Thursday, July 4, 2019

Crown City 12K-Robin-2019

Date/Location: July 4, 2019 – Coronado, Ca – Racing Since 2011
Distances: 12km
Time: 54:49 (PR, 2017, 53:17)
Place: 2nd/40
Others: 5K: Anna & Ariel Soares; Jan Heidt;
12K: Troy Soares


This is our 9th year racing here!  Time has flown by!  Parking is tough this year since we left a bit later than usual and there seems to be more racers. 

Anna, Ariel and Grammie (my Mom) are doing the 5K.  Troy and I are doing the 12K.  This year all racers start together.  Usually they break up the 5Kers and 12kers.  We all pray as a family for the Lord’s favor and blessing. We then split up to find a place at the start.  Anna and Troy head to the front.  I stay back with Ariel to give her comfort in this huge crowd.  I haven’t been able to get in much speed work outside of our once a week runs with our track group.  Not sure what to expect.

I love how this race shows respect to our Flag and country.  We all get to run under a huge American flag at the start. They take the time to read off names of those recently killed in the military.  Then a 13 year old boy plays the national anthem on his trumpet.  Anna has been doing the same at swim meets.  I’m sure she’s impressed as well.  Then there the yearly speech from the race director taken from the movie Independence Day.  He puts his own twist on it for the runners.  Great fun!

The top runners start but they stop our group as we approach the start line.  It’s a bummer to be separated from Troy and Anna.  We’ll have to wait a few minutes.  Ariel feels bad for holding me back but I tell her it’s not a big deal since it’s chip timing. 

Ready and go!  Ariel and I hold hands and run under the huge American flag together.  Then I say goodbye and run ahead.  It’s not long before I hear her voice behind me “hi Mom!”.  “Wow, Ariel, good job!  Be sure to pace yourself”.  She stays behind me for a bit and points out Troy in the crowd ahead of us.

I’m catching Troy within the first 3/4 mile.  That means his Achilles is not doing well.  I run alongside him and pray that the Lord will make it get better as the race goes on.  It’s extremely unusual to see him hindered in a race.  I am sad for him.  He tells me to run my own race. 

Mile 1 is 7:28.  I feel strong.  I know I want to break 1 hour for this race so I must average under 8 min. 

I see Anna heading back and it looks like she is in the top 5 women.  We wave to each other and I tell her “good job!”.  There is a girl that looks about her age right behind her.  I know she’ll finish strong because her focus is on Jesus.

Mile 2 is 7:17.  I continue to feel strong and I’m not straining at all. I have a few Clif Bloks to keep my energy steady.

I see a cat running towards me on the opposite side of the bike path I'm on. We pass each other as if we were 2 humans running. Funny!

Mile 3 is 7:27. I catch up to two Captain Americans. It's overcast but I'm warm. They must be burning up! I'm surprised how good I feel. I am passing quite a few runners as I go along. Thank you Lord!

Pretty soon I see the top runners heading back. There are a lot of strong guys. Soon I see a few girls coming along. One of them looks older than me...it gives me hope that I can continue to run strong as I age.

Finally, the turnaround! Ok, now it's time to see what's left in the tank.

Mile 4 is a 7:15. Good split but will I be struggling soon? As I head back, the crowds of runners are thick. Glad to see such a great turnout!

Mile 5 is a 7:19. Still feeling great! Once I hit 6, it's just hanging on.

I look at my watch and I can see I'm picking it up! Wow, this is of the Lord! I have not been able to train consistently due to busy summer schedules for the girls, taking care of Al, the house addition/remodel and most importantly trying to help Troy train for Ironman and start a new position at work. This is a gift that God is giving me out of His great love for me!

I can see the Coronado bridge! It's almost over!

Mile 6 is a 7:14! I'm negative splitting this the back half of the race. Unbelievable!

I can see a gal ahead quite a ways. I'm going to try to catch her if possible. Great having a carrot out there to motivate me to push!

Mile 7 is a 7:07! Oh my! I dig deep and remind myself the discomfort is temporary. Even though I'm pushing hard, I don't feel like I'm straining.

I'm catching that girl but I don't have enough real estate to bridge the gap. I push nonetheless and make the final turn to the straight away. I can hear the girls cheering. I smile and keep going running all the way through to finish. Thank you Jesus for such a wonderful race!