This was a new-to-me 5k, but this is the park I run at a lot, and train at with the Freihofers Challenge in the Spring. I used to walk the dogs there, too, but as my life has gotten busier, sadly, I rarely take them there.

I had told my friend who did my practicum with me that I might do it, depending on how I felt (and the weather). The weather was forecast to be great, and I felt ok enough to get in that longish run on Friday, so it was on.

Getting There & Hanging Out
My friend drove, which was great, as I was heading out to my mom’s later in the day. We were there early, as I needed to register. We walked the business and collected lots of swag — quite a bit of it even useful.

We were able to use the real bathrooms in the nearby gym, and there was barely a line. The bonus was we also got someone to take our photo — it was really cold outside with the wind, but nice inside the gym.

I left my friend to go out and do a warmup, but we met again a we waited for the start at the start line, where I was oddly quite near the front.

The weather & dressing
It was a really beautiful day with almost ideal weather, although it was quite windy.

I chose Skirt Sports Supergirl Tank and Lioness Skirt. This was the first time I’d worn Lioness in a road race (I’ve worn it for a trail race), and it performed beautifully.

My Race Plan
I’ve got to say I was kind of secretly hoping for a PR, as that time trial earlier in the week went well. On the other hand, I was also kind of tired and beat up from several weeks of going back and forth between my mom, my dad’s rehab, and home.

So how’d that work for me?

1. Mile 1: 10:31. The mile started out fast, according to my Garmin, so I kept trying to (successfully) slow down. I had wanted to run this mile just a smidge faster. I also basically watched every runner pass me. Slight exaggeration.
2. Mile 2: 10:36. Sure, there was some slight inclines and declines this mile, but really no reason for slowing down. Despite the race being run on a very narrow path, for the most part I always felt that I had my own running space.
3. Mile 3: 10:29. My original plan was to try to run 1.5 miles before a took a walk break. Yeah, no, that didn’t happen, I took a walk break to drink water each mile. I did however put some strides into this mile. Overall, though, obviously my pace was just consistent the whole race. Which wasn’t quite what I was going for.
4. Mile 4: 8:45. At least I managed a sprint to the end. The woman in front of me was encouraging me to pick up the pace, but seriouly, I had given my all for this day.

32:18 — Official Time
10:24 Average Pace
159 out of 293
3 out of 6 F55-59

Not only did I place third in my AG, there were more than three runners in my AG. And yes, I got an actual medal! Sweet. That isn’t the first time I’ve placed in my age group, but it’s very, very rare and I have never, ever received anything for it until today.

Was the race well run?
Registration was easy, and even though I registered the day of the race, I still got a long sleeve tech shirt which was quite nice — and came in handy before the race to keep warm.

The race itself offered no swag other than the race tee, but there were a lot of businesses actually offering useful swag:

• Bag clips (I always need these!)
• Sunglasses
• One of those race-type backpacks
• A cooling tool
• And more

My friend was very far BOTP, and there were still plenty of refreshments left for her. I was afraid parking might be difficult, but we got there early and it was easy. The course was extremely well marked and there was always plenty of course marshals to direct you (and cheer you on).

My only complaint is that they took off all the race information from the Website after online registration closed — so I had no idea when the race day registration would start.

Final Thoughts
This was a very nice, smaller, low key 5k at the park that is close to my house. Apparently the speedy older people don’t come out for it (or didn’t this day, there were also a lot of races to choose from this weekend). It’s a mostly flat course.

I would definitely recommend it and if the circumstances are right, I would run it again.

Linking up with Zenaida Arroyo and Kim @ Kookyrunner

This week I am also joining up with Running on Happy, Suzlyfe, Crazy Running Girl, and Coach Debbie Runs each week for the Coaches’ Corner linkup