Sunday, October 18th, my friend Lily came out to Rochester so we could run the MS Monster Scramble together at Mount Hope Cemetery. We had never run together and with our half marathon fast approaching, we desperately needed to get in a test run together. We also agreed that running more than a 5K was needed for both of us. I have not been training as rigorously as I should be considering all that's been going on lately. We also decided to test run part of our Wine and Dine half marathon costumes.
It was FREEZING that morning, and snowflakes were even floating in the air. Lily met me at my house that morning, and we drove up to the race together. The website had us park off site and we were shuttled to the start, which was hassle free. The event had packet pick-up at the start location, which is really one of my only beefs about this race. Pick-up lines were divided, the top half of the alphabet, and the bottom half. Once we got our packets, we pinned our bibs on and ditched our bags they gave us in a tree near the start. Then we found a sunny area to stand in while we waited for the race to start.
(Love a good candid... not)
The Monster Scramble offered a 5K option and a 10K option - which we ran the 10K. I have to admit, early that morning when I woke up, I was really regretting that decision because it was so cold, but ultimately, it ended up being perfect weather for running. The race started at 10 AM, and both the 5K and 10K runners started at the same time. The 10K route was 2 of the 5K loops. The good thing about that was that Lily and I knew what to expect the second time around.
Of course right at the start of the race was a HUGE hill, and I was definitely not looking forward to running that again. There were a few other hills throughout the remainder of the course, but nothing that we couldn't handle. There were also some areas of the course that had old cobblestone instead of pavement, so that was a little dicey. Overall it was a beautiful course, and I would definitely run it again.
(Certainly not the best shot, but whatever)
Overall, I feel Lily and I did well. We finished the 10K in just under 1:18:00 (because there was no timing mat at the start), and we averaged 12:37 min/miles.
(Course map and elevation details)
I really enjoyed this race, and like I said I would run it again. It was definitely something different for me as I have not run at Mt. Hope Cemetery before so it was different scenery, and it was perfect for a Halloween themed race. My only complaint about the race was the packet pick-up the morning of. I honestly didn't know that the race had pre-race packet pick up, and this is my fault as I had been so busy with other stuff the week leading up to the race to even check into it. I'm sure it was held at Fleet feet.
(Pre-race selfie in the sun)
Pros:
Price: It was cheap for a 10K. If I remember correctly, it was $25.00.
Water Stop: The race itself had one water stop (which since the 10K course looped twice it was 2), which I think was plenty for a 10K.
Volunteers: There was an adequate number of volunteers, and they even joined in on the fun and dressed in costumes.
Refreshments: Your typical spread, post race refreshments included fruit, bagels and water.
Shuttle: It was great that the race offered a shuttle from the parking area (it was necessary) The wait to catch the shuttle to and from where we parked was minimal.
Cons:
Race Day Packet Pick-up: I hated that this was held at Mt. Hope Cemetery so we were unable to ditch our bags in my car. I wish they had held it at the Al Sigl building where we parked. Again, my fault that I wasn't paying attention to pre-race packet pick-up.
6 Month Post-op Follow-up:
A few weeks ago I also had my 6 month post-op follow-up with my NEW Cardiologist. I found out who my new Cardiologist was going to be when I called to tell them I found out my new valve was leaking. So then I went right to the URMC website to look him up. I have to say, just reading about his training (residency and fellowships), I was quite impressed.
Once I met him and we started talking he mention that he had been going through my old Cardiologists notes to get to know his patients but he also wanted to hear from me about how I thought things were going, etc. So of course I went into the story about I had volunteered at RIT for the echo students so they could scan me as see some pathology, and that's when I found out it was leaking. I told him that the valve looked like it had more than a mild leak, but it wasn't quite moderate, etc. Then I mentioned that I was a sonographer, and that's how I knew. He mentioned he saw that on my patient information sheet, and we continued talking. He and a student that was shadowing him for the day listened to my heart and lungs, and then he said he wanted to get another echo just to compare it to the post surgery echo I had the day I was discharged from the hospital. He said even though I will have read the echo, we would reconvene after to discuss.
The lead sonographer came to get me from my exam room and she walked me to her echo room. I mentioned to her that my valve was leaking, and that I knew there wasn't any post surgery. While she did my echo we chatted, then after she walked me back into an exam room so my cardiologist could come talk to me once again. He agreed that the valve had a mild leak, but that it wasn't uncommon for all valves to leak, and most of them do directly out of surgery. He said my pulmonary pressures hadn't changed, and that he believed that this would be my "new normal." He said I have no physical restrictions, so I can still run, etc, and if I feel there are any changes I can call him. If not, he wants to see me back in 6 months so we can re-evaluate just to make sure that nothing changes. All of that sounded good to me. He doesn't feel comfortable setting me up for annual visits just yet, and that's fine. I'd rather he be thorough.
Aside from the Monster Scramble and my follow-up, I've been keeping busy. This past weekend I ran another Halloween themed 5K (which I'll be posting about in the near future), and I also had a Halloween party which was a lot of fun. Tomorrow morning my friend Lily and I finally leave for Disney for our half marathon!
QOTD: Did you run any fun Halloween themed races this year?
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