Race Recap: Home Run for the Homeless

This four-miler has become my Thanksgiving tradition. It starts and ends at Gennesaret, which is the  charity it benefits. Everyone associated with the race is a volunteer. Local businesses donate gift cards and door prizes worth hundreds of dollars. It's just a super-fun time for a great cause.

Gennesaret is an organization that helps homeless people to move into housing. Sometimes they donate furniture and kitchen supplies; sometimes they help financially. The Home Run for the Homeless is their only fundraiser. The race costs 20 bucks to register online--25 on the day of the race--for a four-mile jaunt through West Akron and the Glendale Cemetery. There is also a 1 mile Fun Run/Walk which is completely in the cemetery.

I picked up my packet on Wednesday afternoon. There was a tshirt option with online registration, but I don't have much luck in getting tshirts that fit me, so I took the gloves that come with the bib. I love those gloves.

On Thursday, I was able to roll out of bed at 6:30, eat breakfast, hang out, and then leisurely make my way to the start by 8:30. I used the bathroom before the crowds and then ran a mile warmup. I missed every group photo opportunity available to me: Phillips Phlyers, Canal Rats, Crooked River Trail Runners (I'm not really part of that group, but as a Burning River Goddess, I feel like I could have joined in). No biggie. There were soooooo many people there; the mayor said that there were about 4,000 people registered for both the Fun Run and the Four Miler.  What a testament to our community!

The countdown began, and then it was time to start. It took me about 2-3 minutes to get to the starting line, which normally is no big deal, but this morning on my group run someone told me that it was a gun start, not a chip start. What this means to me is that MAYBE I ran 2-3 minutes faster than I thought I did. I'm not upset about it because I had no intention of trying to beat my PR, which is 33:48.

The cemetery is hilly--super hilly. This is the run I did on Wednesday with Phillips Phlyers, and it is a toughie for sure. The first mile is through the streets of Akron, just outside downtown, and the rest of the course is basically inside the cemetery. I was feeling pretty good, but I decided to run the race conservatively based on what happened to me last year. I kept things at an even effort (rather than an even pace), which is important when running hills if you don't want to lose gas climbing all the time. I saw quite a few friends blow by me, and it made me happy. A woman dressed as a turkey, flapping wings and all, passed me going uphill, and that did not make me happy. At mile 3, we were about a half mile from getting out of Glendale, so I tried to push my pace as much as I could, until I popped out back on Exchange Street running toward Gennesaret for the finish.

The race was a bit short, so I jogged it out until I hit four miles, which means I had a nice cool down. My official time was 35:46, which I will take. I was 15/85 females in my age group, which I will also take. What I REALLY enjoyed taking was the gigantic piece of coffee cake that was waiting for me at the finish. I shoved that baby in my mouth while I stretched and talked to Pam and Steve.

Pam and I are horrified: Those hills are tough!

Pam won third in her age group, and Steve won first in his, which means they got a turkey, two mugs, and a huge jar of Smuckers jelly.  This is quite an accomplishment because the finish times at the top are incredibly fast. This race is a tough field of fast and experienced runners.

The Canal Rats CLEANED UP in the finishing categories; there should really be a Rat Party with the turkeys and pies they won. I was happy to congratulate them when we ran Sand Run the day after the race. It is important to note that the ONLY WAY I could run with the Rats was by choosing hills to run on a day that I knew they were tired from leaving it all out in the Glendale Cemetery. Even then, they were slowing down their pace to accommodate me, so THANK YOU, CANAL RATS!

I also found Joey Phillips and John Adams and took a post-race selfie with them:

By this time I've recovered and eaten my coffeecake, so I'm happy.

There were plenty of amazing door prizes and raffle prizes donated by local sponsors. I didn't win anything again this year, but I'm holding out hope for next year. It is a sure bet that I will be there next year. . .maybe with a shiny, new PR.

How was your Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving? I hope you pre-emptively burned ALL the calories you consumed, and I hope that you continue to run happy, Peeps!

Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter @itibrout!

Tryptophan Run

Last Sunday I ran off some Thanksgiving weekend irresponsible eating.  The Tryptophan Run, sponsored by Vertical Runner Hudson, is held the Sunday after Thanksgiving every year in Hudson.  The weather was perfect--not too cold and a bit sunny.

The Tryptophan works like this: There are three routes you can run in any combination during the two-hour run.  You drop a ticket with your name in a bucket for each mile of your run.  At the end of the run there is a drawing for cool prizes--t shirts, shoes, and race entries.  I didn't win anything, but I sure had fun.

My first fun surprise was my reunion with Joy, with whom I haven't run since our Ragnar Trail Appalachians race.  She messaged me the night before and said she was coming with me.  Yay! Here are some pictures of our running history in case you've forgotten:

We ran with Jen, and I was so happy because I haven't run with her in forever either.

