The Crim Recap 2018: The Thunder Rolled

You can train, you can plan and prepare but when it comes to Race Day, Mother Nature can trump all you have worked and planned for.

We knew that thunderstorms were in the forecast. The weather really didn't rattle me, quite honestly, I love the unexpected, the adventure.

The  weather at the starting line was cooler, in the high 60's but the dampness in the air was soupy.

Lacey at the last minute shared that she was going to run with me, this took me by surprise. I was NOT planning on racing The Crim, I had well over 50 miles in for the week. My legs were tired and I really do not train for The Crim, rather I use this 10 mile race as part of my other training programs.

Together we danced our way into our corral about 7:50.
"Hey, is this the dance party" I laughed making our way through a very sober crowd. I few people laughed and let us squeeze in.

Lacey joined me with the plan to have FUN. Run well, but have FUN.
Within just a few short minutes, we felt the rain slowly rolling off our bare shoulders.
That was just the beginning.
They got the National Anthem done.
The Elites crossed the starting line.
BOOM..Thunder..And the announcement came. "We have been reported that lightning has been spotted about 10 miles away..... we will postpone the race 30 minutes..."

Somehow Matt and Paula found us and we all ran back to their car for shelter. By the time we got there we were all drenched.

The Thunder Rolled, the lightning cracked making the delay even longer.

After an hour and a half we were back in our corral, just as excited ready to run.

Can you find me?!Judy a friend of mind actually saw this live on tv! 

It was a very unofficial start. Everything was a bit off.
I thought they did a great job at trying to recover from the chaos.
We got a "GO" then a "WHOA, NOO don't go" then a "Go" and we were OFF!

I had 2 plans.

1. Have Fun
2. Run a sub 9min/mi. 

Combined I thought it was doable. 

I didn't want to suffer and not be able to do my long run tomorrow, all the while I wasn't sure what my body would be capable of after another high mileage week. 

Smiling and chatting we hit the first mile on target. 

At every mile marker, Lacey would yell out our mile and get the crowd going. 

I was so impressed with all the volunteers cheering us on in the rain. We made a point to tell them all "Thank You". 

The course was more condensed with runners and walkers than I ever remember. We never really had a bare spot on the course. 

You had to be extra cautious of your surroundings due to the rain and congestion of runners and walkers. 

We had to dodge rain puddles and often times runners cutting you off because they too were dodging puddles. Laughing with some volunteers I wasn't paying attention and I landing my foot in a pothole. I was thanking God multiple times for letting my ankle glide out of that hole with no damage. 

Lacey and I kept a pretty steady pace. We chatted here and there, pushing and pulling each other up and down the hills. 

I kept looking at our splits and laughing to myself at how well I was doing. I would go back and forth on feeling like a Rockstar then feeling like a sloth. 

With the storm and the weather condition I was very impressed with how many school bands were still out there playing. This really was encouraging and motivating. 

The Hills this year were hard as they always are but we really did great powering up them together, Running the hills felt pretty good until suddenly it didn't. We would power up one, two, three then the fourth hill I was starting to loose my testimony. 

It seemed like it took me a half a mile to recover. We both were waiting for a downhill to catch our breath and recover. 

I actually laughed in my head at how I sounded. My breathing sounded like I was in the middle of a panic attack after smoking a pack of cigarettes. As I was grunting animalistic noises I saw a sign on the course " PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BREATHING...." 

This really made my breathing worse because I wanted to laugh but still couldn't breath. 

They only thing I was paying attention to was the fact that I WAS still BREATHING!

At mile 8, it really is mostly downhill and flat. We gave out a couple high fives at little kids, cheered a few runners on and maintained our 8:20 min/mi. 

I can't say I felt "Great" but I can say I didn't feel terrible. 

I knew I could maintain the pace but I really didn't want to go much faster. I didn't want to cross the Finish Line throwing up. 

A volunteer was passing out American Flags, both Lacey and I grabbed one to finish the last 2 mile with. 

The sky was dry as we hit the bricks. The bricks that last half a mile were NOT. I was nervous landing my feet, afraid I might stumble or slip. 

The Finish was almost foreign to me. The course might have been thick with runners and walkers, however, it was missing the Finish Line Arch and spectators. It as so eerie not seeing many people on the side lines but that didn't stop Lacey and I from picking up our pace and cruising to the finish Cheering Each Other ON! 

"WTG Anita And LACEY!" Lacey giggled and shouted at the Finish. 

I felt good enough to laugh and thrilled I didn't have my head in a garbage can puking. 

I Met both my goals! 

Distance: 10miles

Time: 1:23:18

Pace: 8:20

I had FUN! One of my favorite things is seeing people I KNOW! 

Lacey, Paula, Matt, Erin, Heather, Holly, Brad, Doug, and Joan! Just to share a few! 

This years shirts and medals were AWESOME! I loved the tangerine color they chose. The shirt material is really nice and fits well. The Crim really did a great job on the art work this year. Love Love!

Another great and adventurous Crim in the books. I am honored to be part of such a powerful event. The Crim does a wonderful job and is a active part of Flint. 

If ever there is something worth training for and being part of, The Crim is that Race! 

Anita~