The Little Things
July 8, 2014

On July 4th morning, Melissa and I were up bright and early to run the CarmelFest Freedom Run 4.5 miler. Melissa and I were so thankful when we woke up and it was only 55 degrees outside (we definitely didn’t want a repeat of the Indy Women’s Half!). We had no intention of all out racing, but wanted to run and enjoy a patriotic start to the day!

photo 1This is the most patriotic running outfit I own.

We got to the race start and stretched a bit while talking, looking at everyone’s patriotic outfits, and enjoying the patriotic music. The race started at 8 am, and we knew that no matter what pace we went at, it would be automatic PRs for both of us since neither of us had raced that distance before.

The first mile was rough! It took me awhile to loosen up and feel like my legs weren’t really heavy. We did our typical run: walk of 2:1, and were more than ready for the water stop to pop up at mile 1.5. Unfortunately there was almost no water at the bottom of my cup, and I definitely wanted a little more. By that time my legs felt like they loosened up, and the rest of the race went really fast for me.

We even managed to run the hills instead of walking them like our previous race in Carmel. My legs felt pretty good on the hills, and I actually found myself wishing that I had hills around me to train on from time to time.

They had another water stop at mile 3.5ish, and the cups there were filled almost to the top- excellent!

We ended up crossing the finish line around 50 minutes (or maybe a few seconds under?)- I’m not sure of the exact time, but I was happy with that for a race that we weren’t really trying to race (and a race with a few hills!).

Freedom Run

They had a bunch of different types of food after the race (granola bars, pretzels, fruit snacks, cookies, bananas, and apples) along with bottles of water and milk, and cups of gatorade. I was impressed with everything they had for participants, especially for a race that cost $20! They also gave us cups that were red, white, and blue and said the name of the race on it in place of a medal. I love that!

Overall, I had a great time at the race, and it was a fun way to start the holiday! I especially loved how great the race was for the price- you can’t beat $20 for a 4.5 miler! I really enjoyed running another race with Melissa as well. This was our 4th race together, and will certainly not be our last!

For more race recaps, check out my race recaps page!

 

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