After such a great day on Saturday, I decided to get my race-on for a 2 Miler on Sunday. I had never participated in a 2 mile race before, but I thought it might be a fun way to race without all the pressure of ‘distance,’ plus it was two-billionity degrees outside with 146% humidity in the air so I wasn’t feeling like pushing it in the heat.
I ran a race from the Greenswell Wellness in the Woods Series at Scioto Audubon Metro Park. It is the first time I ever ran a Greenswell race, and I will definitely be running another one in the future. The 2011 Wellness in the Woods running and walking series brings together individuals, families, communities and organizations for healthy and fun activity and social connectedness at the parks around Central Ohio.
First of all, I really like Greenswell and what it stands for. It was founded by Craig Thompson with the vision to create a positive approach lifestyle company that brings individuals, families, and health professionals together into a community working in partnership to provide education, resource information and event activities to guide and inspire individuals to achieve a healthy and whole life. Their events are definitely family-friendly and cater to a wide variety of interests including walking, running, duathlons and triathlons. I like that the running/walking events offer a 2 mile option in case you want to bring children or are just starting out on your fitness journey or would even like to place in your age group for the first time. The races are also pet friendly and showcase local parks and programs – something I don’t think people pay much attention to as it is. Metro parks are enjoyable, beautiful and a great way to have a day out without spending any money.
The race was simplistic in nature, but still with timing chips and bibs, and featured an out and back course. The crowd was small – about 100 racers – which I often prefer, especially if I need a change of pace, if you will. The atmosphere was that of a gathering of friends who share the same interests – I even ran into Bobbi, which was a pleasant surprise!
The course was nice – and slightly uphill, but I wish it would have started earlier. By the time the horn sounded at 8:30 a.m. it was already hot and muggy. I found it hard to breath and I tried to finish the race as quick as possible – which didn’t quite happen, to say the least. I finished in about 28 minutes, but I enjoyed the scenery and the company of my Race Club friends. It wasn’t by fastest race, but I had fun!
 |
| Fleet Feet Race Club at the Scioto Audubon Wellness in the Woods Race |
After the race, I went to my very-first-ever blogger meet-up with Sarah from Running on Words and Michelle from The Running Jewess. We went to First Watch for breakfast along with Sarah’s husband and a friend of Michelle’s. Keep in mind Sarah and I had pretty much just finished racing:
| Sarah, Michelle & Me |
Michelle is practically a genius and my hero – she ran the Boston Marathon. You can’t get much cooler than that, really. Plus, she’s about the nicest person you will ever meet and she took time out of her day packing to meet with smelly me! The bad news? She’s moving to California to attend Grad school at Stanford (I told you she is a genius) and we just met in real life. The good news? There are a lot great races in California and now Sarah and I have a friend to run them with!
My Most Beautiful Post:
I don’t know if this post is as beautiful to me as it is to anyone else, bit I really like it. It reminds so much of my mother and the things that made her happy. Cap City was a beautiful race because I ran it in memory of her, along with so many others who are part of he Central Ohio running community.
My Most Popular Post:
My Easy Canvas Prints post is pretty popular because I was one of the first blogs to chose a canvas prints with words on it so Easy Canvas Prints uses it as an example for others! I love my canvas, by the way!
My Most Controversial Post:
Let’s face facts, here, I am not a controversial writer by any means, but I probably should not have run this race!
My Most Helpful Post:
I got a lot of positive feedback regarding my Hot vs. Cold Post. I didn’t know when to do what either until I started reading about it and wanted to pass on what I learned to others!
A Post whose Success Surprised me:
I am surprised by the support I received regarding this recent post about feeling burned out and being stuck in a rut. I am so thankful for the support I have found from the online running community – thank you!
A Post that Didn’t Get the Attention it Deserved:
My running friend Wendy wrote a great race review of the Arizona Distance Classic – a race I may never get to. Her review is well-written and insightful, but I don’t think it got a lot of reader responses.
The Post that I am Most Proud of:
Okay, I cheated and it is a toss up between this race review and this race review. I think I really enjoy writing race reviews – anyone want to pay me to do that?!
Now for the fun part! I want to hear your 7 Links:
Pain, Pride, and Perseverance
Thanks for bearing with me through this post!
Until the next mile marker,
Follow
How fun to meet up with bloggers in real life! It looks like a good time was had by all!
The best thing about odd race distances is that it’s an automatic PR!!!
Love your links, will take some thinking to post mine, but I’ll get to it.
We need to figure out how to have a huge central OH blogger meet-up. That would be cool.
I’ll definitely have to do a 2 mile race at some point – even though 2 miles is not my favorite distance for training runs. The company running this race sounds great – I’ll keep an eye out for them in the future.
Totally fun meeting up with other bloggers!
I loved your “tagged” blog posts…I even remember the one from Wendy. 😉
Blogger meet ups are fun!!
I never done a 2 miler, interesting distance
I volunteered at the Greenswell Tri earlier this month, I hope they stay around
So I’ve been out of town (and my mind) for a few days and I didn’t read your recap until now. It was fantastic to meet you! You and Sarah will have to find a race out in California you want to run (cough Napa Marathon cough) so we can meet up again.
How fun to meet up with bloggers in real life! It looks like a good time was had by all!
The best thing about odd race distances is that it’s an automatic PR!!!
Love your links, will take some thinking to post mine, but I’ll get to it.