Freedom Four Race and Grant Pierce Spectating

On Sunday I ran the Pacers Freedom Four in Arlington. Afterward, I drove over to the Thomas Jefferson Community Center to spectate at the Grant Pierce Indoor Marathon. I did the same thing last year and blogged about it here. This is pretty much a repeat.

Pre-race selfie wearing last year's shirt

The only reason I registered for the Freedom Four is because it would be a guaranteed training run, and I knew there would be beer at the finish. It's not because I like the course. The course has some initial downhill through Arlington, then some ups and downs, and then an all-uphill, steep finish. There isn't a lot of shade, and it's hot this time of year. Also, there is only one water station. You pass it before Mile 1, when it's kind of too early, then you pass it again after Mile 3, when it's kind of too late. I really wish they would put a water station at the halfway point. This is the same course that Pacers uses for the Four Courts Four Miler, an annual St. Patrick's Day race, and they have the same issue there.

I picked up my packet for the Freedom Four the day before and was surprised to see that we got a beach towel premium instead of a t-shirt like last year. I'm OK with that, since I have a ton of shirts. I wore my shirt from last year to this year's race. I got there not knowing if there would be anyone I knew, but I was not surprised to see Gary, who is often found at these Pacers races. We got a quick pre-race selfie and then we were off. 

Gary and I are ready to go

Ready to start; there are many more people, but they disappear down the hill
I had a fast first mile due to the downhill section. Then I got to the part of the course that I hate: two highway miles, out and back, with long but not steep hills, no shade, no water (I did bring my own water bottle). I did a lot of walking. I did even more walking in the last mile, which was all uphill. I didn't care; I just wanted to get it done and earn my beer.

Steep uphill to the finish; that's Gary ahead in the yellow shirt

I met up with Gary at the finish and we redeemed our drink tickets for a Heineken at Irelands Four Courts. For the St. Patty's races, we get a Guinness, but not for this one. Gary and I hung out for a while and drank our beer, and then we went our separate ways.

Post-race, pre-beer with Gary

Drinking my post-race Heineken at an Irish pub…sad
Here's a Pacers guy modeling the beach towel

I had to eat something before going over to spectate at Grant Pierce, so I got a bagel and then was on my way. I arrived about an hour after the marathon started. I saw Scot and a few other Marathon Maniacs, some of whom I knew. I sat there on the bleachers for the next several hours until everyone finished. I wish I had taken a softer, folding chair, as the bleachers were uncomfortable and had no back support.

Here's Scot early in the race at Grant Pierce Indoor Marathon

Barry the "joggler" switched up what he was juggling throughout the race; he did footballs,  bean bags, tennis balls, mini hockey sticks, and he dribbled multiple basketballs

Spectating at a multi-loop indoor course is different than at other races. You see everyone go by every few minutes. I had my eyes on the entire track at all times. Runners had to do 211 laps on concrete! I don't think I want to run this one – ever. But I'm happy to be there to show support.

Scot and Drew pace Kristen in for her finish

So, that was my Sunday, much the same as that weekend from last year. Even though my own race was only 4 miles, those hills got to me and I was sore the following day. But at least I got in a run.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2019 Hong Kong Marathon Race Report

Image
I registered for the Hong Kong Marathon  on a whim. I was already going to Asia to attend my friend Christine’s wedding in Thailand and then run the Tokyo Marathon the following weekend. My friend Dave posted on Facebook about the Hong Kong Marathon, which was a week before the wedding. I entered the lottery not expecting to be selected, but I was. It was going to be a two-country-marathon adventure.  It’s the year of the pig (or boar) and we got this medallion in our race packet.  I was woefully under-prepared for the Hong Kong Marathon. My training suffered through the winter, but knowing I had a 6-hour time limit for the marathon, I wasn’t terribly worried - until I got sick. At the end of January I caught a severe cold that I’m still not fully over, three weeks later. I was weak, slept little, and worked out zero times in all of February. But the Asia trip was coming anyway, and being a realist, I gave myself permission to DNS (did not start) or DNF (did n...
Read more

2017 Hefei International Marathon Race Report

Image
Most of my regular followers will know that I was selected as part of a team of five to represent Columbus, Ohio at the marathon of our sister city Hefei, China. I blogged about the announcement here and here , and about my team's fundraiser here . On November 8, 2017, we set off to the Far East, arriving in Hefei, China late evening on November 9th. We spent five days in Hefei, after which everyone went separate directions. My travels took me to Bangkok, Thailand, and then back to China to spend time in and around Beijing. But this post is about Hefei and the marathon I ran there. Post marathon with Courtney, Bernard, me, Echo and Lily in back The Hefei International Marathon is a large event, with tens of thousands of participants across all race distances (marathon, half marathon, 5K and 10K). The marathon had the smallest race field of all events, but included some very competitive elite runners. The Lead-Up Through the sister city marathon exchange, our team o...
Read more

2018 Running Recap

Image
I haven't blogged all year. In fact, I didn't even finish my 2017 race reports. What happened? I still ran. In fact, I ran several races, and did meet some of my annual running goals. But I also focused on other areas of my life that needed attention. I dropped the ball on some things, and I missed some of my other running goals. Right now I'm not going to write new running goals, because I'm not ready. I will, however, state one broad goal, and that is this: I will post a running-related story once per month in 2019. So, here's the 2018 recap: My 2018 Goals I will lead the 11:00 pace group for CWRC. CWRC is the Columbus Westside Running Club , which I joined after moving to Columbus, and this goal was about the winter/spring training program leading up to spring races. I started this, but I didn't finish. Very early on it became clear to me that I was not in the game mentally and not prepared to lead others on a weekly basis. A January training run ...
Read more