Gate River Run! 15K of pure . . .
by Steve (taken from his Facebook notes)
I planned and got up early. The program said to be there by 7:30a, but that it gets busy so I wanted to be there by 7:00 as our friend (Melanie) was meeting us there then. So I did my morning chores, packed the things I needed, showered and dressed and I was ready.
At just before 6:00a my wife (Deanne) and I loaded the car and set off. We had to make a stop to pick up some stuff that we forgot from a store. Traffic was light, but i guess I got the travel time wrong, as by 7:00a we were still 10-15 minutes away, and traffic was starting to get thicker. But no worries, so I was going to be 15 mins late. About 10 minutes later we were leaving the interstate and then stopped in bumper-to-bumper traffic, crawling, crawling. Damn all those other race goers.
At 7:55a, I was beginning to panic and to make it worse, i had to pee something fierce. We could see where we had to be, but we couldn't reach it in the car! Deanne, bless her cotton socks, told me to go run to it, and she would park up and then try and find me and my friend.
So out the car I get, grabbing my number and timing chip, and my "electronics". The important things I needed. And after a quick kiss dashed off, only to return because I didn't need my cell phone case. As I ran down, I called my friend to see where she was, and arranged a meeting place. Then I called Deanne and told here a big "Thank-You" and that I loved her.
I waited at the meeting place, and my friend showed up, and got me calmed down. She's normally the panicky one, and I'm the voice of calm, however, the roles were reversed this morning. we walked to the porta-potties, but the queue was horrendous, but she new of some more with a smaller queue. so we went to those and YES! the queue was only about 10 ppl. So as we waited, she attached my number to my shirt and timing chip to my shoe. My panic was fading, relief was washing over me, turning into nerves. I was final here. I was ready [Except I still had to pee, but that was pretty uneventful :) ]. Twelve months of preparation had finally arrived.
We walked to the start line, I spoke with Deanne on the phone as we walked. She was doing her best to get to the line, although with 15,000 runners it may be hard finding each other. We lined up amongst the swath of people. Melanie, all prepared, and being the friendly person she is was chatting with the runners around. Me, I was still preparing. Trying to get my running computer on, my iPod on, headphone attached, running bag packed, shoe laces tied, retied, and then double knotted. Deanne said she would call again before the start, but in all my fiddling around, I didn't hear the phone and missed her call. I shouldn't have packed my phone, but kept it out waiting for the call. Sorry sweetie.
So, why was I running for 15k? Good question. Well it all started about two and a half years ago. I decided to slim down. I set a goal of 100lbs (about 7 stone) By last April I had lost a good 60lb, I was ecstatic, but I still wasn't at my goal. So I needed to do something different. I had heard about the Gate River Run, but of course running wasn't my thing so I never paid it any attention. Last year Melanie's husband ran in it, and looking at the photos from the event, I decided I needed another goal to help me. So I vowed that I would run it. Of course I couldn't run a lick, but when did I ever let a thing like that stop me. I told Deanne, I told my Friends, and they all supported me. I checked the website almost daily looking for when I could register.
Melanie played a vital role in being my coach and helping me along, dragging me on runs, giving me pointers. And Deanne being my#1 fan supported me and all my weird ministrations and actions in preparing. She's a saint! On July 4th, Melanie cut me loose. Melanie, her husband and I were running my first race. The Celebration 5K in Jacksonville. Her training was over. What an experience. The vibrance, the energy, so much different than the training, it pulls you along (and the fact we were trying to keep up with her hubby didn't help). We made great time, less than 8:00/mile (in training i had been running 8:45/mile).
Me just after July 4th 2008, After completing my first race. A 5K.But 5K is a long way from 15K. I had a lot to do. I kept plugging away, and by October I was ready, however, the 15k wasn't until March. I should add here that in September, all my hard work had paid off, and I had passed my 100lb goal. Then the holidays came.
Holiday start early in the US. Thanksgiving occurs at them end of November, and then pretty much the Christmas period begins. I did my best, but how can you resist all those lovely treats. :). Training slacked as the days and temps drew in, mixed in with the extra foods I ended up gained a little back (about 10lbs), which was probably good in the long haul, as it was winter time, a time of lovely weather, normally, but now I had no insulation. I could feel the cold!
