Running for Pie

Yesterday morning I got up at the crack of dawn and headed to the wilds of Maryland to run a hilly 10K club race called Run for the Pie. I'm not sure how the race tradition was started, but the entry fee for club members is a pie and non-members pay a low fee plus a pie. At the end of the race, the winner gets first choice of pie and then you work your way down the list.  It is a very low key race - no bibs, potties or swag.

My plan wasn't to 'race' this but to use it as a training run because I just happened to have 6 miles on the schedule and it's a nice hilly course like my October race will be. The other runners in the club are very supportive and encouraging so I wasn't worried about being 'too slow' or coming in last which is a good thing because I was definitely at the back of the pack on this one.

I got to the start in plenty of timeto warm up, pee, and so on, but there were no bathrooms. I tip toed into the woods and stepped in dog poop. Excellent start.

We milled around and chatted until around 8 am when the RD lined us up,  gave us quick directions and mentioned there's a 'really big hill' near the turnaround.

Off we went. I'm trying really hard to start slow even if it means I'm the last person, and I'm not doing very well with it. The first mile was downhill and I finished in 9:10. That's just way too fast for me if I'm going to run more than a couple of miles so I made a huge effort to slow way down and the next 2 miles were a more manageable 9:58 and 10:03.

I ended up running mostly by myself which I prefer so I can check out the scenery and think (or don't think) about stuff. It was a really pretty course and I wasn't familiar with the area so I enjoyed looking at the houses and scenery. A lot of cyclists were riding through the area too so it must be popular for them as well.

Mile 4 was up the big hill and I actually walked from about the halfway point to the top which gave me a 12:28 mile. Not completely horrible but not that great either.  Mile 5 was more gently rolling hills and was an even 10:00. Mile 6 began the trek back up the mountain to the starting point and I was quickly losing steam. I started thinking about pushing over one of the many cyclists who passed me and stealing their bike, but I resisted the temptation and kept chugging along.

I crossed the finish at 1:07:06, and my Garmin showed the final distance as 6:33.  Below is the groovy elevation chart along with my splits. I don't know how to make it bigger so you may need a magnifying glass to see any details.

The final results aren't posted yet. Amazingly I didn't come in last. I actually managed to pass 3 people on the way out and got passed by just 1 person on the way back. Nice change for me. :)

Oh, I'm sure you're all wondering about the pie I chose - I know I would be thinking about that, too! I chose a 'French Apple Pie w/ Crumb Topping' according to the post-it note stuck to the lid. It was homemade and quite yummy.

It was a fun race and I'm looking forward to next year!