When we spend the Fourth of July in North Carolina with the in-laws, I like to run Four on the 4th. It has become somewhat of a tradition and may have been my first AG win back in the day. I still remember going back to Fleet Feet the next day to collect and use my $50 gift certificate to the store. Fast forward many years and this race has grown exponentially.
The day dawned hot, humid and stormy. Rain fell steadily from the time I got there and built to a full-on downpour as we stood in the starting corral. I was glad I left my phone and Aftershokz in the car. There’d be no music for me. We waited. And waited. Ten minutes passed before a race official told us the race would start in 2 minutes. Another 10 minutes passed before we were finally off.
Goal: Run happy
I had no pace goals whatsoever. It had been a tough, emotional week with Remy and my MIL is not the most relaxing person ever. By far. I just wanted to relax, breathe and enjoy the escape that running is for me. In fact I didn’t look at my Garmin until the finish.
Unlike Chicago, North Carolina is filled with hills. This course, while relatively flat by NC standards, is all up and down to a flatlander like me. Nothing horribly steep, but all rolling and long inclines.
Since I had no music, I found myself eavesdropping:
Some women discussed someone’s relationship status. “They’ve been engaged on and off for years with no wedding date in sight and that’s probably a good thing because who wants a marriage to fall apart?” They passed me as I slowed at the water stop so I could hear no more about the up and down couple.
That convo was replaced by a couple of women sharing movie reviews for Finding Dory and BFG.
In the middle of mile 2 the rain stopped and it was full-on, suffocating steam. Ugh. It was awful but I wasn’t running fast enough to really suffer.
In mile 3 I was wrapped up in a convo with 2 guys behind me talking about their gardens, specifically their pepper plants, and how tempermental they’ve been this season. Between that and lamenting the deer eating all their daisies, I was quite entertained.
The final mile heads up a long incline out of a sleepy neighborhood and onto a narrow sidewalk. I was stuck single file behind a rather large guy. Of course I could’ve run on the wet grass to pass him but I didn’t. When we entered the school parking lot to finish with a lap on the track though, it was my goal to pass him. Yeah, now I got competitive. I’d been running so easy I had plenty left for the finish.
I tried to pass on the inside when he left a brief opening alas the track had huge puddles, so I waited. Finally in the straightaway I took off, passing him and everyone else.
I swear I felt like Allyson Felix sprinting to the finish. The Caveman’s video (after being MIA for my tri, he was parked at the finish rolling video now, go figure) however, shows something far different. Sigh.
I ended up in the 9-ish average pace range, so 36 minutes and change and that’s perfectly fine with me for a fun run. 14/48 in my age group. The watermelon and ice pops at the finish were pure awesome.
The race swag? Um, not so much. In past years, this race gave cute socks from The Sock Guy. This year was a key chain bottle opener. I may be an ungrateful brat, but it’s not my favorite.
Final Words. I like this race, maybe for nostalgic reasons. It’s no frills. No race shirt. No on-course clocks. Relatively cheap at $35, although the online signup fee makes it less reasonable. It has grown a lot so the course is pretty crowded. I enjoy the track finish.
What was the highlight of your holiday weekend? Did you race? Final day for my giveaway.
I did a nearby small-town 5K…it’s an annual event that supports the local cross county team. Pretty good turnout, and they have tons of door prizes. This was my third year running it, and my third year of getting the 2nd AG medal. I’m happy with how I did considering my mileage took a nose dive in June. So sorry to hear about your Remy ;-(
I am really sorry about Remy, I just went and read that post 🙁
You did great in the humidity and to have no music, and hills, I am not sure conversation would have been enough to distract me lol
Do you feel like it more humid in NC? I am not sure how your northern weather is in summer.
Who can talk during a race?! I can mutter one word responses but in-depth conversations are definitely out. But I don’t mind listening to other peoples’. Makes the time pass much quicker.
I always end up listening to conversations during a race. I question how other people can talk while running but at least its somewhat entertaining for me. Sounds like a good race to do for fun!
great job! I can’t imagine standing there in the pouring rain waiting for a start! The medals we got on the 4th are bottle openers too but for $30 we also got a shirt and free beer. I like all the eavesdropping, that is funny, now I know what I am missing by listening to my music!
I did that Stampede 10k that I like to do every year. No race swag, but a pretty decent shirt this year!
I love the little snippets of overheard conversation during your run. People watching and listening is always a fun way to pass time 🙂
I’m just not a fan of the keychain bottle opener. Which is it? And, I don’t NEED a bottle opener on my key chain. In the only race I’ve run that finished with a lap on the track, all the lanes had puke on them. It was a 95 degrees, 10:00 pm June Florida race and everybody had had too much fun during the day, I’m guessing. I think you did a great job in that NC muck.
I ran the Elmhurst 4 on the 4th on Monday. No swag but a nice shirt that I did not keep. Long story. Interesting on the conversations you heard along the way.
Conversation eavesdropping is always entertaining – it always cracks me up what people will chat about during a race! Nice job in spite of the downpour and steamy conditions.
I have overheard and joined in on some really funny and odd conversations while running!
There was a 4miler but it’s so crazy crowded that I always choose not to do it.
Who needs a keychain bottle opener??
$35 is not cheap for a no frills race, though.
You’re right Darlene, the more I think about it, it isn’t Maybe by Chicago standards it is, but this was North Carolina.
Way to go on your run! You did great considering the rain and humidity! I love passing people at the finish. Feels so good!
Sorry about the rain and humidity – great job in tough conditions.
I always return to some of the same no frills races every year out of habit.
Looks like Lou is getting primed for Indy! 🙂
Looking good, girl!
xo