Jen and I are at the Natatorium 5k here.

My second fun surprise was a playground on one of the routes.  We climbed up a cool rock wall and went down the slides:

Joy didn't get the memo that you aren't supposed to land on your dupa.

It was great to run nine miles with my peeps:

And I really appreciate the generosity of the businesses and race directors in our running community:

This is Jim Chaney, Race Director for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Marathon, Half-Marathon, and Relay.  He was offering STEEP discounts plus giveaway entries at the Tryptophan.  Check out this race, Peeps!  The swag is amazing and the event is a good time.

Seriously, Peeps, think about the local business owners when you do your holiday shopping this year.  Our money goes to people who in return support our community. I can't think of a better way to make a direct difference in our local economy.







I'll leave you with one last picture from my run this Sunday with Shelby and Mandy.  We ran on the Towpath, and we had a great conversation.

Post-run.  10 miles for me

The weather is starting to get cold, and I figure I have maybe one good long run left before I have to take a short hiatus for some minor surgery.  I'm sure you are eagerly anticipating how crabby I will be when I'm not running, since you remember how gracefully I waited out my broken foot a few years ago.   Get those runs in now while we aren't freezing our butts off.  Until then, run happy, Peeps!

Like what you read?  Follow me on Twitter @itibrout!

Short and Sweet

I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving!

I also can't believe that five days ago I ran in capris and a long-sleeved shirt, and today I ran in tights, a long-sleeved shirt, a short-sleeved shirt, a jacket, a hat, and gloves.  And honestly, it wasn't that cold; I'm just not used to it yet.

Today I ran the Towpath from Lock 29.  Gorgeous as always.

Cuyahoga River

I ran two miles alone, met up with a group and ran with them for about three miles, then ran the rest alone.  It was nice to run with people, but it was also nice for me to run with silence and then with music.  Yesterday I had a reflexology session, and while I can pinpoint my problems and "blockages," I still have some work to do on getting rid of those blocks.  I feel like alone time might be a good thing for me for a while.  I plan to do some more journaling and meditation to see if I can work through my issues instead of ignoring them, as I usually do.

Stacy asked me today what I'm training for, and I said nothing; however, when I started listing what I committed to for next year, I realized that I will have a full plate.  Just this week I will run the Home Run for the Homeless and the Tryptophan Run.

This is EXACTLY how I looked in last year's Home Run for the Homeless.

  The following week I'll run the third race in the Ohio Outside Series and the next morning I'm going to run an eight-mile stretch of a trail relay.  And that's what I called nothing.  Huh.

Well, Peeps, I said this would be short and sweet.  I'd like to finish by listing what I'm thankful for:

1.  My family and friends
2.  My ability to run
3.  My career
4.  My enjoyment of reading and writing

Lastly, I'm thankful for YOU.  Don't think I haven't noticed what a difference your presence has made in my life.

Before you think that I'm getting all mushy, I'll post something that I think comes directly from my heart:

Until next week, run happy Peeps!

Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter @itibrout!

Walking but not Running

I've been walking.  My orthopedist has said that I'm allowed.

Before I became a runner, I used to walk almost every day.  My friend (who at the time was my neighbor) and I used to get up early on days off work and go walking on a trail by my house.  It was so peaceful and beautiful.  The hills on the path really worked my glutes and my legs, and at the end of four, five, or six miles, I felt exhilarated.

There have been days when I would run that same path and think, "Wow, I wish I were walking again.  That was really nice."

I am here to say that I was wrong. Walking when you wish you could run is pure torture.  Trying to get a cardio workout in by walking like a damned duck sucks out loud.  While I have never been self-conscious about how I look when running (even though I will never run like a gazelle), I am absolutely certain that everyone who looks at me while I'm walking is laughing his/her head off.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I run.  Except I'm not a dude.

Surely, I am exaggerating.  Surely, I don't look that bad when I walk.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I walk.  I seem so happy.

I know; don't call me Shirley.  (Any Airplane fans here?)

So, anyway, the weather on Saturday was beautiful, and I took advantage of it by walking a four-mile loop.  It felt great to blow out the dust that had settled in my soul, and it was nice to get out of the house and listen to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me without my daughter interrupting Mo Rocca's punchline to tell me about what the cousin of the neighbor of some kid on the bus did when she was in second grade.

I proudly added those four miles to my dailymile total.  I try not to think of the fact that I could have run those miles in much less time.  I try to be grateful that I can walk at all.  In a week I will have my next x-ray, and I worry that I'll have to get surgery, so I should really try to appreciate walking right now.

It is close to Thanksgiving, and I am thankful for walking.