Burns Park 10K 2010

Asia, Inez, Eric, Eric S. Michael and Carmen, at the start.

Coach Gina, finishing the 5k!

Asia rounding the corner at about 1 mile.

Carmen at the finish, and her husband James, who ran the 5k then went out to finish with Carmen.

Down the hill to the finish!

Well, this was Asia's 4th race of the year, and I think it was her best so far. After a very *uncomfortable* (her term) long run last Saturday, I took her to Arbor Wellness for a massage and some serious stretching. Asia's right hip was bothering her, but getting her to admit it, and agree to stop running that day was the hard part. She was ok at 2 miles, slowing down at 5, really behind her group at 7, at which point she finally admitted that she was *uncomfortable* but still wanted to run. At the 10 mile water stop, she was quite far behind the rest of her group, and finally, reluctantly, agreed that she should be done for the day. We ran some errands and then went home so I could schedule some appointments.

Asia doesn't stretch. Her coach and team tried during high school and she would go through the motions, half-heartedly, but not really doing it. Since then, I've tried to duplicate her coach's stretching routine with Asia before races but it was more for me than for her. Coach Gina works on stretching with each group before the long runs on Saturday. Watching Asia do it is almost comical. So it's no surprise when, about this time before a major race, that she has some issues.

This time, as before, the fine folks at Arbor Wellness worked their magic, and after a couple of visits, Asia felt fine. She even did the stretches they showed her at home in the evenings. And when prompted, she did them before the race today. Maybe we're entering a new era............nah!!!

After a brief thunderstorm, and some heavy downpours early this morning, the skies settled themselves into a gloomy overcast, with 63 degree temps and high humidity. Not an ideal race day, but not the worst they've run in. Asia got a spot near the front with Michael, Carmen, Inez and her Eric and Eric Straka, all Running Fit 501 team members and at the sound of the horn, they took off. The concept of negative splits is foreign to Asia. She goes out hard and runs that way until she can't anymore. Her coach has tried, Lord knows she's tried, to get Asia to go out slower and gradually increase her pace but it's like fighting gravity.

Near the 1 mile spot Asia was the 3rd female. Near the 2 mile she was still the 3rd female and still ahead of Carmen but we suspected it couldn't last. At the halfway point she had dropped back and was a little behind Carmen. I was at that corner, urging her to catch Carmen. Asia gets juice from people cheering for her, so strategically placed cheerleaders can change the outcome of her race. By about mile 4 she and Carmen were within an arms length of each other. (Cue Adair to dash across the park to the 5 mile viewing spot.) At 5 miles I shouted, "Asia, you need to push Carmen, she wants a PR today too!" And Asia took off like a bullet, passing Carmen! Carmen said later that when Asia passed her she said, "Are you tired?" When Carmen replied, "Yes, I am!" Asia said, "Good!"

Jerry was on the hill at about the 3 mile spot and I was at the finish. Carmen beat her, but Asia ran a great race, finishing in 48:54 and 2nd in her age group! Carmen was 1st in her age group. Way to go both of you! That was fun to watch. And a big shout out to the folks at Arbor Wellness for getting Asia back up to speed!!!

Oh, and this was Asia's 98th race since finishing high school, and not including Special Olypmics 5k races, which are not recognized by Athlinks.

Next Saturday is Number 99!

The Weekend of Two Races

Asia ran a 5K on Saturday and a 10K on Sunday. She was supposed to run 10 miles with her team on Saturday, but chose to run the Discover Milan Day 5K. This is the 3rd such race, put on by Asia's cross country coach from high school days. It's a good chance to run with the current crop of Coach Porter's elite runners as well as other folks in Milan who just like to run.

Following the race is a pancake breakfast.........which is not Asia's preferred race day breakfast, even tho she loves pancakes. On race days, Asia wants scrambled eggs with sausage.....and not just any sausage..........Jimmy Dean's Hot sausage. No bagles and peanut butter for this kid, uh uh. No banana and toast, no way. Sausage and eggs, and maybe a little fruit, if we have home canned peaches, or the canteloupe is especially fresh and tasty. And Asia is not one to eat breakfast twice, so we were stuck with waiting for the pancakes. Pancakes are closer to her normal PRACTICE breakfast of French toast.

Anyway, the morning was cool, but dry and clear. The runners took off about 7:30, and Asia was done in 25:04, which is closer to her daily running pace than her race pace. No PR, but she did place 2nd in her age group and got a medal and a hug from her old coach. It was a good morning, followed by pancakes!!

On Sunday was the 30th Annual Burns Park Run, in Ann Arbor. Asia has run this race several times, and last year PR'd there. There is a 5K run, which several of her teammates ran, and a 10K, which Asia and several more teammates ran. The course loops thru beautiful Burns Park and is very spectator friendly, which *I* like! This time we had the correct race day breakfast........sausage scrambled with eggs and a few slices of home-canned peaches, before driving up to Ann Arbor. Asia lined up with some of her buddies, and after some chip/mat issues, they took off. Jerry, Grizz, and I took off for the first spot to see the race. Asia always runs faster when we/others cheer for her, so we try to place ourselves around the course for maximum cheering advantage. And we're not above enlisting total strangers to cheer for her too! Gives her that little extra kick. We saw her 3 times before the end of the first loop at 5k, and her time was already better than the 5k the day before. She was looking good, and each time we cheered, she sped up. On the second loop, she was closing in on some of the faster runners from her team, and by the finish, or 400 yards from the finish, she still had a good kick, because when she saw Jerry up ahead taking pictures, she blasted past Heather. (To be fair, Heather had just done a Duathalon the day before! On a good day, no way Asia would have gotten that close.) Heather closed the gap as they blew past me to the finish. Asia beat Heather by 1 second. Heather was first in her age group and Asia was 3rd in hers. Andrea, another from the team, was the first female overall! And Michael finished 3rd in his age group. It was a great showing for the Running Fit 501 team!

And I learned not to mess with Race Day Breakfast!