Sole of the City 10k

Yesterday, hubby and I ran the Sole of the City 10k in Baltimore for the third time. We really like running in Baltimore, Charm City Run does a lot of races down there and they do a fantastic job! For the first time in our running "career" we had to chose between two races - Sole of the City 10k or Yuengling Lager Jogger 5k. We went with the 10k because honestly, there are fewer of them than 5ks.

We got up early to hit McHenry Row for packet pick-up. Our weekend initially was going to be crazy with a food truck event Friday night in York, then the race Sat. morning, then two Orioles games, but our tabby isn't doing well and we chose not to go away this weekend. Which means, we did packet pick-up morning of.

Parking was a bit dicey, but we found a spot not too far away and walked to get our bibs. We walked right into the store and up to the table. We had our bib and jackets within minutes - the ladies received the black jacket, the gentlemen the gray.

We dropped our jackets off at the car and put on our bibs and timing chips. Then we made our way to the start line. We took the obligatory selfie:

For a change, I got all of hubby's head in, but I missed my chin. LOL! Right after this, our friend Ada found us (we ran the St. Patrick's Day 5k in March with Ada!) and we got to see her and her friends before the race. The announcements were done - welcome, an introduction of Erika Brannock, a short speech by Erika Brannock (a MD runner who was seriously injured at the Boston Marathon in 2013), a fantastic singing of the National Anthem, then we were off!

This race is going to be hubby's last race until the fall as he will be having surgery on his legs next month. Within the first 50 feet he said his legs were hurting him. Uh oh. We kept going and thankfully it went away. We did a run half a mile/walk one minute interval. We were slow, but it was going well.

The race course changed from last year and took us through Fells Point and back. We really liked the Fell's Point area as we ran through and since it was Pirate's weekend, there was all sorts of stuff going on there! We debated stopping and just hanging out, but we continued on.

As an aside, we were running through Fell's Point and a gentleman had a sign saying "Ladies, run fast because Luke Bryan is waiting for you at the finish line!" I looked over and said, "Sir, I believe you are lying." He was quick with his response - "No, there is a Luke and a Bryan waiting at the finish line!" Touche sir, touche!

Hubby did GREAT! He ran further than he has since the last time we ran this race in 2013. I struggled during the last mile, but we came back to McHenry Row and ran across the finish line! Our friend Ada and her friends were there and were kind enough to give us bottles of water immediately. The temperatures were in the 60s, which is beautiful walking around being outside weather, but when you've trained in 10-20 degree temps all winter it was like running in an oven!

We chatted with our friends, then made our way back for some snacks...and beer. :-) We grabbed ourselves a pint of beer, a banana, bag of pretzels, and we had our waters.

And the obligatory post-race selfie...

From here, we checked out Charm City Run (because we are suckers) for buying running stuff after a race (and there was a $10 off coupon on the back of our bibs....). I grabbed a cute purple 5k shirt, while hubby grabbed a Baltimore themed shirt.

Since I want to run more 5ks this year, this will be the perfect shirt! It's soft too. I was able to get $10 off the shirt, so while pricey, at least it was a tad bit more affordable.

We headed home after our stop at the store and made our Saturday morning stop at Dunkin Donuts. We totally Earned Our Donuts yesterday!

I have a rule that I can only have an apply fritter when I run 5 or more miles. 6.2 completely allows me an apple fritter! So yummy!

Now, just a quick pros/cons from the 2014 Sole of the City 10k

Pros

• It's a 10k (Not a common race distance around these parts)
• The promo is a jacket (rare as well)
• The course (all around Baltimore and loved the run through Fells Point!)
• Start time (9:00 a.m. is helpful for those driving over an hour to get there!)

Cons

• For this year only, the promo jacket was initially yellow but the color wasn't ready by the manufacturer in time. They replaced it was a black jacket for the women (the men's gray jacket stayed the same). My issue is in 2012 (the first year it was run) the jacket was black. Wasn't there any other colors available?
• The course. Yes, I realize I am contradicting myself here. My issue is that for slow runners (like myself) when we ran by the Inner Harbor this time around we had to run through tourists. In the past, this part of the race (which I LOVE), had been at the beginning when there weren't a lot of people around. I would have liked this part of the race to be like it was the last two years, then head up to Fell's Point. Then when we return, run along Pratt Street, which is how we returned the last two years.