The New Year started and I had to begin again. It was like starting from scratch, like I did in April. I was devastated. But I persevered, even though I injured myself a couple of times, which halted my training. About two weeks from the race I had hit an all time low, I almost called Melanie and told her to forget the whole thing. But I'm not a quitter, and try not to make decision based on emotions, so I waited a day or two and tried again, and succeeded. I was back in the game!
And that takes me to today [well yesterday :)]. Melanie and I were lined up. High fives abounded. One fellow racer said, "Before you know it, you be passed the 5k point". The Anthem was sung, the cannon went off. This was it!
Once we actually got to the start line, which took about 5 minutes after the cannon went off, we were gently jogging in the crowd, looking for the camera. I wanted to be on TV damn it. :). It was a leisurely cruise along Bay Street for about a mile, then we turned an hit the first hill, nothing big, a nice warmer-upper. We rose a couple of blocks, took a left, and then a left again and it was downhill heading to the first of the bridges over the St. Johns River. This a metal grate bridge, you can see right though it, to the water below. An uneasy feeling for sure. Last year, another runner was telling us, the winds were up, and as you stepped, it blew from underneath and you ended up floating, unsure where your feet would land.
The race passed through a lot of nice areas I have never even been, but have heard of. There were plenty of water stations and porta-potties for those who needed, but everything for use was smooth. The miles passed, one..., two..., three... . The runner was right. 5K down. It had been 30 minutes, but it had flown. I hadn't even used my iPod yet, something that is a must when I'm training. There were bands playing, crowds cheering. Totally awesome.
In the throughs of actionFour..., five..., six... we were seriously involved now. We passed through beautiful neighborhoods. The residents sat on their lawns cheering. We were passing slower runners. From our original pace around 10:30/mile we had edged up into the 8:30/mile. We needed to slow down a little. We didn't want to burn out as we had a huge bridge to finish on. Melanie had to keep pulling me back.
Mile seven, was a little boring, just plain old highway, but it held something worse. At the 7.5mile mark began the turn toward the ascent over the Hart Bridge. And thats a high bridge. The last watering station for the race. We took a last drink, and surged forward. The slow climb began. The journey over the bridge started at the 8-mile mark, lasting about a mile. Fortunately, it was only 1/2-mile up. The other 1/2-mile was down. It was a slow trudge. The music blaring was Eye of the Tiger. Dang if a song can make you get off your ass, its that one. It gripped me, I was off, I could help myself. Again Melanie shouted after me. I explained it was the music. We trudged up, and up, and up. till we finally crested the apex. I had wanted to look out over the water from the top, but it was so foggy, we couldn't see anything. Coming down was soooo much fun.
Clare had mentioned she had been rolling down hills recently and it was sooo much fun, and I commented I did that as a child. She told me I should do it again. This was so akin to that. The other runners were all holding back. But Melanie and I were racing down. Going with gravity. Runners behind us were shouting to save something, and we were cause we wasn't doing anything. It was all nature. Our pace jumped to almost 5:00/mile on that downward section. Right to the finish line. Dodging in and out of the runners.
I had wanted to cross the line at the same time. But I had such a hard time slowing down. As I looked behind, searching for Melanie, I could see her behind me, she was shouting. GO STEVE!!! GO!!! That’s all I needed I was off, I started sprinting for the line. I didn't see Deanne (who spotted me instantly) in the crowd. I didn't even see myself on the jumbo-tron. I finished. I pulled up and turned around to find Melanie behind me. We were so joyed. We had done it. Where was my medal damn it! :) Kidding. I/We were so joyed, I didn't care about the medal, although I am proud of it. Trying to get away from the finish to the Celebration was terrible, sooo many people. And we still had to find Deanne. Thank-god for cell phones!
We met up, hugged and kissed and celebrated together. Took photos, then went to refuel.
As I said what a day! And I owe all the thanks in the world to Deanne and Melanie for making it so.
But where from here. I have the bug. Bring on Alabama. Mobile next stop!
So, to complete the title. This was 15K of pure AWESOMENESS. I urge you to go and do it!
=======================================
Here I am running strong on the Hart Bridge, about a half mile from the finish line.
The Champions! Me and Melanie with our medals.
