Well, being that a whopping six days have elapsed since my last race report, I think it's time for another. If it seems to you like I'm racing a lot, you're right. I don't usually schedule this many on my calendar, but I explained a couple of weeks back that my marathon training plan has three weekends for which you run a race on Saturday (between 5-9ish miles, or 8-15 kilometers) before your regular long run on Sunday. This weekend is the second of those three, and I found a race in Stillwater: the Jon Francis Half-Marathon and 8K.
Proceeds from this race go to the Jon Francis Foundation. Jon's name was one I knew back in high school because he was a standout in the Minnesota prep running scene around the time when I was running cross-country. He died in a mountain climbing accident when he was 24, and the foundation is dedicated to supporting wilderness safety education. In a way, it was sobering - that's not quite the word I want, but it comes close - to participate in a memorial race named for someone who was born only a couple of years before you, on a course chosen to include the roads on which he trained for years. But even though I never met Jon Francis, given what I had read on the race website, I thought that he would have loved seeing hundreds of people gathering at beautiful Square Lake Park on a September Saturday morning for a run together - which is exactly what happened.
And indeed the park was gorgeous. I had never been out there before today, but it has a great reputation among Minnesota triathletes for the lake's water quality, which means a triathlon held there every September has always been on my radar.
The lake didn't look so appealing this morning, though. It was cold! 43 and windy, to be specific.
I got there with plenty of time for a long warm-up, so I jogged around some of the roads bordering the park. I wore a long-sleeved quarter-zip black shirt and 3/4-length tights for the race. For my warm-up, I brought along a pink fleece jacket that I basically wear with one or two layers in the most severe of winter weather conditions, so I was being a little dramatic. But when the wind was in my face, I have to admit that I didn't mind having that jacket along.
The views from the warm-up, I'd like to note, were lovely. Lots and lots of golden cornfields:
I love the light against the birches in this photo. Doesn't it say fall?
The race started a few minutes after 9:00, and the 8K (my race) and the half-marathon fields were together for the first three miles or so on a course that included both paved and dirt roads. (My first time racing on dirt roads since the Pork Chop Trot!) My pacing was, in a word, erratic. The hills were rolling, and I'd feel like I was trudging up a long incline, especially the ones on the softer dirt roads. But then we'd zoom along a gradual downhill for what felt like ages. I had no idea what my final time would end up being, or how I would feel at that point.
But - whew - I crossed the finish line feeling good, and my Garmin tells me I averaged a 7:43 pace per mile, which is consistent with other recent races and speedwork. I probably need to sprinkle some more hills into my miles for the last few weeks of training, but overall, thumbs-up.
And a thumbs-up to this event, too. I so wish I could have run the longer distance instead as part of my weekend long run, because I would've loved to explore more of that course! The volunteers were wonderful, the course was clearly marked, and the post-race food and drinks were great. (My favorite cheer from a volunteer was a man who said, "'Morning!" like he and I had just crossed paths on a stroll.)
Not to mention the fact that we got participation ribbons! Sweet, sweet, sweet.
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| Don't worry - I didn't race in the super-winter fleece jacket. |
Bottom line: There are so many great events around the Twin Cities at this time of year, and this is one of them. I will keep this one on my list for next fall - the half-marathon next time!
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