OR: Why I Love the Huntsville Track Club
We ran our five-mile Turkey Day Race in New Orleans on Thursday morning. MrZ, his sister, and his cousin all ran the race too. That was MrZ’s sister’s first race, so we were all very excited. The weather was awesome, the atmosphere was fun, and the t-shirts were great. The only problem? The course itself.
The race was run through City Park in New Orleans, and the route made a type of clover pattern that had you re-tracing your steps in several places. I’m not a fan of those type of courses because it has the slower runners like myself watching the faster runners in envy miles ahead of them. There was also a point in the route where you had to choose one direction or another and the signs were confusing and they had no one there to tell you where to go. Luckily I was able to just follow the crowd and hope someone understood it. Which obviously they did since I finished instead of winding up falling in the lake somewhere.
There was also not one timekeeper on the course. Usually, at the 1-mile or 2-mile point there is someone telling you your time so that you know your pace. I kinda depend on those people because I’m so crappy at pacing. They were nowhere. NONE. NADA. ZIP. It was very weird.
And finally? The race ended inside a stadium on a track. So, you run into the stadium and think, “Woo! Almost done!” – but then you see the truth: You have to run almost the entire length of the track to get to the finish-line. It was so mean! I sprinted to the entrance to the stadium thinking I was almost done. And then when I saw I had to run 300 more yards? I almost started crying.
When I finally crossed the finish-line, there was no water table. Usually the water table is right at the finish, covered with bottles for you to grab and hydrate with before you pass out from exhaustion. But not at this race. Nope. You had to walk out of the stadium to get to the water table. In Huntsville, there are usually tables of water, Gatorade, fruit, pizza and donuts. But at this race? Water. Beer. Bananas. Those were your post-race choices. I guess I should be glad more of my money could go to the charities, but usually they find donors who offer water bottles for a “sponsor” spot on the t-shirts. Or free snacks. Or something. But not this time. We had water in Soho cups. And beer. Which – usually I’m all up for free beer – don’t get me wrong. But after I run 5 miles? I’d prefer some bottled water, thank you.
So, the race went well. I think my time was 50:58, but I don’t know for sure since I can’t find where the times are posted anywhere. (Another contrast to the Huntsville Track Club which posts results the day of the race.) It felt good to know I ran five miles while I pigged out on fried turkey and pumpkin pie later that day. Unfortunately, I don’t think the 5 miles made up for the 10lbs of peach cobbler I ate the following night. Or the cinnamon rolls I ate on Saturday. Or the two sausage biscuits I ate this morning.
Oh well. You win some, you lose some.
Well at least you ran the race. Before you ate all that food. It kinda helps out with the guilt factor. And that’s great that you ran it w/MrZ and some family! But the beer at the table (outside the stadium–sheesh!) ? That was funny. Sounds like a great day! Good job! I ran 3 miles on Sunday, still nowhere near where you are at, but I did it! 🙂
Congrats on finishing! I was in N.O. Thursday — I could have come and cheered you on! At least you had a pretty day for a run! That’s not always the case here, you know.
I’m totally impressed with you!!! Congrats! You go girl!!!!
Sounds weird and wonderful at the same time. Running with your family had to be the best! What did the t-shirt look like? That was one thing I loved about racing- the free shirts! You go, Miss Zoot!
I can’t think of anything worse to eat at the end of a race than bananas. I like bananas, but in certain circumstances, ie being full, or just having exercised, they kinda make me want to puke.
“I’ve heard a few complaints and just want to see if it’s widespread or not.”
I miss the drop-downs for your archives and categories. I’m also seeing your categories twice. And also in the comment section where we type in the name, email address and website are tiny, and you can’t see everything.