Giving my #1 fan a sweaty kiss.
I planned and got up early. The program said to be there by 7:30a, but that it gets busy so I wanted to be there by 7:00 as our friend (Melanie) was meeting us there then. So I did my morning chores, packed the things I needed, showered and dressed and I was ready.
At just before 6:00a my wife (Deanne) and I loaded the car and set off. We had to make a stop to pick up some stuff that we forgot from a store. Traffic was light, but i guess I got the travel time wrong, as by 7:00a we were still 10-15 minutes away, and traffic was starting to get thicker. But no worries, so I was going to be 15 mins late. About 10 minutes later we were leaving the interstate and then stopped in bumper-to-bumper traffic, crawling, crawling. Damn all those other race goers.
At 7:55a, I was beginning to panic and to make it worse, i had to pee something fierce. We could see where we had to be, but we couldn't reach it in the car! Deanne, bless her cotton socks, told me to go run to it, and she would park up and then try and find me and my friend.
So out the car I get, grabbing my number and timing chip, and my "electronics". The important things I needed. And after a quick kiss dashed off, only to return because I didn't need my cell phone case. As I ran down, I called my friend to see where she was, and arranged a meeting place. Then I called Deanne and told here a big "Thank-You" and that I loved her.
I waited at the meeting place, and my friend showed up, and got me calmed down. She's normally the panicky one, and I'm the voice of calm, however, the roles were reversed this morning. we walked to the porta-potties, but the queue was horrendous, but she new of some more with a smaller queue. so we went to those and YES! the queue was only about 10 ppl. So as we waited, she attached my number to my shirt and timing chip to my shoe. My panic was fading, relief was washing over me, turning into nerves. I was final here. I was ready [Except I still had to pee, but that was pretty uneventful :) ]. Twelve months of preparation had finally arrived.
We walked to the start line, I spoke with Deanne on the phone as we walked. She was doing her best to get to the line, although with 15,000 runners it may be hard finding each other. We lined up amongst the swath of people. Melanie, all prepared, and being the friendly person she is was chatting with the runners around. Me, I was still preparing. Trying to get my running computer on, my iPod on, headphone attached, running bag packed, shoe laces tied, retied, and then double knotted. Deanne said she would call again before the start, but in all my fiddling around, I didn't hear the phone and missed her call. I shouldn't have packed my phone, but kept it out waiting for the call. Sorry sweetie.
So, why was I running for 15k? Good question. Well it all started about two and a half years ago. I decided to slim down. I set a goal of 100lbs (about 7 stone) By last April I had lost a good 60lb, I was ecstatic, but I still wasn't at my goal. So I needed to do something different. I had heard about the Gate River Run, but of course running wasn't my thing so I never paid it any attention. Last year Melanie's husband ran in it, and looking at the photos from the event, I decided I needed another goal to help me. So I vowed that I would run it. Of course I couldn't run a lick, but when did I ever let a thing like that stop me. I told Deanne, I told my Friends, and they all supported me. I checked the website almost daily looking for when I could register.
Melanie played a vital role in being my coach and helping me along, dragging me on runs, giving me pointers. And Deanne being my#1 fan supported me and all my weird ministrations and actions in preparing. She's a saint! On July 4th, Melanie cut me loose. Melanie, her husband and I were running my first race. The Celebration 5K in Jacksonville. Her training was over. What an experience. The vibrance, the energy, so much different than the training, it pulls you along (and the fact we were trying to keep up with her hubby didn't help). We made great time, less than 8:00/mile (in training i had been running 8:45/mile).
Me just after July 4th 2008, After completing my first race. A 5K.But 5K is a long way from 15K. I had a lot to do. I kept plugging away, and by October I was ready, however, the 15k wasn't until March. I should add here that in September, all my hard work had paid off, and I had passed my 100lb goal. Then the holidays came.
Holiday start early in the US. Thanksgiving occurs at them end of November, and then pretty much the Christmas period begins. I did my best, but how can you resist all those lovely treats. :). Training slacked as the days and temps drew in, mixed in with the extra foods I ended up gained a little back (about 10lbs), which was probably good in the long haul, as it was winter time, a time of lovely weather, normally, but now I had no insulation. I could feel the cold!