Outside that, this is a great race. Seriously. If you are in the Baltimore area or are looking for a racecation, this would be a great race for it. It's a 10k, which means it can be a challenging distance, but because it is a shorter distance you will be up to being a tourist afterwards. Baltimore is a great city for so many reasons and would make a great long weekend trip, especially since they do a day-of packet pick-up.

Did you race this weekend? Did you run Sole of the City 10k? What did you think? 

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Sole of the City 10k - Race Recap and Review

I thought I had shared the Sole of the City 10k race last weekend. Hubby asked me yesterday if I was going to talk about it. Oops! Guess I didn't.

Last year Charm City Run in Baltimore hosted the first Sole of the City 10k - The Day Runners Get The Right Of Way. I had never run a 10k before, so we signed up. Then I ran the Hershey 10k the weekend before and that whole first 10k went out the window. LOL! It was a fun race, with some friends and a PR.

This year, we signed up again. There was a slight course change, but I didn't think anything of it. We got there early for packet pick-up because they changed the packet pick-up locations from last year and living a little over an hour away means it's more difficult for us than those who live in the Baltimore area to grab our stuff. We got there about 7:15 a.m. and very easily grabbed our bag and jackets. Yes, this race doesn't do t-shirts, they do jackets! You can register without the premium, but it's such a great jacket, why would you???

Photo taken from Sole of the City 10k Facebook page

 

It was a chilly morning, so I decided to wear my jacket for the race. The race was the Saturday following the bombings at the Boston Marathon, so they asked runners to wear blue and yellow. Hubby and I complied. 

The race was a little less organized than last year and we weren't sure where to line up. Last year we lined up on the street, but this year we lined up behind the finish arch. We waited and waited and waited for the start. They were talking, but we couldn't hear anything. The sound system did not work as far back as we were. By the time the race started, it was about 15 minutes past the designated start time.

Hubby started the race with me as he's been doing the past few races. Once he got himself into a rhythm, he headed off to run his race. I kept my pace. Nothing too crazy. I hoped to PR, but you never know.

I had good splits for me as I ran along. I skipped my first walk break as I usually do during a race. I always feel that it's silly to stop at the half mile mark during a race. Anyway... I kept going and felt like I was running a really good race. I felt good. I felt fast. 

Then we came to the alternate course from last year. We had to go through Rash Field. We came off Key Highway, through a short underground tunnel, then around American Ninja Warrior set-up to the bricks of Inner Harbor. Once off Key Highway, where I was in the crowd literally came to a slow crawl. Then once we could run again (once through the tunnel) it was too crowded due to narrowness of course to get back up to speed until we were on the path to Inner Harbor. Worse.Alternate.Course.Ever.

We got around the Inner Harbor, then around the Aquarium pier. As we came along the back of the Aquarium, there was the first water stop. I stopped for water. While it was cold, I knew I needed the water. From here, we turned onto Pratt Street and ran against traffic in one of the car lanes. Heehee! Past the warehouses, we turned back onto Key Highway to wind our way back to the finish. This stretch kinda makes me smile honestly. They stop traffic on Key Highway so runners can cross back into the neighborhoods. Drivers just get out of their cars and stare at us with a look of, "why are we stopped on a major road in Baltimore for this?" Heehee!

Back to the neighborhood area and the same course as last year. It was filled with hills. Ugh. Honestly, give me the hills at the beginning, not the end of a race thank.you.very.much. There was another water stop around mile 4, which I partook again. Then it was just running to the finish. On the last huge hill before turning to the finish, there was this adorable little boy banging his toy drum as we ran by. Too cute! Everyone I asked if they saw him said they did and how cute was he??? 

Turned the corner and headed to the finish. Literally steps before the finish line is a fire station and a good number of the guys were out on the sidewalk cheering us in. I thanked them for being there and they thanked me. Silly boys. Turned to the finish and saw my time. Sadness. I know it was gun time, but still...

Hubby and I found each other and headed to the beer/food area. It was not set up the same as last year. Not happy about that. We got in line for food - granola bar (S'Mores), banana, chips/pretzels, sandwich (ham or veggie). Then got in the beer line. It wasn't too bad, but it was Bud Light. 

