Mackinac Island (Mich.) Great Turtle Half-Marathon and 5.7-Mile Races
Saturday, October 26, 2002Race report from Maureen...
Date: Sun Oct 27, 2002
Subject: Mackinaw Island
Well…. Where to start? Kathryn, Kate, Tracey and I met at 8am Friday and our odyssey began. The drive down was filled with music, laughter and food. We had typical country weather for this time of year, rain!! It cleared up sometime in the US. We never got lost not once!! Excellent driving and co piloting by Kate and Kathryn!!!
We arrived at our hotel around five I think. It is a lovely resort but we did have to go through 3 rooms in 24 hours before we were satisfied. Friday night was spent doing a little exploring the downtown strip. It consists of beautiful old Victorian homes and churches, a few shops (Fudge especially) and bars. It was a very cold and windy night which had us in deep discussions over what to wear the next day.
The race was scheduled to begin at noon but race kit pick up was at 9 so we all got up to get our numbers etc. And who is there handing them out but Mary D!!! It was great to see a familiar face!! So we chatted a bit and planned to get together at dinner time. The rest of the morning was spent resting, strategic eating and stretching.
We went down to the starting area (right in front of our hotel!!) at about 11:55. Not too many people but there were a number of very fast looking runners out there!!! We situated ourselves at what we though was the back but some people snuck in behind us a few minutes before the start. The start consisted a guy yelling GO!
It is a very scenic and flat route to start off with. The first two miles or so are along the shoreline. And then we were to hit this supposedly huge hill. We were ready, we were psyched. We get to the hill and start running up ….turn to the right and it is flat!!!! That was it!!! That was no big hill! Pottery Rd is a big hill! But they didn’t tell us about the many, many, many hills throughout the rest of the race. They take a toll. Kate and Kathryn had been ahead of us after about 20 minutes so once they reached the hill Tracy and I lost sight of them. It was getting pretty sparse out there. For most of the race it was just Tracy and I out there. We chatted up a few people. Most were friendly a couple were not. We chose to try and beat those people (We did!)
There were a couple a times where the going got tough but we toughed it out. I did a couple of Bonnie imitations – Yeah Baby!!!- that helped a lot. We were very good about our walk breaks and as the race went on we became very grateful. At some points all I could do was to pace myself to the next break – forget about how many miles to go…. When’s the next break!!!
Tracy’s calves gave her some trouble the last couple of miles but Little Miss Trooper was not going to give up! Those were very tough miles. There was no crowd support of any kind on the race other than the volunteers at the water stations. We agreed it would be a very tough race to run on your own. We spotted a building we had walked to earlier that morning and knew we were very close to the end. What a great feeling knowing that soon you can stop, eat, get dry and warm.
We had also agreed that we would not sprint to the end. I actually wanted to skip over the finish line but neither of us had it in us to do that. We just finished----IN GREAT TIME!!! 2:38 !!!!!!! We were happy and proud and very tired. We collected our medals and found Kate and Kathryn who had just left the finishing line because we told them to expect us around 2:45. !!!! We got some food and went to our rooms. Kate and Kathryn were freezing and we all just wanted to get dry and warm.
We had a wonderful surprise waiting for us when we got to our new room. Tracy’s sister sent her a gift basket!!! What a sister!!! Now I hope that doesn’t give her a swollen head!! We roused ourselves to go down to dinner, which was delicious and then back to bed for another nap!!
We went to a local bar for a Halloween party. That was a lot of fun. Lots of interesting costumes and music. We didn’t stay out too long though. We were too tired and there was nowhere to sit!! So back to the hotel for a drink in our room and we were all safe, warm and sound asleep by about 12:30.
I am cutting this short because I am getting tired. The three other ladies can fill in their side of the story later. We had a great drive home too – no problems whatsoever!
So I will sign off now and I will see you shaking babies later!!!
Maureen N
Race report from Kate...
Date: Mon Oct 28, 2002
Subject: my Mackinac race report
hello all, well i see maureen has done a great job filling you all in on the great turtle race weekend kathryn, tracy, maureen and i had. it really was a great road trip.
my race story goes like this:
i went out on my own just before the 'famous big hill' that wasn't! kathryn and i had already ran past lady godiva (woman dress in skin tone coloured body suit with long blonde hair, flowers in her hair and a 'muff' down below) and so i went off in search of other friendly faces! i was happy to get off the road and onto the leaf covered trails. it started to rain. and it continued to rain the whole time! but, i was feeling pretty good and happy to be racing again after 2.5yrs. so i merrily went on my way chatting to people as i went by.
