Race day is just a few hours from now and I am stoked. I worked the registration booth for a few hours today and it’s always fun. People are so eager and excited to pick up their gear and see what this year’s shirt looks like. Grey and oh so soft, mine might become a sleep shirt.
Woo hoo!
There are also the first timers. Picking up their packets and asking lots of questions. Where’s the start, how does my chip work, do I wear my shirt? Awww, I remember that feeling. I kind of wish I could go back. I still get super excited (and nervous) but that first race was just so new and so different.
So what the HOB Fun Run offers are a 10K, a 5K, a kids ½ mile, a 75 yard dash and a not so dirty diaper dash. On that note, how cute is this onesie! Even the smallest competitors receive race swag!
How cute is this?
This year the adults don’t receive a medal but the kids all earn a cool dog tag for completing their race. Plus, like I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the winners receive cash! Woo hoo! Not that I will ever be that fast. Last year, the same guy won the 10K and the 5K. I think his times were 30 min and then 15:something. Or something around that, either way, freakishly fast.
The start/ finish line goes up today, so that section of road closed early. By the time my shift was done, the big parts were up. By tomorrow morning there will be banners and lots of red carpet. This is the only way I will ever be on the red carpet!
Getting Ready!
There’s also a pasta feed tonight, pancakes in the park tomorrow, face painting and bounce houses. I am so pumped up! I had my own spaghetti carb load meal for dinner.
carbs are good right?
I still can’t decide what to wear tomorrow; I have 3 outfits lying in various spots around the room. I really need to try and get to bed early, got a big day ahead tomorrow. 2 races, with a great crowd and some friends running too! I still haven’t quite worked out the logistics of 2 bib numbers and 2 timing chips, but I will.
I hope everyone had a great Saturday and a better Sunday to follow! Sweet dreams!
So, not feeling well on Tuesday led into a second rest day on Wednesday. Plus between work and school and then back to work, I felt all over the place and so, so tired. Thursday was a normal day of work followed by school later in the evening. If I was a smart person, I would have run 4 miles in the time between. I had my clothes and shoes in my car. I, however, was not smart and chose to meet the tennis team for dinner at Chipotle. Oops. Didn’t get out of school until 10 or even home until well after. Running at 5 AM this morning on 4 hours of sleep? Yeah not so much. The bed was so warm and comfy 🙂
So, that brings me to 3 days off with no running. You would think that 3 days rest would make me feel invigorated and ready to go, right? Ummm, no. I am still so tired. What gives? I have a race in less than 48 hours and I need to get a run in before then. I generally don’t like going for a run the day before a race (tomorrow), plus that would then be 4 days off. Yuck. It’s not like I’m sick, I just feel super tired and worn out. Not a good combination to start the weekend. 😦
I hate running on Fridays because it usually feels like a longer day and work is generally busier. My last long run was on a Friday but was only because I was on vacation. However, I had my running clothes with me and was going to try and make myself go the gym after work. Yeah, putting on running capris after 3 days of Slacker-dom? Oh what fresh hell is that?!
yup, felt like that
I didn’t make it to the gym but I did make it to the lake. I was fighting a setting sun as well as Friday fatigue. But anything is better than nothing right? I set out to do 2 laps. That would be around 2.35 miles. Since it was short, I decided to push a little harder. I started out feeling really sluggish but halfway through my legs actually felt pretty good. I wanted more sun. Plus I got to test out my new capris, so far so good, but it was only 2 miles. The weather for this Sunday’s race may be a little warmer that I would like. I can’t decide if I want to wear capris or shorts. Decisions, Decisions.
I am hoping that working the registration/ packet pick up table tomorrow will help get me in gear. I really like watching everything be set up. Plus, it is fun handing out the packets and watching people pick up their bib numbers and chips. The shirts can turn into a bit of hassle with people wanting to changes sizes but it’s still fun.
I love this race; I really do, but it also adds stress. The course is flat and fast and if there was a time to aim for a PR, this would be it. In fact many people try. The course has not changed over the years and it is the only race I have ever run that offers money for the top 3 placers in the 10K and top male/ female in the 5K. Plus 100% of the race entry fees go to charity and you get to choose which charity your entry fee benefits. There are usually 3 charities to choose between.
This is also the only race I have ever run that actually closes the roads. Ever run a half-marathon with a semi coming up behind you? Yeah, it’s a little nerve wracking. The 5K is one loop through downtown and the 10K is two loops. I am nervous about running through the starting/ finish line after the first loop. I know that my Nike app tells me the pace at every mile, but it’s different than seeing the numbers on that big red clock. Hopefully running passed the crowd will be enough of a distraction. Either that or work as a motivation boost!