Once we stopped running, we were cold again. LOL! It was windy! We drank our beer quickly, put our stuff in the car (did I mention the parking garage behind McHenry Row was free?? Nice!), and headed to Dunkin Donuts. We always get DD after a long run on Sat. so it was perfect! When we got to the front of the line, the gentleman behind the counter said, "Medium iced coffee..." LOL! Apparently, every runner had come in and ordered the same thing. Guess all runners are alike. :)

So, what did I think of this year's race? 

1. I love the giveaway! It's comfy, soft, and stretchy. On Sunday, I saw a gentleman in his jacket and had a really nice conversation with him at the Orioles game. :) Ahhhh...runners...

 

2. The late start and not being able to hear the announcements at the beginning of the race. I've noticed this at several races lately, that the announcements are garbled towards the back of the line of runners. Maybe adding in additional speakers along the starting area so those announcements can be heard. We had no idea what was going on. It was like listening to Charlie Brown's teacher. 

3. The alternate route cost me a PR. I needed to run a sub 1:17:52. This year? I ran 1:18:38. I'm pretty sure if I didn't have to walk through the tunnel and slow down around Rash Field I would have PRed. Argh...

4. The course is challenging. I personally think it's mean when race directors put a crazy steep hill at the very end of a race. I know the fast people don't care, but us back of the packers struggle on those. I'm not saying yea or nay, it just hurts at the end.

5. Did not like the post-race area. There was no direction, it was confusing. I will give them props for adding the veggie sandwich option this year because last year it was chicken and ham, neither of which I eat. But, last year, the post-race food was in a nice box that you grabbed from the table near The Greene Turtle. This year, the food was on long tables in the middle of the street. You went down and grabbed what you wanted. I did not like this. Normally I don't care, but last year was just so much better. It was impressive. This year? Eh. I also heard the sandwiches weren't that good. I ended up not eating my veggie one so I can't speak to it.

6. For us slow runners, by the time we finished a lot of the faster runners were leaving. Ok. No problem. The problem for me is that people were leaving the parking garage and having to go on the road where runners were walking after finishing the race, where they were grabbing food, and where they were congregating with friends. It was not that safe considering the line for food was so long when I got there that we had to continuously move out of the way of cars trying to leave. Having parking literally three feet from the start is amazing, but they really needed to direct people out a different way.

7. I liked they honored their $10 off a purchase of $10+ that day in the store. I did not use mine because they took the bib when you used it, but I saw tons of people using it in the store picking up stuff. The girl at the register got a bunch of energy items and paid like 12 cents. It was a great added giveaway. I wish they would have just make a big X through the coupon and let you keep the bib though. Not complaining too much honestly. I just think this would have been nicer. 

Overall, I like this race. It's a fun race, a distance that isn't too common, and a great run around Baltimore. The only thing that would make the course better is if they got the stadiums in somehow, but I have no idea how they would do that. The give away really is the best and unless there's some weird thing going on, I look forward to running it next year...and PRing!!

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And I'm logging food and exercise again...

Last year I ran the Sole of the City 10k with hubby. We had a fun time running through Baltimore and we had a fun post-race party time with friends. We even took a pic pre-race:

This year we did our self-portrait in the parking garage. Yea...yea...We were cold and tired.

You can't tell too much from this photo, but I am much bigger than I was last year. I noticed it in the race photos. Ugh. Awful. So awful that I have finally figured out what I need to get my ass in gear. Yes. I do not want photographs of me looking like that anymore. It's awful. Did I say that already?

Last August, while in Las Vegas I looked like this:

And now?

How about a closer comparison?

Shamrock 2013

 

Shamrock 2012

 

I want to get back to what I was in August of 2012. Then I want to lose 12 more pounds. Because yes, I was 12 pounds away from my goal before gaining about 20 pounds in 8 months. I'm annoyed with myself. It's frustrating and sad. But, today's Sole of the City 10k photos made me see myself for what I really look like right now. It's not pretty...

 

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Sole of the City 10k Race Review

Yesterday hubby and I ran the inaugural Sole of the City 10k in Baltimore, MD.  We run a lot of races in Baltimore, but I'd never run a 10k in Baltimore before.  When we signed up for this race it was going to be my first ever 10k, but then we signed up for the Hershey 10k the weekend before and this became my second 10k.  LOL!  Which is fine.  I was still looking forward to it.

I'll be honest.  I really wanted to run this race because of the swag.  Most races give a shirt away, either short or long sleeve.  But, this race upped the ante with a Under Armour jacket.  :-)  Since it was different I kinda wanted it.  Here's what it is and you tell me if you would run this race because of it.

