After working so hard most of the year, I finally took some time to back off following the Detroit Free Press Marathon in October. I’ve still been running plenty and like to maintain half marathon fitness, but I won’t get back to a structured training plan until the end of December. At times I feel a bit aimless without that kind of agenda yet I also know I should enjoy this time when my schedule is more flexible. I’ve been to a lot of concerts lately and it’s been nice to miss a day or two of running along the way without the pressure of trying to juggle training.

I haven’t felt motivated to race which has been strange after racing so much this year. I suppose I was due for a break but it’s like I’ve been in limbo the last 6-7 weeks without any goals to aim for. Maybe I’ve snapped out of that after getting back to it with a last-minute decision to do the Run Elf Run 5K on December 6.

This past week I went to an Infinite Multisport Triathlon Club meeting and heard people talking about the races they’d be doing over the weekend. Some were even going for a trifecta on Saturday by doing three separate races in one day! It sounded like a fun adventure and finally got me thinking that I ought to get out there and do something. I had friends who were going to do the Holiday Hustle Half Marathon in Dexter and although I enjoyed it the last two years, I just didn’t feel motivated to race a half marathon. I wondered if I should consider one of the many 5Ks that would be taking place.

I talked to my friend Jeff on Friday who reminded me that he’d be doing the Run Elf Run 5K in Pontiac the next morning. I didn’t know anything about the race so I looked it up and started to get drawn in. I had just been in that exact area for a concert the night before and knew how easy the drive and logistics should be. When I saw that the route would be a straightforward out and back without any real turns, I thought that could make it a quick course. It would also be nice to see Jeff and our friend Don, so I decided to go for it and registered the afternoon before the race.

The race started at 8:00 on Saturday morning and I parked several blocks away just before 7:00 which gave me plenty of spare time. I went to pick up my bib and was grateful that I was also able to get a shirt in my size despite my last-minute registration. I went back to the car and got everything ready for racing. I had so much extra time that I went back to the packet pickup building and hung out inside to stretch and stay warm. Since Santa was there, I decided to get a photo.

I decided to be a little festive with my Holiday Hustle hat plus a shirt that I got at Thursday night’s Sister Hazel concert that took place right across the street. It was the perfect time to wear the “All For Yule” shirt, which is a play on their hit “All For You.”

Eventually I headed out to do a warm up run of about a mile. I found that my toes were a bit numb thanks to temps that hovered just below freezing. When it got to be around 7:45-7:50 and I didn’t see many people near the starting line, I started to question if the start was truly at 8:00. I looked it up to confirm and figured maybe people weren’t in any rush to stand around in the cold. Plus, it was a smaller race with less than 200 finishers.

The crowd began to grow minutes before the start and Miss Oakland County sang the anthem. I spotted my friend Don right before we started and learned that Jeff was sick and hadn’t made it – bummer. We only chatted briefly because it was time to start!

With a parade due to take place on the same streets several hours later, our route was closed to traffic and easy to follow with one spot where we veered to the left. We didn’t have any true turns and just kept going until we hit the turnaround point and headed back. There was a slight incline to start but the course was relatively flat. Although it was chilly, at least it wasn’t as cold as it had been a day or two before the race and we didn’t have to worry about any snow on the roads.

It was a nice distraction to see some of the floats parked along the side of the road. Once the leaders hit the turnaround point it gave me some people to watch and I counted how many women were ahead of me. The winners of the race would win a pair of shoes but unfortunately there were enough faster women that I knew that was out of reach. I was the fourth woman and I wondered if I’d be able to catch anyone. My pace got faster as I went and I passed some people, but none of the leading women. I was thankful for the slight decline at the end and did my best to fly through the end even though I didn’t have anyone close by to chase.

I had suspected the course was going to be a little short and I came up with 3.03 miles instead of 3.1, the same as a guy I talked to in the finishing area. I’ve run plenty of extra distance at many of my recent races so I guess it’s only fair for one to pop up where I was a little under instead of way over! That meant my speedy time of 21:29 was a little deceiving. My Garmin had me averaging 7:07 per mile vs. the 6:56 that showed in the results.

Sure enough, I was the fourth woman overall and I placed second in my age group. There were awards for people who topped their age groups so I just missed that.

It was interesting to check out my splits afterward and realize that I got 10 seconds faster with each mile. Other than running a few quick bursts of speed, like 30 seconds to a minute at a time in recent weeks, I haven’t done anything this fast and was pleasantly surprised to see what I had in me.

I hung out at the finish and caught Don as he crossed the line behind several people who were dressed for the occasion.

I had to take advantage of the post-race photo opportunity and posed with Santa again, joined by the Grinch this time.

For celebratory treats we were directed to go to Fillmore 13 Brewery where we could get free pretzels and a beer. Those soft pretzels were really good!

Don and I hung out and chatted for a while. I had run a really solid race without training for that kind of speed, and once again, it leaves me wondering what I could be capable of doing if I get more disciplined about doing the speedwork that I know I ought to do. My friend Lisa has been getting PRs in basically every distance lately thanks to her dedication to speedwork. I know it makes a big difference, I just need to DO it. Maybe this race will inspire me.

I was pretty shocked when I looked at my Garmin stats and found that I didn’t spend ANY time in the red zone during this race. I usually hit zone 5 during many of my regular training runs and I didn’t during the race?! I swear I was breathing pretty heavily but apparently I could have been pushing a lot harder! I know I have more potential in the 5K and need to work on trying to reach it.

I’m really glad I chose to hop in this race at the last minute. Even though I’ve kind of been in maintenance mode with my running, I found that I was more ready to race than I realized. I think this will shake away that lack of motivation to race that I’ve been feeling lately. I certainly needed a little break, and I’m not sure how much racing I’ll do in the next few months as we go through winter. I’m very wary about racing if there’s potential for slick surfaces so I won’t commit to anything until the last minute. Maybe I’ll be more likely to hop in other races now if the conditions are favorable enough.

– Janet

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