After doing a few long distance races this fall, it was kind of nice to run a 5k. Even though the weather was crappy, I knew it would be over in 3.1! This race was SO MUCH FUN!!! They limited it to a few hundred runners so it was easy to park and find friends. It was held at Creekside in Gahanna (the place where I have the pleasure of calling home).
I was co-creator (along with Jackie) of a team called "8 Maids a Milking." We are all mothers who are either nursing or have nursed in the past. We all had shirts with big ole milk jugs on the front (some bigger than others). Unfortunately, one of our maids wasn't able to make it but she was there in spirit! We also saw other MRTT (Moms Run This Town) mommas before and after the race.
I ran a 5k last year, when I was pregnant, at Creedside so I was familiar with this course. I warned Jackie that, if it was the same course I ran, there were at least 2 hills. I think there were actually three but one felt like more of a gradual incline. It was an out and back course that started at Creekside and connected to the trail. They had one drink station at the halfway point. I really have no complaints about the course. I started towards the front so I didn't have a hard time passing people at the start. By the time I got to the turn around point, people were spread out enough that it didn't cause any issues running back to the finish. The thing I loved about this out and back course is that I was able to cheer for my fellow team members as we passed each other. It was really neat to see everyone having such a great time. We all ran really well!
I had no time goal for this race. I just wanted to run and finish without exacerbating my injuries. Mission was accomplished. I felt great the whole time! Sure I was a little tight through the weekend but didn't feel any pain.
Bonus: To my surprise, as I was approaching the finish line, I noticed that the clock read 23 minutes and some change. I heard the announcer mention that the clock was about 30 seconds from hitting 24 minutes. It was something about that statement that lit a fire up my butt and made me just go! I felt like I looked amazing but my finishing looks aren't usually my strong suit :) I ended up finishing just under 24 minutes with a time of 23:53!! I'm honestly not sure if this is a lifetime PR (personal record) because I know I ran faster splits in high school but, back then, our races were only 2 miles so I have no idea what a 5k time would have been back then. So, I would like to think this is my PR. I know it's my fastest 5k in at least 10 or so years so we're gonna say it's my new PR!
Bonus: To my surprise, as I was approaching the finish line, I noticed that the clock read 23 minutes and some change. I heard the announcer mention that the clock was about 30 seconds from hitting 24 minutes. It was something about that statement that lit a fire up my butt and made me just go! I felt like I looked amazing but my finishing looks aren't usually my strong suit :) I ended up finishing just under 24 minutes with a time of 23:53!! I'm honestly not sure if this is a lifetime PR (personal record) because I know I ran faster splits in high school but, back then, our races were only 2 miles so I have no idea what a 5k time would have been back then. So, I would like to think this is my PR. I know it's my fastest 5k in at least 10 or so years so we're gonna say it's my new PR!
My one and only complaint about this race is the pictures. The website took forever to load and you had to look through ALL of the pictures to find the ones of yourself. My pictures sucked so bad. There were none of me on the course or at the start. There was one right before the finish in which I gave a thumbs up but my giraffe neck was looking crazy. The three finishing photos they had were all of me looking at my phone to turn off my running app. Totally disappointing. Despite that, we took some fun post race shots :)
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