Running Ruminations

I think it’s really fun to jump into local races when travelling, so last year, when I was in Ohio for the fourth of July, I ran a local community race in North Canton (along with my sister and her BIL) and had an absolute blast! I was excited to return to the North Canton YMCA 5 mile race again this year and hoped that I’d get some positive feedback going into TSFM, which was only a few weeks out at that point.

This recap is a bit delayed per yoosh, but what I can remember most vividly about this year’s iteration of the July 4th race is that it was hot and humid as absolute hell. I recall last year’s race also being hot and humid and windy, but man, this year’s just took the cake in comparison. Race morning is rather busy, since the kids’ race begins first, followed by the 2 mile race, then the pushrim division of the 5 miler, and then the actual 5 miler. Part of the reason I’ve come to love this race is due to its there’s-something-for-everyone nature, but man. A late morning start time in early July definitely makes for some hot-hot-hot running.  

After grabbing my bib and shirt from the Y that was hosting the event (their process runs like clockwork!), I did a very easy and casual two mile warm-up and was utterly and completely soaked in sweat. As if I needed any verification that the elements were going to make the day interesting, I sure got it early on. When I looked at my phone before I started, I think we were in the 90s for humidity and high 70s for temperature and dewpoint. I hung in the starting area, recognized a local runner I chatted with last year and caught up with her, and before too long, we were off.

Coach Lisa’s plan for the day was to start around 10k pace (and hopefully, be comfortable) and negative split the race, with the intention of finishing the race feeling very strong on the race’s late-stage big(ger) hills. I talked about the race a lot last year in my recap, but for brevity: it’s all run on neighborhood paved streets, most of which have little undulations, and it’s pure sun the entire time. There’s a downhill/flat start, and around mile 4 begins a series of three climbs, with the first being arguably the largest.

Right off the bat, when I was running around 10k pace, I knew that it was going to be very hard to maintain that due to the conditions. I didn’t want to not try, of course, but I knew that the day was going to be more about racing and trying to work against the elements and less about racing against the clock. I think I began the race in the company of a bunch of HS XC boys, just like last year, and within the first mile, I was probably in or very near the top 10 women.

Much as I had predicted, my focus shifted from go for the PR to something more like work hard on the day. I tried pacing as well as I could and intentionally worked to stay in the moment and not fret about how hot and humid it already was and how much it’d likely worsen in the next thirty minutes. When a neighbor had a sprinkler or hose going off on his/her lawn, I purposely gravitated toward it in the hope that it’d offer a reprieve. In the five mile race, I’m pretty sure I hit six different hoses or sprinklers, which was just awesome.

Other women runners started dropping off pretty quickly after mile one, and I tried to carefully pick them off, one by one. The course’s many turns offered a few quick glimpses as to how many women (approximately) were ahead of me, and by mile 2/2 and change, it appeared I had moved up to maybe the top 5 or 6. I passed the woman closest to me shortly thereafter, each of us sharing encouraging remarks to the other (making me think a lot of the Des Linden interviews I had heard recently about her Boston performance and sportsmanship), and as far as I knew, by about halfway, I was around top 4-5 on the female side. If last year was any indication, I figured that most of  the top runners on both sides would be HS runners, so this was going to be fun! 

Again, with my interest being more about racing the conditions than about the clock, I figured it’d behoove me to do whatever I could to mitigate the heat, which meant that, aside from seeking out the sprinklers and hoses whenever I could, I also went out of my way to ensure that I grabbed a water cup around the halfway mark, even though I wasn’t especially thirsty at that point (just hot). After I dumped on my head and/or drank part of the water, I offered the remains to a guy on my left, who was far enough away from the table that he hadn’t gotten one. He seemed genuinely touched (and extremely grateful) that I offered to him what was essentially my leftovers, which in retrospect is kinda comical. 

At this point, much of the rest is a blur. Any runner whom I passed or who passed me offered encouraging remarks — we were all in this hot mess together! — and I tried to finish as well as I could. I remembered the big hill right around mile 4, but I hadn’t remembered the last two in that final mile, so that was a bit of a bitter reality to encounter. By the time it was said and done, I had run a good 100 seconds slower (35:11) than last year’s time but on a far worse day, condition wise. For perspective: last year, I was the ninth woman (and ran nearly two minutes faster). This year, I was the fourth woman, and my 2017 time would have won in 2018. The weather is a beast to race against! 

The post-race party was similar to last year, so I happily partook in the free massages from the LMT students and apologized profusely for my prolific amount of sweat. I eventually learned that I was the fourth woman overall and had taken first my age group like last year, which was fun. Of course, I wished I could have run faster or raced harder on the day, since I feel like my fitness now is better than it was at this time last year, but it’s all good. I think I did the best I could, given the day.

Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam were walking around and gave me around 20 mini American flags to take home to all the people coming to my sister’s party, and between those and the random beach ball that someone else gave me while I was waiting for a massage (and the bag I had won for my AG win), I figured my family would be happy when I came home with “prizes” for them. Shortly after dropping off all my spoils, I ran another three mile cool-down, posting 10 for the day and absolutely dripping in sweat, and called it at that.

Just like I said last year, if you’re in the northeast Ohio area over the fourth and want a fun race, I can’t recommend this one enough. It’s inexpensive, has effortless logistics, offers race distances for everyone (with great courses!), and definitely has that small-town America vibe, which is super cute and quaint, especially on the fourth. It goes without saying, but of course, anytime you’re running or trying to race in the midwest in the middle of summer, the weather is a crapshoot, but eh. Life’s too short to bitch about the weather incessantly, right? Do what you can on the day, and be happy and grateful.

Almost go time for SF … but first, Wharf to Wharf!