If you are familiar with the annual Klopmen Classic race in Pella, you know that runners often joke about actually having to wear wooden shoes to compete in the race. I don't want to spoil the surprise for those of you who haven't run, but you don't have to wear wooden shoes. Thankfully the same is true for Dubuque's annual race, the Grandview Gallop. Runners don't actually have to gallop. But can you imagine what it'd be like if they did?There are essentially two ways to get into a swimming pool when the water is cold. Some prefer to wade in the shallow end and work their way up to the knee, then the waist, then the armpits. Others jump right in the deep end and and make a big splash. I liken my recent training regiment to the later method. I tested the water with with my tippy toe on Wednesday with a 35 min jog and dove in head first on Saturday with my first race of the season.
It was 55° and misty Saturday morning at 8:00am as the gun went off. Perfect weather for a road race. 750 plus runners came out to partake in the 4th annual Granview Gallop. The course lies on the beautifully landscaped boulevard of South Grandview Ave. in Dubuque, which is relatively flat believe it or not. The race beings and ends at Murphy Park. Runners head north on Grandview and double back when they get to third street. It gives everyone a chance to see who's beating them as well as who they're beating which may or may not offer some added motivation.
I kept pace with one of my cross country and track teammates. She has been doing quite a bit of training for her upcoming cross country season. I on the other hand have not, so it really felt like she was dragging me along the whole way. We crossed the one mile mark at 7:30 and the two
mile at 14:55. My legs were feeling like jello as we crossed the three mile mark and I don't even remember checking my watch. I did the best I could to pound out the last mile. It should have been easy because I knew the course, but everything is more challenging when you're out of shape. My partner took off with between 800 and 1200 meters to go. I managed to pass a few more runners, but I couldn't catch up with her. I crossed the finish line in under 29 minutes. Our automatic timing chips recorded our official time. This was the first time I had seen a disposable chip. It is a flexible plastic piece that loops around the shoelace. They are programed with the same number as the bib and when you cross over the reader it records your time. After our cool down we went to the results station. They had two micro computers that printed out a ticket with each runners stats. All I had to do was type in my bib number. My legs were extremely sore yesterday, but today I don't feel a thing.
For lunch yesterday, I made my first attempt ever at potato salad. The only potato salad I truly like is my mom's, so I borrowed her recipe. Mine turned out ok, but only because I didn't have all the necessary ingredients. I didn't feel like going back out to the store and mom said they weren't essential. I beg to differ. When you're trying to recreate a masterpiece that reminds you of home, every detail is important.
Tomorrow I have to head up to Minneapolis on the morning flight for a day of recurrent training. We spend 8 hours in a class room and then have to wait 4-5 hours to catch the last flight home. I will probably spend the evening watching planes or looking for crew members that frequent Dubuque, just to say hi. Today we've got a full flight and people are beginning to check in, so I better look busy.
Looks like full race results are available for a limited time. http://www.thonline.com/grandviewgallop/
I kept pace with one of my cross country and track teammates. She has been doing quite a bit of training for her upcoming cross country season. I on the other hand have not, so it really felt like she was dragging me along the whole way. We crossed the one mile mark at 7:30 and the two
mile at 14:55. My legs were feeling like jello as we crossed the three mile mark and I don't even remember checking my watch. I did the best I could to pound out the last mile. It should have been easy because I knew the course, but everything is more challenging when you're out of shape. My partner took off with between 800 and 1200 meters to go. I managed to pass a few more runners, but I couldn't catch up with her. I crossed the finish line in under 29 minutes. Our automatic timing chips recorded our official time. This was the first time I had seen a disposable chip. It is a flexible plastic piece that loops around the shoelace. They are programed with the same number as the bib and when you cross over the reader it records your time. After our cool down we went to the results station. They had two micro computers that printed out a ticket with each runners stats. All I had to do was type in my bib number. My legs were extremely sore yesterday, but today I don't feel a thing.For lunch yesterday, I made my first attempt ever at potato salad. The only potato salad I truly like is my mom's, so I borrowed her recipe. Mine turned out ok, but only because I didn't have all the necessary ingredients. I didn't feel like going back out to the store and mom said they weren't essential. I beg to differ. When you're trying to recreate a masterpiece that reminds you of home, every detail is important.
Tomorrow I have to head up to Minneapolis on the morning flight for a day of recurrent training. We spend 8 hours in a class room and then have to wait 4-5 hours to catch the last flight home. I will probably spend the evening watching planes or looking for crew members that frequent Dubuque, just to say hi. Today we've got a full flight and people are beginning to check in, so I better look busy.
Looks like full race results are available for a limited time. http://www.thonline.com/grandviewgallop/
No comments:
Post a Comment