Thursday and Friday were planned rest days, even if Thursday was far from restful. Work was crazy and I had my first class that night. I got good news at work but I was too tired to muster up much enthusiasm. Thankfully, Friday was better. I finished the day with some lovely carb heavy French toast and getting my things together for today’s race. I was excited!
So yummy!!!!
I woke this morning with my usual nervous stomach. Since my goal today was to just have fun, what did I have to be nervous about? Nothing but try telling that to my tummy. I have trouble eating food before any race, even my half marathons; I tried a Belvita cracker today. Not a lot but it was still better than usual, I ate 2! Since my race photographer (aka mom) has been complaining that I run every race in all black, she claims it makes it hard to find me in a crowd, I picked out some of the brightest clothes I own.
Can you see me now?
The race was about 45 minutes away, so I set out with enough time to meet up with my friends about 30 minutes to the starting whistle. Yea for race buddies!!!! My friend, C and her husband are the ones that have run the most races with in the past but it’s been since a Turkey Trot debacle last November that we have made our schedules work. Hopefully we are back on track now!
Buddies!!
This race claimed to be in its 25th year but it need some better organization. The starting line was a chalk line and there was no electronic timing. Yea for the Nike+ app! When picking up your race bib, you were told to fill out the bottom portion. Not being told why, I figured it was for a raffle and didn’t bother since I never win anyways. There were no race shirts or finishing medals. About 15 minutes to go time, my friends and I were catching up when a very perky announcer and friends held an impromptu jazzercise class as a race warm-up! Definitely a race first for me.
a little step ball change
The horn sounded and we were off! I wore the wrong belt so the Nike app had 13 seconds on it before the race officially started, oops. Told myself to remember to subtract that off later. We started out on the street headed for the beach and the boardwalk. About 2/3 a mile in, we cut across a parking lot to get to the boardwalk. I saw some painted arrows on the outside of the lot so I followed those while everyone else cut across. I was thinking that everyone was trying to cut a little mileage off along the way, but nope, think I followed the 10k line. Both races merged at the boardwalk so I was back on track. Just in time for Nike to say my mile 1 stats. Mile 1- 8:38, hell yeah, a new mile record for me!
woo hoo!
Running the boardwalk my music crapped out. I think I am done with particular music app. I debated if I wanted to fix it or just run without but eventually slowed down to start another playlist and snap a picture or two. Like I said, today’s goal was to have fun. Still I felt I was maintaining a decent pace. That all ended when we hit the dunes.
Run more, snap less photos
Running on hard pack sand at the ocean line is kind of nice. Running on soft loose dune sand? That sucks, literally and figuratively. I felt like every time I tried to lift my foot, the sand pulled it back. Plus the trail narrowed to single file and it was almost impossible to pass anyone. It turned into a bottleneck, not fun. Once out of the dunes, we had to cross more soft sand to get to the hard pack. Once there the 5k runners went right and the 10k went left to the pier. I went right across the beach to the next left which brought us to more soft sand. Once we crossed that, we went up the ramp and were then back on the street. I felt like I had 2 pounds of sand in my shoes.
Running past the last water station, I felt tired. That sand had taken a lot out of me and the weather was muggy. Because of the race the traffic was backed up on the street, but instead of the drivers yelling angrily, they were giving shout outs and encouragements to the runners! It was great, you would start to drag a little and then someone would yell out “keep going, you look awesome”! Can I hire people to do that at every race?
Can you tell when I was taking pictures?
I rounded the corner to the end and crossed the finish line at 30:03. Turns out bottom portion of my bib was needed to staple to the card that said I finished 15th. Oops, nobody told me that! After a little lecture by the lady at the finish line, they just wrote my name and age on the card and placed it in a little bin. Met up with my mom and waited for my friends to come across. They came in a few minutes behind me. 🙂 Awesome! As we were chatting, we figured I went a little too far in the beginning. Nike had me at 3.2, so I didn’t get really lost. We did a head count and C and I figured out we were some of the first women to cross the finish line. So did that mean we made age division leaders? The awards ceremony wasn’t supposed to start until 10:15, did we want to wait that long?
We also figured out that the race clock was a little off. My mom said that it had stopped working at some point while we were running, and their solution was to bang on it. Umm, ok then. So Nike had me at 30:11 for 3.2 miles. Take off the first 13 seconds and that is 29:58. Hmmm, I like that number better. Hehe, either works but oh well it was still fun.
My friends had to leave before the awards ceremony since 10:15 turned into 10:45. It was so cold waiting around. Again, the race could have been better organized. They finally started announcing the age groups. I was waiting for the 30-39. Starting with 3rd place and it was C! Luckily they let me pick up her medal. I placed 2nd for our age group. Woo hoo!!! This is an upside to smaller, local races.
