I met my goal to finish strong and upright - no medical tent or EMTs for me. My time was 1:41:39 - better than I expected, but hopefully better next year.
The weather was perfect for running - sunny with high puffy clouds, an off-shore breeze to keep the runners cool, low humidity, and temps between 75 & 80 - a day made for racing on Cape Cod.
There were 10,448 runners registered and it looked as though 1/2 of them were in my group - we were the runners with a yellow background behind our number. The runners with faster times than us were placed in two other groups - the blue group & green group - and were given earlier start times. My start time was 10:12 am but I don't think I actually crossed the start line till 10:14 am.
My preparation began Friday. I read about pre-race preparation and devised a hydration and nutrition strategy that I hoped would pay off (www.jeffgalloway.com). Saturday I ate a fairly large breakfast with lots of protein, then ate a very small lunch - crabmeat rollup & fruit - and began to drink my electrolyte beverage of choice - SmartWater. I tried to drink the recommended 4 quarts, but got 3 quarts down and that was enough. I avoided dairy, peanut butter, all fats, salads, veggies, fried foods & nuts. I drank a few soy milk protein shakes during the evening and finished up with 2 waffles with jelly around 10 pm.
On the day of the race, I began hydrating myself at 6 am - 6 oz every hour. I packed breakfast and tons of bottled water because we arrived at the race start 2 hrs before start time. With 10,448 runners required to take buses to the starting point, I got on the 2nd bus out of Falmouth. We arrived at Woods Hole at 8am. About an hr and a half before the start of the race, I ate dry shredded wheat, a banana, and a Luna bar. And drank water - water - water.
So I wondered to myself - what on earth would Elaine (my running friend) and I do for 2 hours before the race started? Answer: stand in Porta-Potty lines! 10,000+ runners all in line - an amazing sight :D We ate our nutrition & carb bars, drank our H20, and immediately got into a PP line - each took about a half hr & by the time I arrived at my PP destination - I was ready to use it. Then drank more H20 and stood in line for another 30-40 min. Did that 3 times, quite hilarious.
My running plan, again from Jeff Galloway's many running books, was to walk before I got tired, so I ran 5 minutes, walked 1 minute. Except for when I encountered lots of spectators and a band. Then I ran like crazy! My son told me to conserve my energy for the last 2 miles, which I think I did.
The Star-Spangled Banner was sung at the start of the race, there was an incredible silence during it, and then we were off.
Mile One: This was really no problem. I walked the first 1/2 mile just because I couldn't run - too many people ahead of me in my group. I started running at 1/2 mi and immediately encountered a small hill which I was prepared for. Mile one covered a lovely tree-shaded neighborhood and I began to notice the spectators - which I'd heard about from former FRR runners. They were sitting on the sidewalks in front of their houses ringing cowbells & waving to us, yelling "good luck runners!" They were a wonderful send-off to us.
Mile Two: At around Mile 2 we entered a woodsy hilly area and ran on a state road, so few houses and few spectators. I'm wondering where are all the water stations? I'm thirsty! None at this point. My legs were not happy. I hadn't run since Sunday and I was stiff. Rested and stiff! I reminded myself that this always happens to me between miles 2 & 3. My legs are asking what the heck are you doing? I push on because I know I have to use my mind at this point. I tell myself "don't be a ninny; all you have to do is run 5 minutes then you can walk a minute or 2 if you need to. Just run 5 minutes".
Mile Three: I arrived at Mile 3 in 44 minutes. My legs are fine. I'm gliding in my own rhythm, running my plan. My knee is fine - can't feel a thing. All systems go.
The FRR fans were there and they had water tables set up for us. A few people were spraying the runners with garden hoses. I took advantage of every water station and every hose. I probably ran soaking wet for most of the race. They waved and played great running music from boom boxes that were placed strategically on the sidewalks. There was a guy playing his guitar about here although I don't remember the exact place, singing "She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes". I purposely ran fast & in time with his guitar when I passed his house. Spectators yelled "almost half-way there" and "keep running" "don't ever give up!". I was amazed at the outpouring of love and encouragement from the crowds. I didn't expect it and I was incredibly touched by their collective kindness. I started waving & saying "thank you" as I ran past them to Mile 4.