The New Year started and I had to begin again. It was like starting from scratch, like I did in April. I was devastated. But I persevered, even though I injured myself a couple of times, which halted my training. About two weeks from the race I had hit an all time low, I almost called Melanie and told her to forget the whole thing. But I'm not a quitter, and try not to make decision based on emotions, so I waited a day or two and tried again, and succeeded. I was back in the game!
And that takes me to today [well yesterday :)]. Melanie and I were lined up. High fives abounded. One fellow racer said, "Before you know it, you be passed the 5k point". The Anthem was sung, the cannon went off. This was it!
Once we actually got to the start line, which took about 5 minutes after the cannon went off, we were gently jogging in the crowd, looking for the camera. I wanted to be on TV damn it. :). It was a leisurely cruise along Bay Street for about a mile, then we turned an hit the first hill, nothing big, a nice warmer-upper. We rose a couple of blocks, took a left, and then a left again and it was downhill heading to the first of the bridges over the St. Johns River. This a metal grate bridge, you can see right though it, to the water below. An uneasy feeling for sure. Last year, another runner was telling us, the winds were up, and as you stepped, it blew from underneath and you ended up floating, unsure where your feet would land.
The race passed through a lot of nice areas I have never even been, but have heard of. There were plenty of water stations and porta-potties for those who needed, but everything for use was smooth. The miles passed, one..., two..., three... . The runner was right. 5K down. It had been 30 minutes, but it had flown. I hadn't even used my iPod yet, something that is a must when I'm training. There were bands playing, crowds cheering. Totally awesome.
In the throughs of actionFour..., five..., six... we were seriously involved now. We passed through beautiful neighborhoods. The residents sat on their lawns cheering. We were passing slower runners. From our original pace around 10:30/mile we had edged up into the 8:30/mile. We needed to slow down a little. We didn't want to burn out as we had a huge bridge to finish on. Melanie had to keep pulling me back.
Mile seven, was a little boring, just plain old highway, but it held something worse. At the 7.5mile mark began the turn toward the ascent over the Hart Bridge. And thats a high bridge. The last watering station for the race. We took a last drink, and surged forward. The slow climb began. The journey over the bridge started at the 8-mile mark, lasting about a mile. Fortunately, it was only 1/2-mile up. The other 1/2-mile was down. It was a slow trudge. The music blaring was Eye of the Tiger. Dang if a song can make you get off your ass, its that one. It gripped me, I was off, I could help myself. Again Melanie shouted after me. I explained it was the music. We trudged up, and up, and up. till we finally crested the apex. I had wanted to look out over the water from the top, but it was so foggy, we couldn't see anything. Coming down was soooo much fun.
Clare had mentioned she had been rolling down hills recently and it was sooo much fun, and I commented I did that as a child. She told me I should do it again. This was so akin to that. The other runners were all holding back. But Melanie and I were racing down. Going with gravity. Runners behind us were shouting to save something, and we were cause we wasn't doing anything. It was all nature. Our pace jumped to almost 5:00/mile on that downward section. Right to the finish line. Dodging in and out of the runners.
I had wanted to cross the line at the same time. But I had such a hard time slowing down. As I looked behind, searching for Melanie, I could see her behind me, she was shouting. GO STEVE!!! GO!!! That’s all I needed I was off, I started sprinting for the line. I didn't see Deanne (who spotted me instantly) in the crowd. I didn't even see myself on the jumbo-tron. I finished. I pulled up and turned around to find Melanie behind me. We were so joyed. We had done it. Where was my medal damn it! :) Kidding. I/We were so joyed, I didn't care about the medal, although I am proud of it. Trying to get away from the finish to the Celebration was terrible, sooo many people. And we still had to find Deanne. Thank-god for cell phones!
We met up, hugged and kissed and celebrated together. Took photos, then went to refuel.
As I said what a day! And I owe all the thanks in the world to Deanne and Melanie for making it so.
But where from here. I have the bug. Bring on Alabama. Mobile next stop!
So, to complete the title. This was 15K of pure AWESOMENESS. I urge you to go and do it!
=======================================
Here I am running strong on the Hart Bridge, about a half mile from the finish line.
The Champions! Me and Melanie with our medals.
Giving my #1 fan a sweaty kiss.
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