#99

This is the one race that Asia doesn't eat *race day* breakfast (Jimmy Dean Hot sausage and scrambled eggs) before. It's the Milan 5k, at the beginning of Discover Milan Day, and there is a pancake breakfast after the race. I make Asia's soy pancakes to take with us and the cooks are kind enough to fry them up for her.

Yesterday couldn't have been much nastier (in my opinion). May 8, 45* temps and winds of 45 mph driving the cold, soaking rain. BUT, Running Fit runners train in everything, so Asia took it in stride.

This was the first race I hadn't pre-registered her for in a while, and it worked in our favor. There were only 2 ahead of us in the late registration line and about 30 in the pre-reg line. We got her number, took a picture of her in her Operation Jack shirt, and went to visit with some old friends we hadn't seen in a long while.

When it was time for the race to start, Coach Porter said he was going to do a false start for the newspaper. He meant for the runners to pose as if taking off, but I took him literally.....a false START, not just pose.....so when the gun sounded, I held Asia back, thinking she would be confused. But wait.........why weren't the other runners coming back to the start? OH NO, that was the real start........take off Asia!! By then the walkers had started (small race) so she had to navigate around them, which is not her strong suit. ...sigh....plus, I didn't start my watch. Operator error x 2!

I went inside the Senior Center for a while to warm up, then went back to the finish line to wait. This isn't a race where we get to see the runners once they leave. I started my watch off of Coach Porter's at 16 minutes and spent some time talking to his oldest daughter Kyle, who ran with Asia in high school. What a treat! She's grown into a wonderful young woman.

At 18 minutes and some change the first runners came thru. Jerry was in town and could see them turn one of the last corners. He said the wind was so bad that the walkers were having trouble just moving forward.

Finally at 25 minutes and some seconds Asia appeared on the bridge. We knew it would be some time before the results were posted, so we headed up to meet Jerry for breakfast.

The results still aren't posted on the website, but Jerry saw Coach Porter later and Asia was 2nd in her age group! Good for her! Number 99 is now history. On to 100, the Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon on June 6!

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!