i knew the little incline couldn't be THE hill so i started asking people about the route. most people i talked with hadn't run the race before, but it become clear that this was no flat course. i kept pretty close to 10min miles for the first 5 miles. at the half way point i caught up to the two men who i'd been using as my pace car. i figured i was in for a negative split since this was an up and down route, so i kept going. and going. and going. i passed a lot of
people during this race. more than any other race i think i've ever been in!!! i would chat with people as i went by. and met a man who's wife had been an extra on a movie that was shot on the island. i tried to catch a lift with some guys moving furniture on a horse & buggy, but decided that wouldn't be too much fun! at mile 9 i was really hating the people who told tracy this was a flat route, i was a little mentally challenged and finding it tough to keep happy. but, i was sticking to my just under 10min/mile pace, so i kept telling myself to shake that ass.for me the hardest part was the last 3 miles. i knew we had to come back to the lake road, but it just didn't seem to appear and no one was very talkative, so i was getting a bit bored. finally we got back to the flat road and i found that although one person passed me (the first in a long time) i just kept focusing on people in front and pulling them in. i listened to the hypnotic waves crashing on the shoreline and smiled at the inukshuk's pointing to way home. i crossed the line, happy and strong, at 2:06.
it wasn't a PR, but this route was damn tough. and i didn't do hill training cause it was a "flat route"....never trust anyone!! so, i was happy with my race. and i had a fantastic time this weekend!
cheers,
kateRace report from Tracy C...
Date: Tue Oct 29, 2002
Subject: tracy calling
well my goodness there's a lot to comment on and tell 1st to all of you who ran, climbed, rowed, cheered, danced, moved, smiled this past weekend... it was so great to come home and see all those reports! Julie i am glad to see you're already thinking ahead to the next half, Helen, wowsers great finish, Glenn, amazing, not only did you climb you managed to get a lot of people into it for next year, Nancy I am so proud of you lady! Mau. no more posts like that, you get me all emotional and it makes me miss you even more
2. Mary D it was great to run into you, thanks for answering all our pre race questions and we will chat more in Jan.
3. to the "ladies" i went away with...there is no E in tracy...and you guys were awesome, thanks for such a great time...and for those of you who think you know Kate, Kathryn and Maureen... you don't! they are easily swayed to the dark side and at times made even themselves blush.
Now my report
I ran...5/1...with maureen (thanks chicky)...started off with us 4 about 3/4 of the way back and we seemed like the only ones that were happy to be there...and the only 4 women who did do our hair and full make up before the race (i'm bitter cause they still kicked my butt)... started off a bit too fast, doing about 11 / mile, but after about mile 4 we slowed it down and manged to maintain 12 pretty much for the next 4-5 miles till we hit that hill..oh deary me it just keep going up and up, but thank goodness for hill training cause we made it...then we got a bit excited and started up again, this was a bad idea...with about 1.5 miles left i was struggling, i had a few calf cramps (yes kelly i know) and we were reduced to 4/2 but that was still fine...with about 100 feet to go i got another cramp and in front of the dozen people
there let out one mighty %&#% ! then apologized to all the nice people...we crossed smiling and then i hugged maureen and had a little cry...i knew i had broken 2.40...my last 1/2 was 2.55.33 , my final time was 2.38.54 almost 17 mins faster..i am so great!...looking forward to my half at xmas...who knows i might train to try to get that # even lower...feeling great...no real problems and i'll be out tonight!happy day everyone
Race report from Kathryn S...
Date: Tue Oct 29, 2002
Subject: (unknown)
At last, I get five minutes to share my version of the Mackinaw race report... complete with confessions and admittance of guilt. I didn't do what I was supposed to.
I knew I needed to start with Tracy and Maureen in order to be able to keep going and in a moment of 'bionic woman syndrome' decided I could go out with Kate and do just fine. This was not the case. 2 miles in I hit a wall. Hard. Not good when you have 11 more to go. My energy levels were off despite a much needed gel and more badness... I didn't keep up with my splits. I don't know if we were running the same race or what but I was freezing! By the end my fingers were so swollen they were literally useless the rest of the night. I managed to finish the race (by walking half of it due to absolutely no get-up-and-go) and felt like crap at the end.
Overall I did just fine time wise at 2:33:04 for my first half marathon but I definitely know what not to do next time. And regardless of what I was thinking at mile 9....there WILL be a next time!
Thank you so much to Tracy, Kate, and Maureen. You guys were awesome! I don't know if I could have gotten through the whole thing without you.
Tracy.....amazing time!!!!!! (I see you baby)
Maureen....I can hear your little giggle as I write this
Kate...thanks for catching me at the finish....shakin'that....
KathrynS
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