Just to belabor the point, this Fourth of July was full of firsts, nearly all of them in the first few hours of the day.
The Fox Cities Triathlon Club kicked off the holiday weekend with their first annual Fox Firecracker 5K on the Fourth of July. While the name may be a mouthful, the race was really well done. And that's more than just the bias of an active member. Our race committee outdid themselves and put on a great event.
Keeping in mind this is a 5K, how many races have you attended with skydivers, rock bands, and fireworks? (Okay, the fireworks were just some small firecrackers to start the race, but still...) After lining up the participants, three skydivers jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. The first carried our tri club banner. The second trailed long streamers. The third had an incredibly large American flag flying below.
In a departure from the pistol or airhorn used to start so many events, this race began with a string of firecrackers dropped into a steel wash basin. It was surprisingly effective and a festive way to sound the start. With nearly 700 runners, the start was well planned and things went smoothly.
At the end of the race, there was a live band, pizza and pasta from Pizza Hut, American flags and firecracker shaped cheese for finisher, and lots of socializing. And after a season of mostly blah shirts from races, this race had a pretty cool t-shirt. Think Uncle Sam in a Tri Fox jersey.
This was the first 5K race completed by one young member of our junior tri team and her younger brother. They both did very well. I ran with her and offered suggestions as she dealt with some shoulder tension issues. Even with that, she finished in about 34 minutes, averaging 10:59/mile. That's outstanding for a person who had never completed the mile and a half in cross country without at least some walking.
The race also offered a unique aid station. There was one official water station with water and Gatorade, positioned at the 1.5 mile point. Just after that was the first of two unofficial aid stations. Provided by the Hilltop Bakery, this most unique station provided three kinds of donut holes, cookies, and some kind of puffed rice treat. It was very impressive, and both the donuts and cookies were good. A second unofficial aid station provided water closer to the end.
Finally, for the first time ever, I was called out in a race. Just after the donut stop (which my young trainee FORCED me to make because she wanted donuts), another Tri Fox came up from behind and yelled, "Hey, are you Iron Pol?" "Yeah, I am." "Cool, I read your blog."
A review of the comments shows Rachel at "Live with Kids" left a note about passing me on the course. Her blog has a very familiar feel as it covers the art of balancing triathlon with everything else in life. Stop by and say "Hi," when you get a chance.
Now, two things made that pretty cool. First, this wasn't a prearranged meeting. I'd have to look back, but I'm not sure I really publicized I would be in that race. This was a chance passing on the race course. Second, this Tri Fox showed she is WAY more in tune with other people than me. She came from behind us and somehow managed to recognize me from pictures. And given this race was put on by the Tri Foxes, it wasn't like I was the only guy on the course wearing the club jersey.
She was past us pretty quickly, and I wasn't able to get her bib number. So, if you are reading this, leave a comment or use the contact form to send me a note, especially if you have your own blog. That way, it can be added to the Tri Blog Community. Regardless, I appreciate both the time taken to read these posts and the shout out during the race.
The rest of the weekend was outstanding as the Pol family celebrated the nation's birth with camping, fireworks, swimming, staying up late, and enjoying friends and family. Oh yeah, an 1800 yard swim, 56 mile bike, and 10 mile run capped off the final heavy training for the Spirit of Racine Triathlon on July 20th. I guess that puts me officially into taper.
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