Running Man 2

My cell phone’s alarm went off — it was finally here.

Race day.

It was 6:45 a.m., the race (Fraser’s July 19 Run Drugs Out of Town 5K) wouldn’t start for nearly three more hours, but I wanted to give myself plenty of time.

After all, this was the first 5K I was going to run in four years, and there was something I needed to do — stretch, stretch and stretch some more.

Pretty much every running coach I spoke with for my series of running stories this summer couldn’t stress enough the importance of stretching — especially during interviews for my latest installment on preventing and treating injuries.

The next one, by the way, will have more helpful hints for race day and the week leading up to it.

So I woke up and did some stretches. Then ate a light breakfast. Stretched again. Got my gear together and drove to the registration spot. As soon as I received my T-shirt and number, I stretched again. I wandered the grounds for a bit, then, guess what — still some more time for stretching.

I was even stretching a little bit in the big crowd at the starting line as we all anxiously awaited the beginning of the race. (That's yours truly there in the headband, click the photo for a larger view ... or don't.)

And you know what? It all paid off.

Most of my training has been plagued with shin splints, strained leg muscles and other annoying aches and pains. But that’s usually because I don’t spend as much time stretching as all the experts have been suggesting.

So I finally fully took the advice I’ve been writing about and felt great — not only halfway through the race, but also as I crossed the finish line and even walking around afterwards.

Now I can apply my lessons learned and increase my goals as I train for one more 5K in the fall. I can successfully check off running the entire race without hurting myself and now look ahead to improving on my pace and time (30 minutes, 50 seconds).

In the meantime, here’s another bunch of local, upcoming races and events for you to check out. For more information about each, and a list of other races, check out www.runmichigan.com.

July 25 — Heart of the Hills 5K run/walk and 10K run, Bloomfield Hills

July 25 — Gopher the Gold 5K/10K run and kids fun run, Shelby Township

Aug. 1 — ACT for Autism 5K run and 1 mile walk, Bloomfield Hills

Aug. 2 — Eastpointe Lions Club Ox Roast Run 5K fun run and 1 mile walk, Eastpointe

Aug. 6 — Stony Creek Distance Run 5K run and 1 mile run, Shelby Township

Taking the Highland road

One of Michigan’s hiking gems is literally in metro Detroit's backyard.

The Highland Recreation Area — located in White Lake Township roughly 15 miles west of Pontiac — has amazing trails, diverse plant life and thriving wildlife. For me, it was just a short drive up Telegraph Road and down M-59.

I hiked a couple of the trails June 30 and was amazed at how much they were like trails I had hiked in the northern Lower Peninsula and at how quiet and peaceful the park was.

The first trail I hiked took me around Haven Hill Lake and offered some great views of the lake and dense forest, complete with huge tress that were uprooted by a recent storm, that made me wonder if I was going to get out.

The other trail led me to the ruins of Edsel Ford’s Haven Hill Estate, which used to encompass the entire grounds of the park.

After a good hike up a steady incline that is the old drive for the Ford estate, you get to the ruins.

The first thing you notice is that it wasn’t much of an estate because all that you see is a lone, smallish cabin, but that was just the old servants quarters.

Further into the site, you see an old wooden archway and the remains of a large stone fireplace.

These, the foundation and the pool are the only signs left of the main house that burned to the ground roughly a decade ago. They are a great examples of how quickly nature takes back a developed site.

While the ruins are truly the stars of the Highland hikes, not to be out done is the plant and animal life.

One of the trails, marked No. 25 on the park's maps, is home to a representation of every tree that grows in Michigan.

And on my Tuesday hike, I saw a deer that stared me down from across the drive heading to the estate ruins and a family of turkeys along with the requisite muskrats and numerous songbirds.

Hiking Highland is definitely worth the 90-minute roundtrip drive from most parts of metro Detroit, $6 park day pass and the roughly $9 in gas it takes to get there.

One final thought from the pitch

Before the spring prep sports season and last school year completely dissipate from my memory (and notes and tape recorder), there was one final thought I wanted to relay — a Macomb County girls soccer team will win a state title in the next five years.

The Macomb Area Conference Red Division has produced the last two straight Division 1 runners-up, as Utica Eisenhower and Grosse Pointe North fell in the past state finals.

“Any team from Macomb who can make it that far to the final, we’re proud of that,” Ike coach Mehrdad Nekoogar said after his team fell in overtime of this year’s final to Portage Central — marking the first time a team from Macomb County reached a final regardless of division.

“We wanted to present our county in every opportunity we get, and we want to show to everybody that we have nothing less than any other counties,” Nekoogar added. “And I think we’re going to do that — not only this year, going forward — we’re going to do that.”

Although both squads will lose some elite players, including Ike’s Alyssa Telang (Kentucky) and North’s Olivia Stander (Michigan State) — there is plenty of up-and-coming talent throughout the county and MAC.

Just take a quick look at the girls soccer All-Conference teams, which we ran in most of our papers recently and online, and it’s easy to see the best may be yet to come for the MAC squads.

Underclassmen nearly picked up just as many spots on the honor teams as their upperclassmen counterparts. Sophomores were named the MVP in the MAC Red (Chippewa Valley’s Didi Dedvukaj) and MAC White (L’Anse Creuse North’s Angela Vultaggio) divisions. The MAC Blue MVP was Daniella Bruce of Anchor Bay — a freshman.

The class which recently finished it’s sophomore year seems to be especially talented, including Utica Ford II’s Taylor Niewoit, Grosse Pointe South’s Chelsea MacGriff, Utica Eisenhower’s Megan Marsack and Aubrey Sudomier, Utica High’s Rachel Chaney and Sterling Heights High’s Alex Kluz.

There are a few different reasons behind the new wealth of talent.

First and foremost is the expansion of top tier local clubs.

More, and better, clubs means more, and better, coaching when players aren’t playing for their high school.

“It’s much better than what it used to be,” L’Anse Creuse North coach Scott Boice said. “There are more opportunities now. It’s not just parents coaching.”

Boice said the talent boom began a few years ago and has really taken off lately, noting that the 1999 Women’s World Cup (which the American team won here on their home soil 10 years ago July 10) played a big part in inspiring today’s prep stars. Many athletic girls now specialize in the sport — picking it up at a young age, specializing in it and playing it year round.

“It’s a real popular sport with girls right now,” Boice said. “We have a situation at our school, if we didn’t have soccer, our track team would be competing for the state title. “We’re fortunate we’re getting the athletes coming out for soccer than other sports.”