I did the Shamrock 5K in Danville this year and it was a pretty fun, low key, local race with not that many people. It was extra special because it was the first race I did 3 years ago when I started running! I think these smaller races in Danville are a great way of keeping me in racing mode but nothing so serious since let's be honest, it's Danville VA.
The night before the race (my usual practice), I got my race clothes out and set everything out so it would be ready to go in the morning. Since it was the Saturday before St. Patricks Day, I decided to wear my vintage "Kiss Me I'm a Hokie" tshirt and my black sparkle skirt. I don't really like running in cotton shirts anymore but I figured this was just a 5K so no big deal. The Thursday before this race I was doing my 5 mile run and I had just taken my ipod off my watch holder since the sweat was messing with the volume function and unsurprisingly, my ipod fell off my Nathan belt and fell on the ground and the screen is massively cracked. I never put it back on the watch holder so for this race I had to just clip it to my shirt, which was so annoying and kept falling off so I ended up just holding it while I ran. Another fun part of this race was that my sister ran too! She is just starting out and isn't using any particular method (I'm a strict adherent to the Galloway method w 3:1 intervals) but she still finished and had fun so that's what matters.
We got to the Danville Community Market a little early (45 min before race start) so we could purchase an extra race shirt for my mom. She really wanted to do the 5K walk but she and my dad had to go to NJ for a familial obligation so we got her the shirt instead! I had my pre-race fuel/meal of water and my yummy chocolate dipped coconut Luna bar. I sampled this one at the Princess Expo and it was DELICIOUS. I'm usually not a big fan of chocolate anymore but this bar was perfect and just what I needed.
We put all our extra things back in my car and headed down to the Riverwalk along the Dan River where the race was taking place. Now I know this is a small, local race but seriously, the start line was a line of white flour on the ground. Anyways, the race started on time and was organized pretty well so I don't really have many complaints about the logistics. The course was paved, flat, and pretty fast. The signage on the course was great, the turnaround was another set of flour arrows and the water stop was around the mile 2 marker but also available after the turnaround as well. I have a habit of carrying my own water but it was nice to have that option for such a small race. I guess the most irritating part of the race was the finish line. Because there was no chip timing for this race, at the finish they had people ripping off the bottom tag of our bibs to use for the placing/official finish. Since there was no chip, I used my garmin time as my official time since I started my watch as soon as I crossed the flour start line.
I was surprised and happy and delighted to find out that I PR-ed in this race! I'm extra impressed with my moving time because I was dodging geese poo the entire time I was on the Riverwalk. I am slowly getting back to where I was before starting 2013 off with the flu, pneumonia, and sinus infections. I still feel like my breathing still isn't back to where I used to be and I'm still heavier than I would like but I know the weight will come off in time and eventually my pace will get back to where I want. It's usually very hard for me to do 5Ks since my "short runs" for HM training are 5 miles- I can't remember the last time I just ran 3 miles while training! I love how my Garmin maintains my moving time and elapsed time to take into account the time when I had to stop and adjust my shoe laces and drinking water too (I can't run and drink water, it would spill all over my face haha). I LOVED seeing that moving pace of 11:24, it's been a LONG time since I've seen that pace.
After the finish, they had cold water and gatorade for everyone so I got a cold water cup and cooled down while waiting for my sister. She finished somewhere around 48-50 so I had a nice little break before we headed back into the Community Market for the awards and post-race snacks. I usually can't eat anything after a race/run but since this was only 3 miles, I grabbed some orange slices and half an apple. I loved the orange slices but the apple was tough to get down since the skin was so tough. I also grabbed a snack baggie of chips but I never ate those and I think they're still in my car haha!
After the race, we headed back to my parents' house and got cleaned up, played with Rusty for a bit and then went out to a light and healthy lunch at Ruby Tuesday. My sis had the salad bar and some veggies for her sides and I had a bowl of soup (even though the temps hit 80 that day!!) and plain baked potato. I did, however, treat myself to a sweet tea so that was absolutely delightful!
Here's a map of the course from my Garmin. It was great running along the river and the temperature was perfect for a short race in mid-March.
I'm currently sidelined right now with the muscle spasms/strain in my chest but I'm excited for my upcoming 8K here in Greensboro on April 6th. I've never done that distance in a race so regardless of what happens, it will be a PR for 8K :)
What's the longest distance you've ever run? Have you ever run smaller local races? What's your favorite 5K?
The night before the race (my usual practice), I got my race clothes out and set everything out so it would be ready to go in the morning. Since it was the Saturday before St. Patricks Day, I decided to wear my vintage "Kiss Me I'm a Hokie" tshirt and my black sparkle skirt. I don't really like running in cotton shirts anymore but I figured this was just a 5K so no big deal. The Thursday before this race I was doing my 5 mile run and I had just taken my ipod off my watch holder since the sweat was messing with the volume function and unsurprisingly, my ipod fell off my Nathan belt and fell on the ground and the screen is massively cracked. I never put it back on the watch holder so for this race I had to just clip it to my shirt, which was so annoying and kept falling off so I ended up just holding it while I ran. Another fun part of this race was that my sister ran too! She is just starting out and isn't using any particular method (I'm a strict adherent to the Galloway method w 3:1 intervals) but she still finished and had fun so that's what matters.
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| My green shirt, ipod, garmin watch, sparkle skirt, Alpha Gamma Delta sweaty band, Nathan runner's belt were ALL necessary for this race:) |
We put all our extra things back in my car and headed down to the Riverwalk along the Dan River where the race was taking place. Now I know this is a small, local race but seriously, the start line was a line of white flour on the ground. Anyways, the race started on time and was organized pretty well so I don't really have many complaints about the logistics. The course was paved, flat, and pretty fast. The signage on the course was great, the turnaround was another set of flour arrows and the water stop was around the mile 2 marker but also available after the turnaround as well. I have a habit of carrying my own water but it was nice to have that option for such a small race. I guess the most irritating part of the race was the finish line. Because there was no chip timing for this race, at the finish they had people ripping off the bottom tag of our bibs to use for the placing/official finish. Since there was no chip, I used my garmin time as my official time since I started my watch as soon as I crossed the flour start line.
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| My time based on my Garmin! |
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| Sister and I after she finished the race!!! |
After the race, we headed back to my parents' house and got cleaned up, played with Rusty for a bit and then went out to a light and healthy lunch at Ruby Tuesday. My sis had the salad bar and some veggies for her sides and I had a bowl of soup (even though the temps hit 80 that day!!) and plain baked potato. I did, however, treat myself to a sweet tea so that was absolutely delightful!
Here's a map of the course from my Garmin. It was great running along the river and the temperature was perfect for a short race in mid-March.
I'm currently sidelined right now with the muscle spasms/strain in my chest but I'm excited for my upcoming 8K here in Greensboro on April 6th. I've never done that distance in a race so regardless of what happens, it will be a PR for 8K :)
What's the longest distance you've ever run? Have you ever run smaller local races? What's your favorite 5K?
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