Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Two Rivers Meet 10k Race Recap

Over Memorial Day weekend last year, my husband lost one of his cousins, David, due to a tragic accident. David was only 18 and last week would have been his 19th birthday. I only knew David for a short period of time, but he had a lasting effect on his entire family. We all really feel the love. On Mothers Day, in memory of David, Toph's family members wrote messages on balloons and we sent them up to heaven. In writing my message, I couldn't help but have tears in my eyes.

Over Memorial Day Weekend this year, we completed the Two Rivers Meet 5k/10k race as a family with some people doing the 5k race, the 5k walk, and I did the 10k race. I thought this would be a great way for the family to come together and celebrate David's life. As I am a newer member to my husband's family, I'm happy to be able to give back a little bit though something that I love so much and help out a family that always does so much for other people.

The race had a several different distance options like I mentioned earlier: 5k walk, 5k, 10k, or 15k run. They also offered menu pricing. Race, timing chip, and shirt were all separate so if you didn't want the shirt, or if you didn't want a time, you didn't have to pay for it. I think a lot of folks liked that there was an option. We got our own shirts made that we wore the day of the race. They turned out really nice.
The whole crew

Before the race, there seemed to be some confusion for packet pickup. We received a few different emails with different instructions each time about where packet pickup was. We had one family member go to a location only to have no one there and no sign letting you know if the location or time had changed. It was frustrating and putting a bad taste in some folks mouths before the race even started.

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!

The 10k and 15k started first and our course was out and back through a residential area. They had lots of signs and volunteers telling you where to go when out on the course. Considering there wasn't a lot of us at this distance, that was quite helpful.

The "Kelly" pose

Hello calf muscles. Nice to meet you!

This was only my 2nd 10k ever, and I gotta say that I'm not a fan of this distance. I've done an 8k multiple times but that extra mile seemed to take a lot out of me. There are a few other reasons that could have lead to my disappointing feeling, including a poor dinner the night before and a bad nights sleep the night before. Maybe I need to do another 10k later this year as a redemption race. Maybe... :)

Despite feeling like I could have done better, I blew my previous PR out of the water by about 4 minutes. Official finish time: 50:41... and I snagged a 1st place award in my age group. :)

A few of Toph's cousins also got age group awards. Out of the 5 people that ran (most of our crew walked), 4 of us got age group awards (at both the 5k and 10k). Not too shabby, I must say!

There were definitely some communication issues with packet pickup, and I ended up emailing the race company several times with questions about the race. But overall, I thought they did a nice job with the race. I'm not sure if we'll do it again next year, but I'd like to keep the tradition going.

In David's memory, Hazelden Foundation's 'David's Gift - A Legacy of Hope', was created to help teens in need find education, hope and healing through Hazelden's Teen Intervene Program. If you are interested in finding out more about the program or would like to make a donation, information can be found here.

14 comments:

  1. Middleaged RunnerMay 30, 2012 at 6:44 AM

    Great way to remember your cousin... Emotional stuff, I'm sure!
    Nice race too- awesome pr :-)

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  2. Too bad about the disorganization, but congrats on your AG win! How can you not like the 10k?? Either way it sounds like the whole weekend was a blast! :)

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  3. What an awesome way to pay tribute. Love it. Great job! :)

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  4. Thanks! I think I dislike the fact that I have to go super fast/throw up pace for 6.2 miles instead of 3.1. I much prefer the 5k. Then again, I didn't think I had a good race. Maybe I'll think differently after a different 10k?

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  5. Thanks! I did what I could do to help--plan to attend a race! :)

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  6. Thanks Amanda! It really was a great day. :)

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  7. It's so heartbreaking to lose someone so young! My heart goes out to your family! Great job on the race. I like when family (or friends) get together like this to pay tribute to something or someone. I actually like the 10k distance but I've done several (always the same one).

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  8. Thanks Amanda! It was awesome and the shirts turned out really nice! :)

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  9. Nice job on the age group awards! I agree the 10K distance is a tough one. I've only done one 10K, and I ran by heart rate, but I know when I got to the 5K point I was like "good God I'm only half done?????"

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  10. Haha, yeah. The 5k point wasn't marked but when I was at the 4 mile marker I was like "Oh god, still 2.2 miles of this!?!?" I wasn't having a fun time at that point. I think I know more to prepare for this kind of race for next time.

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  11. I love that so many of you did this! How aweomse! And super cool that you could choose with the shirt and chip. Lately, I choose no shirt! (At the last race I did I choose cotton because it was cheaper and they gave me a tech one by accident).

    Congrats on the PR and AG win! 10Ks such because they are just as painful as 5Ks and seem to last forever! I think I like the distance though :)

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  12. I really liked the menu pricing and I hope it catches on more here in Illinois. I know a lot of folks don't like the shirts they get at races as it just adds to the pile of stuff to get donated.

    Thanks! I don't think I like the distance for that exact reason. I just kept thinking it would end, but it just kept going. haha. Props to those folks that excel at this race, I just don't know if it is right for me. :)

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