Benton 2 Miler

Last Saturday was the Arkansas Runner 2 Mile. It is the 11th Grand Prix race and my fifth race of the year. Oooh I got my minimum to qualify for an award. WOO HOO! No America I am not expecting an award but my goal at the beginning of this year was to complete the minimum Grand Prix races so SCORE FOR COMPLETING A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION!

Ahem…

For this race, I wore my trusty non slipping racing skirt. I, unfortunately, left my water bottle at home. I usually run with a water bottle in my hand. This got in my head.

This was a smaller race that had maybe 300 people registered. This race was a two mile loop that started and finished near the Saline County Courthouse in Benton. There were some rolling hills which weren’t necessarily steep but were plentiful enough to affect the time of someone who hadn’t completed hill training. The route went through parts of downtown and then meandered through a residential neighborhood until it looped back to the courthouse. There were no water stops during this race and the helper people/guides were spaced pretty far apart. I was expecting a water stop around mile 1. Many helpers weren’t needed because the race route was pretty self explanatory for the most part. Guides were at the proper places to help runners.

This race was okay for me. In light of last week, I didn’t use runkeeper and decided to run until I was tired and walk until I was bored. I did find myself slowing down when I realized there was no water stop since I didn’t have water with me. I didn’t want to pass out in the heat and the helpers were spaced far enough apart that the thought of falling down on the road and busting my head did enter my mind. They were just too far for me to feel 100 percent safe mentally to just “go for it.” When I turned the final curve, I realized that I could potentially finish in less than 32 minutes (or a 16 minute mile pace) and so I did go for it then. There was a crowd of people.

ANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

I didn’t make it. oops. But I did have the energy to actually run in.

My friend Katie was also helping with this race. She said I looked like I came back from a spa instead of running a race. That was probably true. While I got a workout, I can’t say that I “pushed” myself pace wise. With only two miles, the distance wasn’t enough to wear me out either.

It was a nice race and the fault of not bringing water was my own. Even though a water stop wasn’t required, I think they should have had one. Running in June in Arkansas is a dangerous thing.

I look forward to more races and seeing how I progress.