Detroit Race for the Cure

Today was one of my favorite races.  It was the Detroit Race for the Cure.  The Detroit Race for the Cure is one of the largest Race for the Cure events in the country.  I believe I once read that it's the third largest behind Washington, DC and Phoenix, AZ.
They don't time this race, there are bibs with numbers and the first 100 women and 100 men get a medal at the finish line.  Back in the day, I was able to easily come in within the first 100 and get the medal but the last few years, I wasn't able to come close to it.  Now that I've lost the college weight gain and am back to running like I used to, I decided that I wanted to try for the medal this year.  I have been doing speedwork with the triathlon group from the Y.  My all time 5K PR, 23:39  is at this race.  I knew there was no way that I'd be able to run that fast right now but I figured that it would be my 50s PR!
When I got there, I picked up my bib and tshirt in front of the big Tiger in front of Comerica Park:

The Detroit Tiger decked out in a pink ribbon

They even let us use the restrooms inside the ball park! 

An empty Comerica Park

 After wandering a bit and taking my tshirt back to my car, I went to the starting area:

Start line

It was chilly and when I checked my jacket in gear check, I was cold and wishing that I had a long sleeve sihrt on but I did warm up for about 10 minutes which helped.  Just before the race started, the sun came out and it instantly felt warmer!  The race went well.  It got tough in the second mile but I tried to keep myself going.  I run the race for the cure in celebration of a gal who grew up down the road from us.  When my kids were babies and she was a teenager, she babysat for me.  In her early 30s, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and has been battling it for several years.  She is a survivor but still has problems.  I think of her and all she's gone through when it gets tough and I want to slow down.
The end results:

I got the medal!!

Did I mention that I got a medal?

My time was 24:30!!  I haven't run a 5K in the 24s in a long time!  My splits were:  7:39, 7:42, 7:45.  I can hardly believe that I kept it in the 7s! 
I picked up my jacket and wandered a bit after finishing the race.

Comerica Park

I saw this group of men in pink warming up for the race when I was warming up.  I spotted them just afterward and was able to sneak a picture!  How awesome that they are willing to get into the spirit of such an important cause!

Men in pink

 A UPS guy took my picture when I picked up my jacket.  (UPS is the gear check sponsor and gear is stored in UPS trucks)  I haven't been able to wear this skirt the last couple years because I had gained weight.  I am happy to say that it fits now!!  

Happy to be wearing this skirt

All too soon, it was time to head back to the Fox Theater parking garage and head home; another Detroit Race for the Cure is in the books!

Who's your Tiger??? 

I Have an Iphone!!

I never thought I would do it, but.....

New toy

I, Runner Nerd, have an iphone!!  This could be interesting!
I now have it activated.  I am familiar with the little square icons and the sliding my finger across the screen because I have had an ipod touch for several years.
I need to take it in tomorrow and get my contacts transferred over from my old phone.

Today, for the first time in a very long time, I did speedwork!!  I remember very well my last speedwork session.  It was in July and my foot hurt so badly that I quit early and limped back to my car in tears.  I think that was the day that I decided that I have to take time off in order to make it to the starting line in Key West in January.
Today, I got there before anyone else so I ran my warm up on the paved trail which runs behind the school where we use the track.  Only one other person showed up.  We did sets of 400s and 200s.  All 4 of my 400s were under 2 minutes!  That's good for me!!  My 200s were all under 1 minute.  I'm already doing way better than I was last year!!  It was cold and after I finished, I went right to the car and turned on my heated seat and drove home with the heat on high.
The only reason I decided to go to the workout is for the upcoming Detroit Race for the Cure which is 5 weeks from Saturday.  This is a huge Race for the Cure.  They do not time.  The first 100 male and 100 female finishers get a medal.  Back in the day, I got the medals.  The last two years, no medal; I didn't even think about that because I was running so slow.  This year, I want to try for it again. 

Runner Nerd
has an iphone 

Running to Save 2nd Base

Another Race for the Cure is in the books!  This is one of my favorite events.  It's for a good cause, of course, but it's just fun!  The Susan G Komen Race for the Cure event in Detroit is one of the largest at over 30,000 participants.  It's also the flattest 5K course I know of!  My 5K PR was set there!  I PR'd there 3 years in a row (4 if my first 5K counts as a PR!).  I don't run anywhere near 23 minutes anymore but I have to say that this will most likely be the fastest 5K I run this summer.  It began raining near the end of my race so I didn't stick around very long afterward.  I usually wander around looking at the exhibits and getting lots of free samples from the sponsors and get my picture taken (which I can download for FREE a few days later!).  But, the rain was chilly so I got a banana, water and cut diagonally across the big parking lot where everything is set up.  I did manage to pick up a PINK grocery type bag and a really cool pink and lime green pen and got a bagel from Panera Bread!!  I made my way back to the Fox Theater parking garage where I always park, and left.  This was the fastest I've ever made it from the garage to the highway entrance!  That 30-45 minutes that I didn't wander around really made a difference.  It usually takes forever to get from the garage to the highway ramp which is a very short distance.

One of the t-shirts on display!

walkers finishing up (taken from Fox parking garage)

No baseball; Today, Comerica Park is hosting the Race for the Cure!

I have more pictures but it won't upload them so either I will have to make another post or try to edit this later.  I wanted to post a picture of the big Tiger sporting a pink ribbon!
After returning from the race, I had to get back to my task at hand: getting ready for hosting my family and other friends on Memorial Day.  Since becoming the world's oldest college student, my house is quite possibly a candidate for the messy house show on TV but I am working on that since inviting everyone over after the big parade in my hometown.  It's looking much better; I even discovered a dining room table under a mountain of textbooks, folders, notebooks and much unopened and should have been thrown away mail!!  What's more important - a 4.0 GPA or a clean house?????  That's easy - the 4.0, of course!!!!  A true nerd settles for nothing less!!!!

Runner Nerd