The Get Lucky 7k Race Results

Okay, the Get Lucky has come and gone, and now I’m moving my sights on to the next goal: finishing a half marathon in an upright position.

But first – a Get Lucky 7k recap!

I have a picture of me with a green beer, and by god, I’m going to use it.  I even managed to change out of my less-than-clean running shirt and into this clean one in the bar bathroom.  See?  Always thinking ahead.  Clean dry shirts are amazing after a sweaty run, in case you were wondering.

Really, the whole point of this 7k was to make it to the bar and get in line for my beer. Package delivered.

Do you know what my group and I found out?  When you offer free beer to 8700 people after a warm morning run, chances are you are in for a long-ass wait at the bar.  So we ditched the free coupon and went to the closest non-lined bar.  Don’t get me wrong, it was still ridiculously packed with smelly people in the same green race tee, but at least we could stand in a smooshed group with beers (as opposed to those standing in a smooshed group without beers.  Suckers.)

A lot of racers found this little bar to enjoy a green beer. It was smelly but triumphant.

Anyway, we had our beer and made the trek back to the van.  Remember the stuff I said about the wonderment of a  useful van?  It lived up to it’s full potential that morning, let me tell you!   After that, brunch was had by all, and I enjoyed the hell out of some fish tacos and coffee.  Good times.  While we were eating, Team Ortho sent out emails to everyone letting them know their race results.  Now, I have accepted that I have to get over the dream I have where I show up to race day and somehow break every record, surpass all expectations, and end up amazing myself with a running speed I didn’t know I was capable of.  It’s not going to happen.  But I have to say that I felt really fast when I was running!  I felt good and thought I was putting out some serious effort!  So I’m going to admit it, part of me thought that a little of that dream was going to happen.  Just a small part of it, not the record-setting thing.  Well, surprise, surprise, that didn’t happen.  Not only did that not happen, it  turns out that this particular race was one of my slower pace times.

Here’s what they sent me:
2012 Team Ortho Get Lucky – 7K
Hope        Age: 36

12:27 per mile (view kilometer pace)
39 percent (view time)
7224 out of 8786
5031 out of 6352 Females
1122 out of 1372 Females in the F3539 Age Group
(See complete F3539 results)

Location	Race Time	Time of Day	Overall Place	Division Place	Sex Place
Time	54:08	10:17:45	7224/8786	1122/1372	5031/6352
GunStart	00:00	9:00:08
ChipStart	23:30	9:23:37	8529/8786	1330/1372	6150/6352

You placed 7224 out of 8786 runners overall

You passed 649 runners in the overall category

You were passed by 108 runners in the overall category

I have some things to say about this.

First, could the blue image girl look any more chubby and slow there at the back of the pack?  I mean, I get it, I’m not a 8 minute miler, okay?  The graphic was sort of an overstatement, Team Ortho.   I wonder, if I get faster and my blue lady gets closer to the front, does she get skinnier?

Second,  I really enjoyed reading that last part about how many people I passed – and that the number of people who passed me was a hell of a lot smaller.  In reality I know that I was chillin’ at the back of the pack, and a good number of those people were probably walkers, but for now let’s just put a little pin in that part and focus on the fact that I passed 649 people.

Third, it was a fantastically gorgeous day and I had a great time running.  So what if I was a little slower than I wanted?  Would going 10:00 min a mile have changed how fun it was to see the Irish dancers or hear the bagpipes?  Nope.  I may have been able to push myself really hard to get to a faster time, but I’m pretty sure I would have been a cranky mess by the time I wound up at the finish line.  Since running isn’t paying any of my bills, I think I deserve the right to give myself a pat on the back for just showing up, running, and having a nice memory of the day.  And a really cool green finisher’s medal!

Note to self: wearing a hat makes it hard to take a decent picture.

So now I’m focusing on adding more miles to my weekly long run, I’m trying to get to 12 miles two weeks before the half marathon so I can taper off and let my body get ready for the big event.

Tomorrow is my long run day, I’m going to try to get in 8 miles here in the ‘burbs.  Planning out a 8 mile running path that doesn’t have ridiculous hills or non-existant sidewalks is no small achievement!  I think I figured out a decent plan, and tomorrow at the crack of dawn I’m going to roll out of bed, strap on my hydration belt, and get going.