I can now officially say I’ve done the Falmouth Road Race!
It was everything friends and others have been saying for weeks: a beautiful 7 mile seaside course, incredibly supportive spectators, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
I am trying to focus on that, and not the fact that it was a tough course, the sun was beating down on us the entire time, I did not fuel properly and I ran my slowest race. Ever.
Because I also had some amazing – and new – experiences.
First off, this was my first time running (or even heading to a race) with a group. I’ve done some races with Dr.G. in the past, but logistics are tricky when you have kids, so I often end up competing alone. And for a long time, I convinced myself that’s what I wanted. I could go at my own pace. I didn’t feel obligated to wait for someone – or hold them back. I could just run my own race.
But lately I’ve been spying groups at races and feeling a little jealous. It’s kind of lonely when you have to stretch and warm up alone, and standing by yourself in the pack, waiting for the gun to go off, can be quite nerve-wracking.
Today, however, was different. I met my friend L, her husband and a bunch of their friends at their house in Falmouth. L was kind enough to pick my bib up for me, so all I had to do was just show up bright and early Sunday morning. Dr. G. and the kids came with me, and they hung out at the house for a bit longer, while a friend dropped all of us runners off near the course. We walked about 3/4 mile along a local bike path right up to the start area, and it was a great opportunity to stretch my legs after the hour drive.
One bonus of having a running gang? I have someone to take pictures!
We still had over an hour to kill at this point, so we settled into a shady area to stretch and chat. Honestly, I think if I was by myself with so much time to go, I would have been bored – and probably would have started stressing too much about the race.
By the way, I could not get over just how many people there were, with a good chunk of time to go until race time. I heard there were 12,800 runners competing!!
L’s friend M and I were both assigned to the same corral, so when the time came, she and I headed to our area, staked our spot and said we’d try to run together if we could. Meanwhile, the sun continued to beat down on us (I love a cloudless summer sky … except on race days!) and my stomach started to growl — and I realized the almond butter and banana sandwich I half-heartedly ate nearly 1.5 hours earlier, and did not finish, was probably not enough. Whoops.
We chatted for a bit until the horn blew, and whoa. I heard how crowded the course was at the beginning, but I never expected this. I wish I had stopped to take pictures, because I’ve never seen anything like it in a race. Just a massive sea of people in front of me, stretched as far ahead as I could see.
M and I stuck together, though, and even though I still had my headphones, it was really nice to have the company. However, those first two miles were soooooo slow – like 11:00 and 10:30 – thanks to all the utter congestion.
Plus, check out the elevation! The first 3 miles or so were rolling hills …
… including a climb up to the historic Nobska Lighthouse.
As the course gradually started to open up a smidge as we exited the windy, hilly roads and ran alongside the Vineyard Sound, so we picked up the pace — to the tune of 8:40 — for miles 3 and 4.
But then the wall came. And it came hard.
We stopped and walked through the water station (which I was hoping not to do, but I needed it) and started up again, but our pace was nowhere near what we had been doing. We knew our kids were waiting just after mile 5, so I used that as my motivation, similar to what I did at the half marathon.
But I’m not gonna lie. My legs felt like lead, I got a small case of the chills (dehydration?) and I think I might have stopped if I didn’t have a running buddy.
Seeing the kiddos around the 5.5 mile mark helped, though!
We grabbed some more water and I felt a mix of relief and dread when I saw the 6 mile mark. Here’s what was going through my head:
Oh, thank God, only a mile left!
Boo, there’s no way I am getting this done in 1:03 (my secret time goal).
OMG, there is still that monster hill near the finish line.
Just after the 10K mark, we climbed an uphill — and it didn’t feel too bad. Woo-hoo, I’m home free!
Ehh, not so fast. That was just the warm-up act. The real hill lay just beyond. But we mustered up the last reserves of energy and powered over it and saw – at last – the huge American flag hanging over the finish line.
In the end, my final time was 1:09. A 9:45 pace. Yikes. I have never, ever run a race that slow and I won’t lie and say I’m not disappointed, and that there’s not a small shred of doubt creeping in as I get ready to kick off my half marathon training this week.
But you know what? I am (mostly) okay with it. Sometimes when you race there are things like crowds and the elements that you can’t control. I also learned a few valuable lessons, like I need to be more mindful of how and when I fuel (maybe a Gu just before race time would have helped?), and I realized how much fun it is to have a running group and a buddy who runs at a similar pace.
And I got to experience one of the premier –and most beautiful — races in the country. Which was my ultimate goal.
A couple of highlights I just have to share:
As we entered the race area, we saw Dick and Rick Hoyt! If you don’t know who the inspirational Hoyts are, dad Dick has pushed his son Rick, who has cerebral palsy, in his wheelchair in more than 1,000 endurance events, including 70 marathons and six Ironman triathlons, and they’ve run the Boston Marathon 30 times. So of course I took their picture like a runner stalker.
I also met this fabulous group – Team Calle – running in honor of a friend’s daughter who sadly lost her fight with DIPG, an inoperable malignant brain tumor with no cure, just weeks earlier. My heart broke when I heard the story. Please do me a favor and check out Hope for Caroline when you have a chance and learn more about this brave little girl, and how you can help.
By the way, my favorite line from today? Looking around all the kids competing in the race, one of the guys in our group pointed at one 12-year-old girl and said, “She’s gonna smoke me.” Hehe. I kept giggling about that as kid after kid passed me on the course.
One last thing: A special shout-out to my family for getting up crazy early and standing around in the hot sun to support me today. Love you guys.
How do you handle race results that were not what you were hoping for? And do you run races with a buddy?
Jane - MomGenerations.com says
I’ve always wanted to run the Falmouth Road Race – so envious of you! I’ve heard it is a really tough course (and running in the heat of August is never easy), so great job even though your time was a little off from your goal. Great photos, too!
Sharon - MomGenerations.com says
A wonderful race review and race-buddies experience. Falmouth is on my bucket list and maybe, just maybe, next year!? I also met Dick and Rick Hoyt… at my first Half in Hampton, NH in 2010. So inspiring. Thanks for sharing your race and photos!
Chelley / AisForAdelaide says
So jealous you got to run it- one of the most beautiful courses!!!! You did great. I have had a lot of bad times due to injury and improper fueling (and one race in a hail storm)… mostly I try to remind myself there are thousands of people on their ass eating crap and watching tv and I am beating myself up for running mile after mile? No way!
I never run with anyone… I think I would put too much pressure on myself, but I know I need more pressure to do better. Damn!
I love all of your pics and the Hoyt-team is amazing… stalk on!