Saturday, November 19, 2011

Of hills, runners and red velvet bingles...

This morning was the Vineyard Run for Hope 10k. The last 10k I ran was the Peachtree Road Race in July. Over the past couple of months, I have been focusing more on finishing longer distances and less on the speed in which I finished those distances which makes you question if you can still pick up the speed in races of a shorter distance. One of my goals for 2012 involves getting a decent qualifying time for the Peachtree Road Race so I was kind of using this race as a benchmark to see how far I would have to go to get that qualifying time.

The race was held at Chateau Elan which is about an hour northeast of Atlanta. It was a small race so I wasn't too worried about traffic and parking which is one of my favorite features of small races. There is nothing much better than not having to worry about catching shuttles or walking a mile from your car to the start.



There was an awesome event room to hang out in while we waited for the start. It was about 42 degrees this morning so having a warm area to wait in was a huge bonus!





We finally got the call to head out to the start and with a brief announcement and not much fanfare, we were off! There weren't all that many people at the race so didn't have to do a lot of bobbing and weaving to find some room to run. Somehow I found myself oddly close to the front of the field. I am not sure I even know how to act in that position! Not to worry, it did not last long. :)

No exaggeration, the route was nothing but hills. If you weren't going up a hill, you were going down one. In retrospect, it was kind of nice because I normally wouldn't push myself to that extent on hills. While we were were hiking up and down the hills, I also tried to focus on running the tangents. That summer I spent racing cars must have helped with my tangent tracking because I ended up with 6.18 on the garmin (It also makes me wonder if the course was short. Is it possible to run the tangents too good? Don't know).



My final time was 54:24 which was great for me! My goal for the qualifying race is 52:00 and it is on a course known for being "fast" so after this morning's race, I feel really good about being able to get to that 52:00 by February.

We were joking prior to the race that we had a good chance at awards due to the low number of participants. I definitely thrive in these type of races :) I came away with 2nd in my age group (and was the 4th overall female). WOO HOO!



For a small race, they really had quite a lot to offer foodwise at the end. In addition to fruit and water, they had a huge assortment of granola bars, large bags of granola and blue bird snack cakes. I have never heard of a "blue bird" snack cake but they seemed to be like hostess or little debbies. I picked up a bag of granola and a Red Velvet "bingle" (think twinkie in red velvet form). I can't resist much of anything that is red velvet even if it is in the world's most processed form...




I really enjoyed this race. It was well organized, they had some nice post race goodies and it went to a good cause (The Gwinnett Children's Shelter). I would definitely do this next year. Post race we had an awesome brunch at Wendy's house. Mimosas, spinach quiche and other goodies for everyone!








10 comments:

Amanda said...

Great time with all those hills. I bet you're going to blow away that 52 in February. Sounds like a nice small race that someone put some real thought in to. Love races like that!

Congrats on the AG place as well!

ajh said...

It looks like a fun race especially with friends. I have never heard of bingles.

Christine said...

congrat on the award & 4th female overall!! thats awesome!!

misszippy said...

Love that final pic! A big congrats on a great race! You'll have no problem w/ your 52 goal in Feb!

That Pink Girl said...

Well aren't y'all just too cute? Love the group pic in front of the fountain! Congrats on 2nd in your AG and 4th female overall - way to tackle those hills!

Lindsay said...

looks like a great place to have a race! or wedding even maybe... congrats on your AG award and 4th overall! woo hoo! love small races :)

Unknown said...

How cute are you ladies???

Congrats on a great race!!! :)

Jennifer said...

Congrats on the AG award! Bling is great! I know what you mean about concentrating on finishing the longer races and then wondering about keeping the speed for the shorter ones. Balance is good and like you I run those shorter ones to keep myself in check! Have a great week!

Suz and Allan said...

Congrats on your two awards! That's awesome! Looks like all of you had a great time before, during, and after the race. I'll have to keep this race in mind for next year!

Jill said...

Oh those Bingles look awesome, I love Red Velvet, too!! Never head of them though.

I've run the Atlanta Half Marathon (formerly the ING Half) 3 times now and I can attest that there is not one flat spot in downtown Atlanta! But man do I love that course and it's my current PR 1/2.

Glad you had such a nice time and congratulations on a fantastic race :).