2nd Place!!!! Shiny silver 🙂
My mom and I finished the day with a yummy lunch and a little shopping. I picked up 2 more pairs of bright shorts. I am really liking these Nike Dash shorts. Also, I really should not be allowed anywhere near a Dick’s, so many pretty things.
All in all would have been a great day if it wasn’t for how sick I got when I got home. I am calling it food poisoning because I do not have the time to be sick. So now that I have taken all your time with this post, I am going to curl into a ball and get some rest. I will run again Monday.
So I set out for this race this morning feeling like I usually do; a little green around the gills. Seriously, I should be past the nervousness by now. I didn’t even have a huge goal set for this race. Today’s goal was just to finish. I was really nervous about the sand, having never run on the beach, I was kind of freaking out. Also they said that the race was going to be a wave start, I had never done that before.
The Rock
It didn’t help that even though we left with plenty of time we made it to the start line like 30 seconds before the gun. I wasn’t even in the chute when the starting gun went off, but luckily neither were another couple hundred people. Luckily it’s all based on your chip time, :). And as for wave starts, there were no pretty colored flags waving anywhere, so maybe next time.
The first hundred or so yards of the race were across the soft sand to get to hard pack exposed by low tide. I thought it was going to suck my shoes off, hehe. Once you got to the hard pack, it was so much easier. And a little softer than pavement, nice!! So then you just got to run along with the waves coming in at your left and making you sure you dodged clumps of seaweed or the random unattended fishing rod. Or the people who were still trying to surf through this crowd of runners.
Hard to take pictures and run:)
Other than the overcast sky, the weather was perfect, about 58. Of course, I felt cold before so started out in a long sleeve shirt over my tank. At mile 2, I wanted it gone, but it wasn’t until mile 4 that I was slowing down to walk. I shoved my water bottle in sports bra and tried to lose the shirt and get it tied around my waist as quick as possible. Still took too long, next time no long sleeves! Or maybe just my arm sleeves, easier to lose while running.
Since my goal wasn’t to push it,and with my recent ankle twinges, I just took my time and tried to maintain my pace without taking another walk break. So other than the wardrobe issue, I ran the whole race:). It was nice not stressing too much, and the change of scenery was awesome too. Seeing the pier come into view at mile 5 was a great feeling, finish lines are usually that visible from far away. That was also about the time that people running the half marathon were coming back our way. So you go from feeling like “yes I ran a race this morning!” to “oh they are running more than me, now I feel lazy”. Hehe, mood swings at mile 5.
The Pier
At the finish line, we left behind the sand dollars and crabs, and water getting into your shoes to cross another stretch of soft sand. Even harder when your shoes (and socks) are wet! Crossed the finish line at 58.21, Nike said 56:47 but it was being glitchy, so now I just have to wait for the chip time to be released. I am happy with that finish:)
hmmm, not bad!
Met up with my race photographer (my mother) at the end, where she always relays her people observations from the finish line:). It’s great having support there for you.
So now I have run my race, had a nap (slacker!), CPR done for my shoes, I think it’s time to celebrate yesterday’s birthday!!!
So my neck of the woods has just come off of an excessive heat warning. Perfect for running, right?
Five days of temperatures above 110 makes it really easy to be a slacker runner. It was so unbearably hot that even my comfy chair was a no go. Felt like a dang sauna for your backside, ugh. To make matters worse, I got sick last Friday. Seriously, who gets the flu in the summer? My body couldn’t decide if it was shivering with the chills or melting from the heat.
After the lovely knockout of heat and flu, I was forced to run even less than a slacker like me likes to. Being a commuter as well as inherently lazy makes running in the morning and avoiding the heat highly unlikely for me, I like sleep! With the drop in training and lingering icky feeling, I was forced to postpone a race that I had planned to complete on July 4th. This totally bites as I was hoping for a new 5k PR there:(. I know the course really well and was very optimistic. Cue inner scream.
I did manage to go for a run this evening after work; if 2.5 miles counts as a run. Since I couldn’t do the race tomorrow, I did the course tonight instead. Turned out to be a hotter 86 than I felt ready for. It was almost 7:00 PM for crying out loud. I actually maintained a decent pace throughout the run but just felt so sluggish. I have a 10k a week from Saturday so I need to get it in gear! Less slacker, more of a runner!
Tomorrow is actually supposed to be below 100, so I am aiming for a good 5 mile run at the local track. Here’s to hoping for a good pace, good overall run followed by some good 4th of July fun!
And maybe after all that, I can get back to the comfy chair.
Slacker Runner 