myself, Big Al, Sarah, Shay and Polish Josh
It was a long but good day. I was up at 6 am, bright and early, so that I could grab my usual pre-race meal, a cup of coffee, a banana with peanut butter, a multi-vitamin and a glass of water.
Omar and I picked up Polish Josh along the way and drove out to North Park, where we met up with Big Al, Sarah and Shay. It was in the low 40's and windy. Not the most ideal conditions for the pre and post race festivities, but relatively mild for the actual race.
Sarah and the other 30ker's starting line was in a different location than ours so shortly before 8:30 we wished each other good luck and headed to our appropriate starting lines.
PJ and Big Al decided their goal was sub 1:15. Shay and I didn't really have a goal but decided on sub 1:30. We knew there was no way we could keep up with PJ and Big Al on this 8.1 mile course.
There were around 2500 total people signed up for the races (5k, 8.1 miler, half marathon and 30k) and starting line was pretty dense. It took a little while to weave through some people and actually get into a more open spot.
The race started with a gigantic hill that reached a plateau and then kept going. It was tough to start the race and get into a good mental state and breathing pattern with such a large hill, but it helped to thin out the crowd a bit. After the big hill came a decent downhill portion in which I caught up to Shay. We ended up deciding to stay together for the rest of the race. We each took a headphone out and spent the next 7 miles chatting a bit and motivating each other. Well, she was motivating me, more than me motivating her, but nonetheless we were both there for each other. The course wasn't too bad after the first killer hill. It was mostly rolling hills and flat area.
I definitely was struggling during this race. I'm not sure why, but my legs felt tired and my IT bands were hurting. We ended up being able to keep a decent pace throughout most of the course. It was great to have someone to run with during a race, since I usually run them alone.
Around mile 4 we saw Omar, which brightened me up and added some pep to my step. Shortly thereafter we saw Lucy, Sarah's sister. She had this big sun balloon and was yelling, cheering and jumping up and down when she saw us. It was so nice to see people you know cheering you on. I'm not used to having that in the middle of races, either. We saw Lucy again around mile 7.5 when the end was in sight.
I pushed as much as possible during the last few miles and Shay really helped to keep me going. I kept telling her to go ahead, telling her I wouldn't be offended if she wanted to, and she strongly turned my suggestion down and stayed by my side right to the finish line. We crossed the finish line at exactly the same time! We also beat our goal by over 9 minutes. Our average pace was 9:47 for 8.23 miles.
Sarah and the other 30ker's starting line was in a different location than ours so shortly before 8:30 we wished each other good luck and headed to our appropriate starting lines.
PJ and Big Al decided their goal was sub 1:15. Shay and I didn't really have a goal but decided on sub 1:30. We knew there was no way we could keep up with PJ and Big Al on this 8.1 mile course.
There were around 2500 total people signed up for the races (5k, 8.1 miler, half marathon and 30k) and starting line was pretty dense. It took a little while to weave through some people and actually get into a more open spot.
The race started with a gigantic hill that reached a plateau and then kept going. It was tough to start the race and get into a good mental state and breathing pattern with such a large hill, but it helped to thin out the crowd a bit. After the big hill came a decent downhill portion in which I caught up to Shay. We ended up deciding to stay together for the rest of the race. We each took a headphone out and spent the next 7 miles chatting a bit and motivating each other. Well, she was motivating me, more than me motivating her, but nonetheless we were both there for each other. The course wasn't too bad after the first killer hill. It was mostly rolling hills and flat area.
I definitely was struggling during this race. I'm not sure why, but my legs felt tired and my IT bands were hurting. We ended up being able to keep a decent pace throughout most of the course. It was great to have someone to run with during a race, since I usually run them alone.
Around mile 4 we saw Omar, which brightened me up and added some pep to my step. Shortly thereafter we saw Lucy, Sarah's sister. She had this big sun balloon and was yelling, cheering and jumping up and down when she saw us. It was so nice to see people you know cheering you on. I'm not used to having that in the middle of races, either. We saw Lucy again around mile 7.5 when the end was in sight.
I pushed as much as possible during the last few miles and Shay really helped to keep me going. I kept telling her to go ahead, telling her I wouldn't be offended if she wanted to, and she strongly turned my suggestion down and stayed by my side right to the finish line. We crossed the finish line at exactly the same time! We also beat our goal by over 9 minutes. Our average pace was 9:47 for 8.23 miles.
2358 307 35 Trish O, 27, Pittsburgh, PA 31:18 1:20:27 2236 308 36 Shannon J, 26, Pittsburgh, PA 31:18 1:20:27
Thank you Shay for sticking with me through this. We talked about possibly doing the same thing for the half, come May. It would be awesome to cross the finish line with one of my closest friends/training buddies by my side!
Big Al and Josh MURDERED the 8.1 miler.
Big Al did such a good job, that she actually got 1st place for her age group and a medal (which she didn't get until later on in the week because we must have missed the announcement of her success while at the race)! FANTASTIC JOB!
2202 84 1 Allison 24, Pittsburgh, PA 27:33 1:08:51Polish Josh also killed his goal time. His sub 2:00 Marathon is most definitely in reach! Amazing!2562 85 12 Joshua 25, Pittsburgh, PA 27:32 1:08:52After finishing we all decided to wait in the car and try to warm up a bit. We also wanted to cheer on Sarah during her 30k mission! We spotted Sarah before her last 5 mile loop and Shay, Big Al and I joined her for a short bit of it. Sarah was looking good and feeling good. Her achilles, which had been bothering her for the last week felt fine and she had complete confidence in her ability to finish strong. We all joined the finish line crowd to cheer Sarah on. Omar with his 15/20 eye sight said he saw Sarah in the distance and we patiently waited for her to round the course out and run towards the finish line...YEP Looks JUST like Sarah to me.... pfffffff. We all couldn't stop laughing, so much so that Omar had to take a picture of this Sarah look alike to share later. Luckily, shortly thereafter Sarah came around the bend and finished the 30k strong. It was fun to cheer her on to the finish and I look forward to doing it again come May 6th.Happy to be done!hoods for OmarAfter lots of celebratory hugs and some conversation with Sarah's boyfriend Ben and Lucy, some of us decided to head out to a nice breakfast at our usual after race breakfast spot, the Original Pancake House, where we consumed far too much food and continued the laughter and stories. Overall it was a great day (minus the fact that my achilles was killing me on my right foot, wth is wrong with my body and it's recent rejection of running???) Special thanks to Omar for waking up at 6:30 and braving the cold and wind to cheer us on for 5 hours. Thanks for being a trooper, it means a lot to me to have your support during this whole process.Also thanks to Lucy and Ben for being great cheerleaders! :)PS I was having serious spacing and formatting issues that I could not seem to fix on this post. GRR blogger, grr.
So Proud! 32 days. We got this.
ReplyDeletewe sure do!
DeleteJust a Short Run is one of my all time favorite races, but that hill in the beginning is a BEAST!
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more Susan. It really was a great run!
DeleteYou helped push me this race, your pace is faster than mine normally is and it was great to have you help push me. I can't wait to do this for the half. I say we we push for another tandem finish :)
ReplyDelete<3 this idea shaybaybay
Deleteway to go all!!
ReplyDeletethanks bruthaaa
Delete