So Kate and I and a couple of our good friends put our idiot caps on and ran this crazy-ass 1/2-Marathon called The Race to Robie Creek. It was their 31st annual race so it has some deep tradition.
Mostly a Scottish tradition so when guys in their kilts get up on stage before the race and start saying Scottish "stuff", which apparently they always do, they sound like they put a 5th of whiskey down and tried to tell a joke with a mouthful of marbles. I looked like my dog with this confused head-tilted look. "Ummmm....huh?" Anyway, it was all in good fun and we had a blast. There were plenty of runners in kilts with shirts that read, "Plaid is Rad" or "Plaid is Raid" which doesn't make any sense, but makes for a better designed shirt. There was also the "Robie Kilt Me", which is my favorite. But from the veterans it appeared that Robie is a Right of Passage with the end result being apart of this large group of athletes. Seems if you run races, live in Boise, and not run this race well then...pussy!Robie was my Spring mass-hill running test. I actually haven't run a 1/2-marathon without a 56-mile bike warmup since 2002. I believe it was the Green Bay half marathon. I suppose I could go do a flatter half (or full) at some point to see if I could run under a certain time, but really it's more about making the body stronger (not the strongest hill runner) and experiencing something a bit more unique. I think I tend to gravitate more towards the harder stuff, mainly just to impress my wife. And of course, mainly to over dramatize the situation so that people will like me...especially your mom!!!
We had pretty good weather for a couple weeks, but then it went downhill some. Forecast for the race wasn't so hot. There was a chance of snow actually and it was 78F and sunny the week before. O'well. The weather turned out pretty good, but I think a lot of people overdressed for the occasion. Pretty nipply at the start, but once things point up it tends to get toasty under all of those layers. I was in shorts and a longsleeve so I was comfortable, just in case you were concerned.
So the race starts all nice and innocent for about a mile then the fun begins. The next couple of miles are on pavement and goes up at a consistant grade. Then around mile-3 the road goes to dirt and gets steeper. From there it's steep, but manageable until mile-7. At mile-7 it becomes rather UNmanagable. Lot of people walking, shuffling, scooting, pooping, etc at this point. It's a nasty steep father-mother-sister-brother for 1.7miles.
Near the top of the summit is an aid-station that serves up a bit more than wasser. Beer and whiskey dominates this aid-station. I was told beforehand about this area and it all sounded good and fun at the time, but after hiking a mountain for over an hour it suddenly doesn't sound so yummy. When I got there I went for the a cup that looked like water. Lady says, "Hey, it's whiskey...it's whiskey!" I looked at it, but just couldn't do it. I handed it to the next lady. I'm sure it found a suitable donor.
So it took me something like 1:12 to get to the 8.7mile marker, which is also the summit. Man, you get to the top and you feel like a tour rider that's been climbing all day. I wanted throw the newspaper in the jersey, zip up, and big-ring down. Just felt that way, but now I can shift gears and muscle groups and head down hill for the next 4+ miles. The first part of this descent is pretty technical. We're at around 4900 feet elevation at the summit so it's bit chillier and there's still snowbanks along the road. The roads are a bit icey mixed with mud so you were never sure if your feet would hold. I never had any major slips, but it sure made you tippy-toe a lot in this section. About a mile down you can relax a little more about falling and just work on not destroying your knees. I also found that there's guys that run a hell of a lot faster than me downhill. Guys that I passed fairly quickly going uphill blew by me going down like they were free-balling. I thought they were evil, but I could clearly see their nuts!
Anyways, moving on from that rant, the finish tape came and I crossed in something like 1:41:40.
Chip times were all messed up, but that was the official time. Not bad. I think I ran a smart race and the focus was pretty good. My only worst-critic-self-criticism is I still had a lot in the tank at the end. Something I need to mentally prepare for a little better. I want the tank on "E" at the tape, which has always been a challenge for me. Such as life!More pictures of the gang in action
OK, I also did an official 10-mile time trial today, but I'll get to that soon. Good times...good times...with your mom!
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