Running Weekend Recap! NRC Trail Run, Parkies 5K, Peapod Mad to the Bone Half

Well, that was fun! 

Naperville Running Company (NRC) Trail Run

NRC Trail Run with Rory Bosio  (photo credit to NRC)

My running weekend started on Thursday night  (8/27) with a low key trail run offered by NRC  and sponsored by The North Face.   The run was held at McDowell Woods here in Naperville, IL which has crushed stone and grass trails.  These are not technical trails but I am not used to running on large crushed stone or grassed surfaces and on top of that, I was already the slowest person there.  Needless to say, I was the back of the pack. 

NRC Trail Run w Ali (photo credit to NRC)

That being said, I still had a blast.  The weather was perfect and a very nice group of people came out to run with Rory Bosio.  Don’t know who Rory Bosio is?  I didn’t either but she’s AWESOME.  She won the 103-mile The North Face Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc in 2013 and 2014.  I’m always a little skeptical of “stars” and at first, didn’t really talk to her figuring she was just going to be another person full of their accomplishments.  Teach me to make judgements!!!  She is a pediatric intensive care nurse and a lovely person.  It was a pleasure to meet her and I wish her the best of success in whatever she does.

I cut the run a little short and hung out with the two The North Face representatives while the others finished.  I totally enjoyed the time with them.  After the run, we ate Potbelly sandwiches, drank NUUN and just enjoyed hanging out on a nice summer night.  I will never be a big dog in the running world but it was fun to hang out with one.

Bolingbrook Parkies 5K

Packet pick-up for Parkies is really easy as it is about six miles away and an easy drive.  I didn’t quite realize it but I got there about five minutes after it opened but they were set up and ready to go.  The race director for Parkies is a nice guy and was there to greet us.  Parkies does something really smart and assigns bib numbers alphabetically.  It makes it really easy for the people handing out bibs.   This year’s shirt was a nice deep blue with a small, over the heart design.  Last year’s shirt had a huge graphic of a Pelican (the mascot for Parkies) and stunk through multiple washings.  Big improvement!  I also got smarter and got a men’s small and it fits really well.

Around 3 AM on Saturday morning, I woke to a downpour.  The rain was coming down in buckets.  After closing all the windows, I thought “yuck, who wants to run a 5K in this?” and almost turned off the alarm clock.  But, I didn’t.   By 5:30 the rain had pretty much stopped and I got up to get ready for the race.  Last year (2014), I had placed 3^rd in my age group, could I repeat?

Parkies is really close to home and a lot of the Bolingbrook Fun Run Club (BFRC) members had planned to run it.  As I’ve said before, races are a lot more fun now that I know my BFRC friends will be there too.  When I arrived at the Bolingbrook Aquatic Center at 7:10 AM, there were already a few BFRCers waiting for the race to start.  So we hung out and talked about the upcoming race, who was supposed to show up, etc.

Parkies is great because it starts at a large park district recreation center with locker rooms.  No need to use port-a-lets here.  Instead, a nice big rest room to use before and after the race. 

Parkies is run on local streets around the neighborhood and a bit of it is on a paved path under the power lines.  There’s really nothing special about the course.   A few of the people living along the way came out to cheer us on, there were plenty of course volunteers and local police out to make sure no cars got in the way.   Although it wasn’t very hot, it was very humid and as soon as the race started I noticed that getting a good breath of fresh air was difficult.  I started the race with my friend Muriel but she quickly was running a pace just a little too fast for me.  I sent her on without me and watched her hat out in front of me for the entire race.  I did not bring my interval timer with me so chose to do a 2 min run/ 1 min walk interval for the whole race; something I could easily “just see” on my watch.

On the Podium!

Although nothing special, I love the Parkies course.  No big hills, flat wide streets, clear route.  Just before the last half mile, the skies opened up and I thought we were going to get drenched.  Instead, it was a four minute rain, timed just right to cool us off at the end of the run.  As I turned the corner and could see the finish line, I stepped it up a little and crossed the finish line with an overall time of 35:21:17 for an overall pace of 11:23.  Not exactly a PR but good enough.  I repeated and came in 3^rd place in my age division and got another Parkies medal.  In fact, I improved my time somewhat from last year when I came in at 36:08 and an overall pace of 11:38.  Next year, when I stop doing all of this long distance training, I hope to finish a 5K with an under 11:00 pace.  We will see.

After the run one of the BFRC members, who is currently unable to run, had some of us over for a post-race brunch.  The food, company and conversation were great and again, I’m thankful for my running club.

Peapod Mad to the Bone Half Madness

Then, at 4:30 AM on Sunday, it was time to get up for another race.  This was one that I had been looking forward to since the Peapod half marathon in April in St. Charles.  That event was well organized and had a great post-race party and I had heard that this race did too.   Although I could have had someone pick up my packet the day before, I chose to get to Batavia early and just pick it up on race day.   Batavia is about 19 miles away and at 5:30 on Sunday morning, it is an easy drive.  I followed the race instructions and parked in the Batavia public library parking lot and walked down the hill to the community center.  There wasn’t any line at all and I got my bib and t-shirt in a flash.  I love that the Peapod series offers a female cut t-shirt and that this year’s is a bright yellow.  It’s a great shirt to be seen.