Mile Four - Mile 4 includes a stretch of beach road that runs alongside Vineyard Sound. It is literally a stone's throw from the ocean. What a magnificent view! We all enjoyed the cool breeze coming off the water and thanked the weather gods for this glorious day that was made for running. Again, big crowds lined the beach road with music from boom boxes and a live band, garden hoses (thanks to all who "hosed me" - love you!), kids with noise makers and more water! Finally - water tables - lots of water tables! Thank you!! I drank some water from every table - usually when I did my 1 minute walk. Someone shouted "Great run Suzanne!" and I looked to see if I recognized her. I didn't but ran on. I soon realized that the crowds were calling out the runners' names from their number forms pinned to our shirts! "Great run Bob!" "You can do it Jennifer!" I could not believe the outpouring of affection they were giving us. It made me run when I wanted to walk, made me run faster when I was sort of cruising. I appreciated each and every person and wished I could have personally thanked them all.
Mile Five: Mile 5 begins somewhere after we leave the beach road and enter the town of Falmouth. This is as far as I've run on this route before. From here to the finish line, I have no idea what to expect. We run past Falmouth Harbor on our right, past the Flying Bridge restaurant at the harbor and I think of memorable lobster dinners there with my family. At this point, I recall reading about carb deficiencies in leg muscles, so I pull out my Clif carb blocks and eat a couple. I hope that they help my leg muscles to stay strong. I don't know if they did but I had plenty of energy to keep going.
Mile Six: There are tons of crowds here. We've turned on to the next to the last street before "The Heights" and the finish line. People are waving and telling us "you've just finished a 10K!!". I love the huge red, white & blue painted numbers on the road - 6 - I can't miss it. I've just run my first 10K and I'm fine! Walk 1 minute, run 5 minutes - still working for me. I love the little kids that lined the roads - they hold out their hands and are thrilled when a runner comes over and high fives them as we run past them. The little ones hand out cups of water and oranges. They seem like they're having a great time shaking their hand-made noisemakers: pebbles in plastic water bottles!
Mile Seven: We round the curve at the end of the street and come upon Vineyard Sound again and the last hill. It's huge, most runners ahead of me are walking it, and I decide to walk up the first half and then run up to the top so I would be fresh for the last 1/2 mile. There's a man sitting on a tall chair taking photos of the runners coming up that hill, so I stop & smile for my picture. Those 2 decisions probably ruined my chances of coming in under 100 minutes. Oh well.
As I crest the hill, I looked down for a moment to take in the scene: I saw thousands of runners milling around on the grass overlooking the beach, and spectators under tents, a huge "Finish" sign hung across the road, music blaring, and best of all, my beloved wife standing at the bottom of the hill waving furiously to me. She was screaming "Come on come on - run!" as she told me later. All I could see was Patti jumping up and down, waving her arms and smiling. I decided to run as fast as I possibly could. I checked my new Polar watch and I realized I was going to finish before 12 noon, the official end of the timed portion of the race. I ran down the hill, across the finish line, and into her arms. We hugged and cried. She told me she was so proud of me. She cried and said "You did it, you did it!". (I told her later this must have been what it was like when her softball team beat Perry's). I finished strong, came in upright, no medical tent, no EMT (there were plenty of people who needed help). It was one of the best days of my life.
The runners were corralled down & around to the ballpark, where hundreds of volunteers were at their food stations giving out hot dogs, fruit cocktail, chips, and fruit drinks. I sat down on the cool grass & ate a hot dog - oh so good. We took pictures, and watched the awards ceremony. My son called to congratulate me on running this race & finishing strong - he told me I could have coasted to retirement thinking that running and new frontiers were part of my distant youth, but I didn't and he was so proud of me. What a thrilling moment to hear that from him.
And then it was over. We walked 2 miles back to our parked car, dropped Elaine off at her house and went home for a shower & a nap. We were still pretty jazzed up, so we went to Spanky's in Hyannis for lobster rolls & raw oysters. It doesn't get any better than that on a summer evening on Cape Cod.
So my journey to the Falmouth Road Race is complete. Many thanks to all who were with me every step of the way and gave me their love, support, running tips, and their unending faith that I could do it - Chris, Briana, Avery, Beth, Jan, and of course, the love of my life - Patti.
Happy running everyone!
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