St. Clair River Run Race Report

I know my last post was about a race too...summer is a busy time in these parts.  I have been enjoying lots of running (with and without the boys) and general getting wet in pools and splashpads over the last couple of weeks, and clearly I have been having so much fun I forgot that I like to write about it :)

On the weekend I ran in an excellent race, the St. Clair River Run , in Port Lambton ON.  They had a 10k and a 5k option, so my brother and I ran the 10k and my husband ran the 5k.  The three boys stayed home with Grandma (yipee!).

We have been experiencing quite the heat wave around here lately, so running a race in the midst of it all can be challenging.  Luckily, the race started at 8am (I think they should aim for 7:30am next year) and the race followed a parkway located directly beside the St. Clair River (hence the name, duh) so there was a nice cool breeze off the water the entire time.  The sun is relentless, however, so they also had the fire trucks on hand to "spray" runners as we ran past.

This race was very close in proximity to my parent's house, so we headed there on Friday night with the boys.  After driving most of the 2 hour drive, I realized that I had forgotten my beloved Garmin at home (some profanity may have been used upon that realization) grrrr.  It is so funny, as a year ago, I didn't even own a Garmin, and now I just love it so much.  At least my wrist wouldn't get sweaty?

As we arrived at the race, and started to get ready, my husband realized he forgot his socks.  He wins.  Running a race without socks is harder to handle than knowing your pace.  Ick.  I know what you're thinking...we were very ill-prepared it seems.  Remember that we have three kids ages 4 and under.  At least all of them are fed and clothed most of the time.  All the rest is gravy :)

We boarded the school bus shuttle to our starting lines, and headed out.  My husband got off the bus at the 5k stop, and Scott and I headed on to the 10k start.  I had to go to the bathroom really bad by the time we got there, and they only had an on-site washroom with three stalls in the park.  Next year I think they should add some port-a-loos, as the line-up (on the women's side) was loooong.

With only a moment to spare, I dashed from the washroom to the start line, and we were off.  My brother settled in ahead of me, and for most of the race I could see him (we were basically running in a straight line).  My pace felt very comfortable, but I have no idea what it was!  Splits, schmits!  They had kilometers marked, so it was nice to see them often.  At about the 3k mark, my shoe lace loosened.  Really?  I have never had that happen before.  I don't "double knot."  I read an article in Runner's World a couple of years ago, about the proper way to tie shoe laces. "If you do it right, you don't need to double knot".  I had been doing it wrong for years, so I retrained my brain to tie them this other way (the "proper" way) and this is what I get?!  Ah, well.  I stopped, re-tied the stinking shoelace, and tried to catch up to the three people that passed me.  I managed to speed up, and fell back into place.

At about kilometer 6, the OTHER lace came undone.  Are you kidding me?!

Everyone I have talked to since has recommended the double-knot, especially for race day.  I may consider it for next time.

In the last couple of kilometers, the crowds picked up, and it was nice to see the finish line off in the distance.
My husband and my brother were there to cheer me through the finish line, which is always nice.  Great post-race food (they even had food and refreshments for spectators!) but sadly this year they didn't do medals (last year they did).  boo!

Here are the stats...

23/159

4/33 age group

5/95 females

47:39 gun time

I will add photos when my computer decides to cooperate :)

Here's to another hot week of running!