From Alex With Love

This was the second year Shane and I took part in the Run For Alex, billed as the premier event of Washington County. It attracts a good number of runners and features a course that is 4 miles of rolling, mostly up, hills followed by a mile of sharp downhill grades. The proceeds from the race go to the From Alex With Love Foundation to provide scholarships for local kids in memory of Alexzandra Loos. Alex was killed by a speeding car on her way home from soccer practice in 2004. She was also a track runner and held the WPIAL record in the 1600m her first year on the team.

Last year the weather was cool and fairly forgiving which allowed me to run a 50:43 despite being out of shape. This year the weather was hot and the pavement was baking. After Monday's 5k, running a fast-ish 8 miler mid-week, and then running hill sprints and doing back squats Friday my only hope was to beat that time.

Elevation profile

 

Shane and I woke up at 6am and got the girls and ourselves ready. Then we dropped the girls off at his parents house and made the 45 minute trip to Bentleyville. We arrived in plenty of time except for a small SNAFU where I realized I had $24 in my hand, not the $25 needed for race day registration. Thankfully they let me write a check and all was well except for my stomach. I'm not sure if it was the heat or the recent overhauls I've been making in my diet but my stomach was not happy this morning.

 

I lined up at the very back of the pack this year with a plan of going out easy. I was aiming for 9:45 per mile for the most part. I found a couple of my friends and they had similar goals so we started out together but the heat, hills, and blowing allergens out in the country soon split us up. I started my watch late because I forgot there are no starting mats despite the large-ish field and chip timing.

 

Mile 1: 9:46

 

In mile 2 my stomach started to act up again. I started to consider bailing out at the water stop and just volunteering or dying in the grass until I could walk back down to the social hall. Right before the water stop my stomach eased up again so I dumped some water on myself and kept going.

 

Mile 2: 10:00

 

After that my stomach cramped every time I drank from my handheld so I gave up on drinking and just hoped to stay cool by throwing water on myself. We also encountered the largest hill portion here so I power walked up. Last year I jogged 2/3 of the way, today I didn't bother. It was shady and cool and I just didn't care to push.

 

Mile 3: 12:33

 

At the top of the hill there was a family with a hose. I sped up just to get to it faster. I've never felt anything so awesome in my life! And shortly after that was a sprinkler set up in the middle of the road! And then a family with water bottles misting runners! Oh, I was miserable but all that cool water felt amazing.

 

Mile 4: 9:55

 

From the last water stop to the finish is almost entirely downhill. I checked my watch and thought I could beat last year's time by a little bit if I really pushed. I let gravity have its way and I bombed down the hills ignoring the screaming in my dead legs. I passed tons of people on the way down and one girl latched on for the ride. At first my competitive drive kicked in and I began to push even harder. I even dropped her for a bit but then I realized I was being a bit of a witch. I wasn't out there to compete and I didn't feel well. I hadn't given it my all from the start so it wasn't really fair for me to out-sprint this girl in the final hundred yards just to improve one age group place. I pulled back and she blew by me.

 

Mile 5: 8:20 (best pace 6:37 - yay downhill!)

 

I crossed the mat and hit stop on my Garmin. I grabbed a cold water and chugged and then checked my watch. I saw 50:42 and I felt hope that I had actually beaten last year's time. Then I started to feel ill. I found Shane and got some fruit and more water and we sat in the shade but it wasn't long before I made a headlong dash to the nearest bathroom. Once it was over I felt mostly better. I was a little uncoordinated, dropping water bottles and such constantly, but not so icky.

 

By then all of our friends had finished and we were able to get everyone in for a picture.

 

Results were posted soon after and neither Shane or I had placed (knew I wouldn't). My official time was 50:45, so 2 seconds slower than last year. But when I think about the fact that it was hotter this year, I was nowhere near rested, and I lined up farther back than last year I am willing to bet I actually beat my time by at least a little bit. Good enough for me!

Oh, and we won a door prize.

It's a picture frame with a gift card to a local restaurant called the Spring House plus two coupons for a free appetizer and a free kid's meal at King's. Can't beat that!