Corktown 4 Mile Race

Yesterday I went to Detroit for the Corktown 4-mile race. Corktown is a Detroit neighborhood, near Tiger Stadium, which apparently is the Irish area of Detroit. At least there are a lot of Irish bars there, and they have a St. Patrick's Day parade after the race.

It was gorgeous weather, almost 50 degrees and sunny. David came with me and we had plans to meet friends for a drink after the race. I went to line up and scanned the crowd of runners for people I knew, because I knew several of my TNT buddies were planning to be there. Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder and it turned out two of my buddies, Josh and Stephanie, were standing right in front of where I lined up. Another friend, Tim, came over so we chatted for a couple of minutes and then it was time to race.

Stephanie was doing the two mile race and was planning to walk/jog. Tim is a speed demon so he took off in front. Josh and I ran together for the first two miles. Josh is a much faster runner than I am but he was holding back a bit at first. And I was pushing myself because it felt good to have a challenge and also it's fun to race with someone else.

At the two mile mark, Josh said he was going to kick it into high gear so he took off. I kept pushing myself to keep up my same pace even though I didn't have him there any more to lead me. I could really feel it in my legs but it still felt good. Then I had some extra motivation around the three mile mark, because some guy near me kept horking up big phlegm wads and spitting them onto the ground. I freaking HATE THAT! It's so gross and I thought I was going to throw up, so I had to pick up the pace just to get away from Horky McSnottington.

I kept checking my watch and couldn't believe the time I was seeing. I ended up at the fastest pace I've ever sustained over any kind of distance. It felt so good to see that. I don't expect ever to be fast but it's nice to know that I still am able to improve from where I've been. I know this was a short race and thus very different from my upcoming half marathons, but I really am feeling hopeful about getting a PR at the Bayshore half in May.