Patriot Run - Marathon 9-11-2011

9-11-11 This was the ten year anniversary of the worst act of terror on American soil.  The patriot run was a tribute to those that died, as well as those who have fought and died since.  It was a very amazing event, and I am glad I was a part of it.


First off, I this wasn't a run that I had scheduled or specifically trained for.  I had been signed up for the Flat Rock 50K since April or so, and had been running almost exclusively on trails getting ready.  Aside from a couple 10 milers on pavement, I was putting virtually no highway miles on myself.  When I came across the Patriot run on Facebook, well, to be honest, the price was right and the theme was patriotic, so I was in. 

This race only cost 25$ if you registered in advance, and 30$ on race day.  They had 2 options, a full marathon or a patriot run - meaning 1 mile or 60 miles, you made your own race.  I got there and was undecided on how many miles I wanted to do, so I signed up for the generic run, figuring if I felt like running for 9 hours and 11 minutes, it would be nice to have that option.  I figured I would let my body decide - especially since the FR50 was only 2 weeks later. 

The course was a 1 mile loop.  How boring is that?  In a mall parking lot?  In Olathe Kansas? It was the flatest course I have ever ran on... I actually believe there were more hills in the track at my high school.  Strangely enough it wasn't that bad at all.  There were American flags every 20 feet all along the route.  You were never away from other people, and there was no shortage of aid (a table about every 50 feet!).  The spectators yelled and yelled.  It was actually really great.  They kicked off the race with a remote control helicopter carrying a flag into the air while they blared the national anthem.  It really gave me goosebumps, which were subsequently knocked down by the military flyover!  It was awesome!

The race itself was not bad, not much too see after a few laps.  The race started at high noon, and since we were in a parking lot with NO shade, it got really hot.  I was glad I had run to Wallgreens before the race and bought a 12$ bottle of SPF 70 Neutrogena sport sunblock - and I still got a bit burned!  I fell in with a woman who we had been passing each other off and on the entire race and discovered her name was Carol.  We talked most of the last 10 miles and it made time fly by.  I had decided about mile 10 that I did not want to wipe myself out by trying to run all 9 hrs and would stop at 26.2 instead.  The finisher's medal was shaped like the Pentagon and was very cool.  My time was actually my slowest ever marathon time - 4:16 but I really did not push too hard at all, after all it was just my final long run, right? 

The downside of this race was how flat it was.  With virtually no change in elevation on the entire course, my hips were KILLING me.  It was almost like running on a cement treadmill.  The other negative was that the porta-johns were nearly one tenth of a mile off the course. 

Recovery for me was not terrible, I was a little slow on Sunday night.  I ate like a pig and felt pretty good at bedtime, and slept fairly well.  The next day I was stiff, but loosened up pretty quickly and acutally ran a 4 mile trail course on Wednesday.  I am glad I ran the race, even if the course photog failed to get a decent picture of me... I will do better for the camera at the Flat Rock, I promise you that. 

Thanks to all the patriots that were honored that day, I will not forget your sacrifice.