New Bedford

New Bedford

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Firecracker 4 Race Report

July 4th: 6:15am wakeup. Had to poop really badly, but wanted to go back to sleep for a little bit. Didn't work. Bathroom. Breakfast. Single packet of oatmeal with maple syrup. Gathered all the gear for the race and the day (change of clothes, deodorant, etc). Left around 7:15am to head up Saratoga, NY.

Arrived in downtown Saratoga around 7:40am. We had to go the round about way to the parking lot near the finish line. Snagged a parking spot. Met the team near the starting line where the tent was set up. Port-o-potty stop was necessary before anything else could go down. Chilled in the shade and tried to avoid the sun. Warmup around 8:20am. Last mile of the course with teammates. 2 miles (15:43) Clif Bar raspberry energy packet. Back to change into flats and jersey. Rocked the compression socks. Stopped off at the nearby hotel to use the bathroom again. To the starting line for strides and get a good spot up front.

Gun went off at 9am. Out to the front and settle. Strung out immediately within the first mile. 5:00 through the first mile. Felt good and ready to roll. At about 1.5 miles, heat and humidity set in and I wasn't feeling great. 10:10 through 2 miles. People had sprinklers and pressure washers making a mist tunnel along the course. Helped, but not enough. Legs feeling Sunday and the heat was not agreeing with me. Chilled for a 1/2 mile until teammate Kevin Treadway pulled up next to me on the downhill section. Re-motivated me to race and bring it in for the end. I was zoning out until 3. 15:40. Ouch. Terrible mile and refocused to finish the last mile. 20:52 to finish. Glad to finish. Led my team to a win in the team competition so I am happy. Cooldown reverse the course 4+ miles (33:09) for 10+ miles on the day. Awards ceremony. Hot fudge and a medal for my 6th place finish. $250 for the team win. Woohoo! 4 Chobanis in like 5 minutes, shaved ice (root beer), and a dough boy (a fancy hot pocket).

Cleaned up (poor man's bath with a washcloth) at a co-workers house. Stopped at Gaffney's for a New Castle and a buffalo chicken wrap. Sweating like crazy between sitting on the patio and the heat of the food. Not a good combo. New Castle was very refreshing though. Stopped off at Eddie Bauer's after lunch to grab a bathing suit because Goupil and I did not bring one. The plan was to go to the Victorian Pool at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). Found a couple suits. Green with tree designs. Right up my alley. And 60% off! 21 bucks. Sweet.

Chilled at the pool for about 4+ hours. Probably about 2 in the sun and 2 in the shade. Dozed off a couple times (in the shade). A whole array of people at the pool. Old and young. Tan and pale. It was very interesting for people watching. One guy had a ridiculous comb over/around. I wish I took a picture. A thin film of sunblock/baby oil covered the surface of the water. It was gross, but the water was refreshing.

Back to downtown Saratoga by 5:30ish. Changed out of the bathing suit. Chilled for a bit. Our co-worker, Goupil and I headed out to Catina for Mexican food. Mmmm. Spicy beef enchiladas with a Saranac root beer. I asked for orange soda, but I don't like to cause ruckuses. Dessert at Plum Dandy. Cookies and cream, chocolate, and vanilla frozen yogurt with mini peanut butter cups, caramel turtles, chocolate sprinkles, sour gummi worms, and hot fudge. 8 bucks later. Oops. Co-worker had a 12 dollar coupon. She thought it was gonna cover all three of us. It ended up being 20+ bucks total. Yeah buddy! Devoured it as we people watched on Broadway Street. Goupil gave his phone number to this cutie that was a hostess. Ca-chang!

Back to the apartment by 8:45ish. Shower to rinse off the nastiness from the pool. Bed early. Slept like a rock.

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