So forgot to recap the 4.NinerK I did at the end of October. It was the inaugural event and the race was really great. The weather was crappy. It started off overcast, but then poured a minute before the race started. There was intermittent rain during the race and another downpour after I finished. But it really didn't ruin the event.
I got to UNCC early and was able to find the free parking deck next to the Student Union building, both of which were not there when I attended UNCC. The whole start area was completely new to me. It was very nice and the outside fit with the style of the older buildings. I got my packet which contained M&Ms (nice!), a UNCC koozie (awesome!) and a great race t-shirt (awesomer!). It was a pale yellow and had the green Charlotte 49ers symbol on it. The usual glut of sponsor logos on the back, but it was still a nice shirt. The race packet was given to us in paper Trader Joe's bags. It was great because I love TJ's and it's recyclable. It was not great that it was raining and that tends to disintegrate paper.
I decided to run most of the course as a warm up. UNCC is a hilly, hilly campus. I wasn't a runner when I attended college and that's probably a good thing! My feet hurt during the warm up. I had had my first Graston appointment two days before and they were still pretty tender. The loop I ran was probably 2 1/2 miles and it went by some of the older buildings that I remembered. It was good to see they haven't updated Smurf Village. I can't remember the real name of these on-campus apartments, but since they were painted blue we called them Smurf Village. They were really crappy, too, and they still are. It was interesting to see that they added a Greek Village for Sororities and Fraternities. Something I was opposed to as it tends to segregate the students. It was good to see that even though there has been a lot of construction on campus, there is still a lot of green space left.
I ended up with a lot of time between my warm up and the race so I was able to walk around the Student Union center some. When I was there, they had just gotten some fast food restaurants on campus; Chick-Fil-A and Taco Bell. That was it. In the new Student Center there was a Wendy's, a convenience store, a Mrs. Fields, and of course a Starbucks. I started thinking that maybe going back to school wasn't such a bad idea. But then I saw some students walk by on their way to class, on a Saturday, and got that familiar pit in my stomach thinking about studying and deadlines, exams, presentations and I thought better of it.
They lined the roughly 300 of us runners up for an 8:49 start (we're the 49ers, get it?). Bobby Lutz, the men's basketball coach gave a short thank you/inspirational speech. I don't remember it, I never listen to these things. It's usually at this point when I wonder why I pay money to come run when I could run on my own and start whenever I get there. But, as I said before, a minute after a downpour started we were released on the course. The race started with a somewhat steep downhill with a turn to the right. Then a long uphill and a turnaround about 1/4 of a mile up. The next 1/4 of a mile was downhill, then a long ascent towards the front of the campus. The next mile and a half was gentle rolling hills and then a short steep downhill then a tad longer steep uphill, but then there was about 3/4 of a mile of gradual downhill. Very nice! However, then we had to go back up the hill where we started! The ending was brutal. I managed a 29:10 which isn't great, but considering my feet hurt the whole time, I'll take it.
I did see a few interesting things along the course. The first was a lady who carried her packet with her on her hip during the race. She would transfer it from hip to hip as her arm got tired. Sadly I couldn't pass this woman! As I mentioned, the race packets were in a paper bag, so the rain caused a hole in the bottom and at one point she lost a package of M&Ms, which she didn't stop to pick up. I'm assuming she didn't have a car to leave her packet. I would have just taken the shirt and left the rest, but I guess she really needed a koozie.
There were several young (late teens/early20s maybe) guys running the race who would stop and walk and then start running again. I couldn't believe they couldn't run 3 miles, but had signed up for a race. Then it occurred to me that they were probably out partying the night before and hadn't slept all night.
Since this was a college campus event, there were a lot of students or younger runners. There were only 12 women in my age group running the race. Lucky for me, this helped me come in second in my age group and I got a lovely medal. It was an unexpected surprise as I really didn't feel like I'd done my best. It does make me want to run this again next year and try to take first.
So I've been really busy these days. All that time when I wanted a boyfriend, I'd forgotten how much time they take! But it's really nice to have someone to share time with. I've done a few more projects on the condo. I painted the fireplace and replaced the over-the-range microwave. Next up is to paint the bathroom cabinets, hire a landscaper and a real estate agent. I bought some new bedroom furniture from a store that is going out of business. I've been wanting a sleigh bed and bedside tables and I found some I really, really like. It's going to be a few weeks before they get here and I have to get the old stuff out. Just in time for the holidays!
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