I then walked back to the car, deposited my shirt, put on my bib, got my hydration vest on and walked down to the starting line.  Like the race in April, the folks that put on the Peapod races know that having a good number of port-a-lets at the start makes everyone happy.   There they were a row of about 25 clean port-a-lets and no line.  Way to go Peapod!

Pre Race Selfies with Friends

The weather on Sunday was cool for August but the humidity was high.  Just standing around waiting for the race to start, I was getting sticky.  But, then again, it was cool for August.  Yeah!  What to do for thirty minutes before a race, talk with other Bolingbrook Fun Run Club members, take selfies, compare shoes, talk about last year’s race, etc.  The time went by fast.   A few minutes before 7:00 AM, everyone lined up and a father/daughter team played the guitar and sang the national anthem.  It was an interesting rendition, with none of the high notes but what made it very enjoyable was we all could hear it.  Fort2Base, take note, if your sound system is good, people hear the anthem and behave appropriately.    Then we were off.

As I am in training for the 50 mile race, I had decided the night before, that I was going to do 45:45 intervals (run 45 seconds/walk 45 seconds).   For the first four minutes of the race, I just ran and then I started my intervals.  Just in time too as the race starts out with a huge hill, running out of the Fox River valley.   I still don’t know if I prefer those hills at the beginning or at the end!  Either way, it was a big hill and walking for 45 seconds really helped.   My BFRC buddies, Andy and Yoko, decided to also do my intervals and we held under a 12:00 minute pace for the first six miles.  At the top of the hill, Larry – someone we didn’t know, asked if he could stick with us and do our intervals.  Hey, this is BFRC, of course he could! 

The beginning of the race runs through the streets of Batavia and is fairly flat after that HUGE hill.  We noted various homes and got into our 45:45 groove.   After a mile or two, we headed off on a bike path that took us into an older neighborhood with more interesting homes and more people out to cheer us on.  It is so much fun to see people out drinking there coffee, ringing bells and just enjoying the race going through their neighborhood.  There was one spot where a woman was slowly driving out of the neighborhood, being very careful not to hurt anybody and talking to the runners, including us, as she went along.  Yeah for her!  We appreciated her taking care of us.

On the Trail with Friends
(Photo credit to Yoko)

At mile four, we got onto the Fox River path and continued north.  As we made the turn onto the path, the water station was hopping with all of the young people dressed as cowboys and cowgirls.  I think they were blasting country music too.  It was just the burst of energy we needed!  The next mile and a half is a beautiful section of the path that runs along the west side of the Fox River.  I remembered a lot of it from a training run that I did there last year.  As we ran along, we talked and just had a good time.  About half way through mile five, we crossed a wooden foot bridge to the east side of the river and our trip back south.  A word of caution for anyone running this course or doing this race next year, those bridges are REALLY slippery when wet.  Don’t worry about your time.  Walk!

At mile six and a half, we exited the path and got back on the streets in Batavia.  Right after we got off the path, and before we hit the next hill, someone had left out a cooler of ice and baggies full of ice.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  It was just the right time for ice!  I first tried sticking the baggie down the front of my shirt but didn’t find it cooling much.  Then, I wedged it down the back of my shirt above my hydration pack.  Ahhhh…. That was nice.  After the ice was melted, I tucked the baggie into my pack and brought it to the finish line.  Please people don’t throw GU packages and baggies on the ground.  Runners, please be more thoughtful.

At about mile eight, I realized that keeping up the under 12:00 pace was starting to get to me.  It was just too humid.  So, I tried to slow us down a little bit during the running intervals.   Larry, was more than happy to join me.   The run was now once again on suburban streets and people were out to cheer us on and a couple people had set up misting tents.  Again, thank you, the community support was really appreciated.  The next water station, around mile eight and a half, was a beach party!  The music was blaring and young men and women were dressed in beach wear and having a blast.  My favorite was a young man wearing a shirt with a cat in sunglasses that said “Check Meowt” on it!  Way to go guys!

At about mile ten and three quarters, we went back onto a bike path.  At this point, I was slowing down quite a bit and had Larry to run with, so Yoko and Andy ran ahead.  We kept them insight most of the rest of the way, but they definitely were going faster.  I was trying to keep this race easy given that the 50 miler is just a few weeks away.  Shortly after Yoko and Andy went ahead, another woman, Tammy, started doing intervals with us.  We were now running 45 seconds and walking 90.   Tammy told us about her recent triathlon and I totally enjoyed running with her.  Love meeting new friends on the trail.

Aisha and Andy at the Post Race Party

As turned the corner for the finish line, we all took off and I never saw Tammy or Larry again!  A lot of my friends were already finished cheering me on and congratulating me for finishing. 

Then the real fun began as one of the best things about the Peapod races is the after party!  There was Sam Adams beer, Pal Joey’s pizza, Pepsi and orange wedges.   There were plenty of picnic tables to sit at (which felt really good), good music playing and good friends.  A perfect after party.  I really liked the orange wedges.  Nice move Peapod!

After the party, it was a quick walk up the hill, to the library, to retrieve my car and an easy ride home.  The Peapod races are great – well run, nice course, great after party and good parking.  I will be doing this one again.

The BFRC Gang!!

On to the Hennepin Hundred – 50 Miler and the Chicago Marathon!