9/28/13
Lake Murphysboro State Park
Murphysboro, IL
Time: 43:43
What an awesome event! We heard about this run way back in February when we did Fly With the Eagles Half Marathon (ugh). Tim was stoked about it. Lake Murphysboro is a challenging course and since he loves those hills, it's pretty much one of his favorite places to run. Sicko. :P Anyway, the race was put on by Big Brothers Big Sisters. They did a fabulous job with it and I hope they can make this a yearly thing. I really think that this race will grow. If you're a runner in southern Illinois you HAVE to do this course!
I had originally signed up for this one with the full intentions of going hard and see how well I could do on it. Tim and I had been hitting up the lake pretty regularly and I was much stronger on it than I was when I was running it earlier this year. I still hate those hills, but I think that they have helped me build endurance. However, I ran TWENTY MILES the day before, so I told myself I'd just see how I felt the morning of. I figured if I felt like a train hit me, I'd just walk it or cheer folks on. No big deal.
Shockingly, I felt pretty good the morning of the event. Sure, my legs were a bit stiff, but not like they were when I ran the 19 miler. I was pretty happy about that. Uh, maybe I will be able to walk the day after the marathon! :) Tim was totally off his game though. We got up early and had coffee and my sister was having a yard sale, so she brought sausage biscuits-- totally broke his normal race day protocol. His legs were a bit stiff, too, but he was still planning on giving it his all.
Funny enough, when we pulled up to the parking area at the start line, I saw my old boss, Dave Clarke there. I've ran into him a few times over the years, but not ever at race event. He was pretty shocked by how different I looked. When I worked for him, I was about 60lbs heavier and my idea of running was only for the pizza man. :P (FYI- I still love my pizza.)
There was only about 60 participants signed up. I say only just because I really do think this event could be bigger. There were several races that day, including one at SIU for Family Weekend. Hopefully next year they move the date so they aren't competing with so much.
The race actually started going down hill. Any other time, I would have been fine with that, but because my legs were so stiff, it wasn't very fun. In the back of my head I actually thought that I should have warmed up (gasp!) before the start. I wasn't having the greatest run. My legs felt very sluggish and on the 3rd hill I seriously thought my calf was going to pop. I ended up walking the 2 water stations. I chatted with a high school friend, Stephanie, for a bit. She had been running the lake in about an hour and she hoping to finish under that. There was also a run/walker in a green tank that I played cat and mouse with the 2nd part of the race. The final time I passed her, I told her that she would end up passing me again in a bit because I hated the last half mile of the route. She laughed and said something about not so sure about that. The last bit of the course really sucks. It's not really a steep hill or anything, but just a long, winding incline. Sure enough, Green Tank Girl passed me on a short downhill part. When we were heading up the last hill I was right behind her and she looked like she was about to walk again, so I shouted, "Don't let me catch you now!" It totally worked, the girl hustled her butt up to the finishing shoot. Sure, I could have just pushed and whipped past her (maybe not- my legs were pulsing like crazy at that point) but it's more fun to be a cheerleader! :)
Tim was waiting for me with water and towel (Sweaty Betty in full effect, ya'll) at the finish. I asked him how he did and he said "I finished in 29:31 and I puked." I am so proud of him (his time, not the puke part)! He said it was just a good run day for him. He ended up coming in 1st in his age group and 4th overall. Rockstar!
Happy Tim!
The medals were colored by the "Little Brothers & Sisters."
Pretty awesome if you ask me!
My time was actually pretty typical for me. My best time for the Lake is 43:27, so considering I ran 20 miles the day before, I'm pretty darn happy with 43:43.
Seriously, what a great weekend for running!
Upcoming Events:
10/6/2013- Mo' Cowbell Half Marathon
10/27/2023- Rock 'n Roll St. Louis Marathon (YIKES!)
11/9/2013- Women Together 5k
11/16/2013- Turkey Trot 5k/15k
12/14/2013- Santa's North Pole Dash 5k
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