Run For Tony Race Report

Last night I ran the Run for Tony- a run, in its 17th year, that helps pay for the medical bills of a man who was injured when he was younger and paralyzed.  He is at the finish line of every race and it is a wonderful event.  Lots of people, food and a free beer at the end (I always give mine away) which gets a lot of people out to race!

Time/Pace: 29:42/9:35  (see my last post in regards to my sub-30 5k excitement!)

Overall: 383/522

Age: 23/35

Gender: 138/240

Pre-Race:  I took a quick nap when I got home from work and headed over to the race around 6:00pm to pick up my number.  I saw my teammate Dan (he is training for his first marathon too!) and chatted for a while before stretching.  My shin was still bothering me a little and my sunglasses broke- not a good sign for the night.  Also, I had chosen to wear a running skirt I bought last fall and had never worn and it was a little big.  I starting to re-think the race when I ran into my friend Michele.  She too was gunning after her first sub-30 5K and was also having some leg issues.  We bitched a little and of course, I decided to race.  My friend Danielle also met up for the race so the three of us just chatted for a while before the start.

Race: The race started (kind of oddly, we were all like “huh we started?”) and off I went.  Seriously, all the aching in my calf/shin disappeared and I was moving fast!  I felt great and at the 1st mile marker I was pacing 9:11- WOW!!!  Somewhere into the 2nd mile I was feeling really dehydrated so I stopped and walked through the next water station and through a sprinkler (many residents put out sprinklers for the racers- it was wonderful!) before taking off again.  I have no idea what happened to the 2nd mile marker but I totally missed it and had no idea where I was in the race or what my pace was- I could only semi-judge from my watch since I had walked a bit.  I still felt like I could make it under 30 minutes but I wasn’t sure….I just kept plugging away.  At the next water stop, where I walked again for about 15 seconds, I heard a guy who was spectating tell someone in the crowd that the finish was “right around the corner and down about a block”- I checked my watch and knew if I sprinted a little I had a chance.  As I came into the finish I could see the clock…29:56, 29:57, 29:58, 29:59, 30:00 and then I crossed it at 30:01.  I was infuriated.  I am pretty sure I shouted a profanity and kicked a cup, I was so mad to have missed it by 1 second.  Uh, and then I got my act together and realized that was the clock time, not my chip time and all hope was not lost.  I checked the chip times when they posted and there is was….29:42….next to MY name.  3.1 miles in 29:42 for a sub-30 5K!!!!!

Post-Race: Hung around with Michelle (she got her sub-30 time as well!!!) and Danielle…at some food and stretched while chatting about the race.

This was a great local race- the course was nice with a few small hills and enough turns to keep it interesting.  The frequent water stops were great and like I said, it was so nice to have the residents put out sprinklers.  It was so hot and the water made for a much cooler run.  It was also nice to have some of my friends running in it and of course, getting the sub-30 made my night. 

This is a race I plan on doing every year and even though I was really apprehensive about wearing a running skirt, who knows, maybe it was my lucky charm!  I think Iwill be wearing (a better fitted) one for PDR in a few weeks.  🙂