The Bix 7: A(nother) Memorable Race

Saturday morning I ran The Bix, a 7 mile road race in the Quad Cities, although the race was only in Iowa. It was quite the race and overall a great time.

I went to the Quad Cities on Friday and stayed with my aunt and uncle. It was nice to see them. I had many family members running the race: me, my uncle, cousin, brother, 2 second cousins and 2 third cousins. Also, my aunt's dad ran with the race.

I got up early - 5AM - to eat breakfast before the race. The weather was supposed to be awful - steady rain all morning. We decided to leave for the race a little after 7 because we didn't want to stand out in the rain. We got down to the River Center at 7:40...20 minutes before start time.

Luckily, we were all in the 1st starting corral. The gun went off right at 8:00 and the race started. The course in INCREDIBLY hilly. The first 0.5 mile is up a steep hill, and the hills don't stop after that. Luckily, it is an out and back course, so for every up hill I knew I would get to go down it on the way back.

It rained steadily through the entire race. Actually, before the race even started my shorts were soaking wet, looking like I got them out of the washing machine. I wore a dri-fit t-shirt so it wouldn't be heavy in the rain. The temps were bad - it started out near 70 degrees and didn't get much warmer due to the rain.

I saw my parents, aunt and another cousin, grandma, 2 other aunts and 2 more cousins along the course cheering. It was so uplifting because they were at different points throughout the race. I liked being cheered for, too. I ended up finishing the race in 1:02:36, an 8:56 pace. I was pleased and hadn't run that fast in a while. After the race I felt pretty good, too. I think maybe my iron pills are starting to work. One can only hope!

After the race I met my uncle and cousin who finished before me and we were waiting around for my aunt's dad. I got soo cold standing in the rain. I didn't warm up all day.

I signed up for my next race, too. I am really excited about it. It is a 10k in Iowa on August 14th. It is in a little town about 10 miles from where my grandma lives. I try to visit her every summer and this year I wanted to run in the Sweet Corn Festival race so it just worked out. Plus, the 10k coincides with my marathon training. I'm off to go running now....