Race Report: ORC Race into Summer 5K

Well, I made it. I ran the whole thing, minus the 2 tiny walk breaks (~ 5 sec ea) I took to drink some water. The race wasn't timed (except for the main clock) so I am grateful for my Garmin watch. According to the watch, I finished in 41:25. Jason, who says he walked most of the last mile, still managed to outrun me by 8 or 9 minutes.

I know that I started too fast, but to me it seemed like I was standing still. I simply could not get my legs to go slower than a 13:00 pace, but I eventually settled into a decent pace and finished mile 1 in 13:45. I sped up a tad to finish mile 2 in 13:19, but mile 3 was rough. My legs were really tired and it was HOT, yet I wasn't really too out of breath yet. I somehow managed to go just a tad faster and finish mile 3 in 13:01. I felt like I had nothing left in me to make my legs go faster, but somehow I muster one last bit of strength and crossed that last .1 mile (.12 by my watch) in 1:21, then promptly collapsed (figuratively speaking) =)

My time was about 30s slower than by best practice run this week, but about 20s faster than my fastest 5K race so far, so I'll take it. Honestly, it is a miracle I did this well after the fall from my bike on Wednesday. My hips, thighs and butt are still sore, and my right knee was bothering me a bit. It didn't really hurt while running, but I didn't want to push it. Not to mention that it was a lot hotter out this morning at 7:30 than during my 2 practice runs this week, which I happened to run at night after a rain storm. So all things considered, this was a great race.

I was exhausted when I finished and felt a bit sick to my stomach. The heat was really getting to me. Because this was a hand scored race, they handed us these cards to fill out at the finish line. Seriously, they should not have anything that requires you to stop moving for at least 1/2 mile after the finish line. I did not want to stop walking, so I shoved it at Jason to fill out for me while I went to get some water. Even though I felt really beat and kinda ill, it really did not take that long for me to recover this time. I just couldn't stop walking.

I was going to run in just my running skirt and sports bra, but it was cool when we left the house so I put on a running shirt. Then I didn't know where I'd put my bib, so I just kept the shirt on. I wish I'd taken it off because it may have helped me keep cooler during the race. This was my 3rd run in the skirt and I am simply not sold on it yet. Even with body glide, I don't like the feeling of my thighs rubbing together. It wasn't bad during the race itself, and I am not chaffed, but it was not really comfortable to walk around in it afterwards. So I think I'll stick to my biking shorts from now on.

The race was very low key. There was no timing chip and the start and finish lines were drawn on the grown with chalk. I almost missed the start line to start my watch. It made the finish very anti-climatic. This was also our first out and back race. We were a tad worried because the path was kind of narrow and it didn't seem like it could accommodate runners on both sides. It turned out fine, as I figured it would.

Oh, I almost forgot. There were news cameras there (damn I wanted to get a picture but was too exhausted after the race to form any coherent thoughts) because a local runner was found dead after running in the park just a few days ago. I saw the camera man running beside me as I started the race, so maybe my cute little skirted behind will be on the news. It was nice of the race organizers to have a moment of silence for her before the race started and remind us to be safe while running.

PS - According to the official race results, my time was 40:17. Not sure how there is over a minute discrepancy, but I'll take it! :)