 Full front

Front left logo - my apologies for it not being horizontal.  The photo was taken horizontally and saved horizontally, but it's not loading horizontally.

 Full back

 Higgy approves the jacket

 Close up of the back logo - apologies again...

So, now that we all agree that the jacket is well worth signing up for this race, let's move onto a race review.  The race started at 9:00 a.m., which is lovely for the non-morning person that I am.  I will admit though that with the mild winter we had and the early summerish temperatures we've been having that the temperature at the start worried me - 70 degrees.  This one might have been a bit better earlier in the morning just to have the cooler temperatures.  But, it was what it was and overall it wasn't too bad.

The race itself was a celebration of Charm City Run's 10th anniversary of being in the Baltimore area and opening their Baltimore store on McHenry Row (near Fort McHenry, the site where Francis Scott Key became inspired to write the Star Spangled Banner).  There were 2,700 runners, which made for quite a few people crowded at the start.  Maybe a few too many.  

There were lots of announcements at the beginning, most of which those of us at the back missed.  But, what we all heard and I'll admit to being awed at was the rendition of the National Anthem.  OMG.  The group who sang it was absolutely amazing.  They should sing the National Anthem for everything.  Yes, I know this is a race review, but if I skipped giving this group (who I have NO idea who they are) props it would be an incomplete review.  Hoping at some point to know who they are.

This week we heard the horn go off.  It took a several minutes to get to the front and it made me laugh that I wasn't moving and yet I could see lots of people already running.  Gotta find humor in being a back of the pack runner.  Eventually we all got past the start and headed into Baltimore for 6.2 miles (not 6.3 miles that I always say it is.  LOL!)

The race itself was good.  I was thrilled that the big hill we had to run up at last year's Baltimore Women's Classic we got to run down to start the race. Yea!  Then down Key Highway around the Inner Harbor.  It was fun to run around the actual Inner Harbor.  The looks of tourists and Baltimorians who were out for the morning was hysterical!  We ran around piers that I didn't even know existed.  LOL!  It was neat though.  And I was impressed with the number of volunteers around this area to help us know where to go.  It's helpful when you are towards the back of the pack to know you are going.

After all the piers we headed back on Lombard Street back towards Key Highway in the bus lanes.  Which was odd.  Lombard Street is one way and we were running the wrong way.  And there was lots of traffic!  I think due to us.  LOL!  We came back towards Key Highway and yes, we caused a traffic jam.  People were getting out of their cars because they weren't going anywhere.  It was kinda weird.

Once past Key Highway we were back into neighborhood areas and away from the Harbor.  This part of the race was much hillier than the Inner Harbor which was nice and flat.  It was challenging.  But it wasn't too bad for the most part.  And I give lots of credit to the police officers who were there keeping the traffic from running us over.  Traffic was not happy.

As we got close to the end, that fun hill that we got to run down on the way out?  Yea, we had to run up that hill.  Ugh.  I'll admit I didn't run the whole hill.  I ran half the hill, then walked the second half.  I decided I wanted to run across the finish line rather than walk across it.  And I did.  From that hill, it was a straight shot to the Finish Line and hubby was standing just out front so I saw him as I came in.

Here are some random splits, that probably only I care about.  LOL!

Half mile - 5:34 (last week it was 5:45)

Mile - 11:13 (huh??)

1.5 miles - 17:00 

3 miles - 30:21 (last week 30:08)

5 miles - 1:01:41 (Shamrock 8k was 1:01:51)

10k - 1:17:52 (one second faster than the Hershey 10k)

Crazy!  I tried really hard to do 5 miles under an hour, but it was not to be.  I didn't really try until 4.5 miles and only had 4 minutes and 30 seconds to do it, so it really wasn't happening, but I tried.  Ah well.

Positives: Swag!   National Anthem singers.  The backward course (compared to all the other Baltimore races who use basically the same course).  Running around the Inner Harbor itself.  Free beer at the end.  Setting a PR on a hilly course. A free post-race lunch.  A Dunkin Donuts right there!

Cons: Hilly course.  The big hill at the end of the course.  The water stops were odd (volunteers putting their hands in big coolers, and just not where I would have thought).  Only chicken available as the post race lunch (I don't eat chicken).

We only got one photo at this one, but I love it!