I Love 5K

Yesterday I ran the Turkey Trot, a 5K with a cool sweatshirt. I ran it last year with my friend Barb and had such a good time I returned for a repeat performance, although this year I was on my own.

The race began at 8 a.m., but I wanted to make sure I got there early so I could park and use the bathroom. After going to bed at 1:30 (!) I got up at 5:30 and took a hot bath, then had a bagel. But no coffee. And no shorts and singlets this weekend--I'm back in Minnesota! Tights, long-sleeve shirt, vest, and headband. Temps were in the low 30s, with a real-feel in the mid-20s.

When I got there at 7 a.m., the first person I saw was Angel, a woman I know from my Club Run days. Coincidentally, I saw her at my health club the day before and she told me that she and her husband were volunteers. Angel graciously let me stash my gear in her locker, then she went off to work.

While waiting for the race to start, I wandered around with my camera to capture the flavor of the race. There were the usual turkeys, and a flock of women dressed up as nuns. One woman told me that they really were nuns, but they weren't. Liar, liar, pants on fire!

About fifteen minutes before the start, there was an aerobics class outside. This was so the racers could warm up. First, she had us do a bunch of lifts with weights. That was a mistake--I'm plenty sore today. Then she had us do some aerobic movements. Somehow I was up in front all by myself--what a dork!

Then it was time to line up. Walkers were to start at 8:02, so I went ahead of them. But I was still in the back. My Garmin was ready and I pressed Start as I crossed the starting line. My goal was to push myself and run the whole way, no walking breaks. Which I did. I ran hard and when I got winded, I slowed down.

Within the first mile, I was passed by a couple pushing a stroller, and by two power-walkers, a man and later a woman. The man had two hip replacements and he walked faster than I ran. Good for him!

Last year they gave out prizes for random categories--one man won for "Shortest Shorts." The voters were the volunteers on the course and I campaigned shamelessly this year so that I would win a prize. I smiled ("Best Smile") and thanked the volunteers ("Most Polite") so that my race number would be called afterwards for a prize. Truth be told, I usually thank the volunteers anyway. Soon I just focused on the race, especially when I had a hill to climb.

Someday I would dearly love to run a 30 minute 5K, which would mean 10 minute miles. But I'm not there yet. Instead I tried to keep my pace under 12 minutes, which for the most part I did. I paced myself until about mile 2.5, then I picked it up. There was a large group of people about a block ahead of me, and eventually I was able to catch them--including the stroller pushing couple--then pass them!

As I turned the corner to the finish line, the woman power walker was just ahead. I lengthened my stride and crossed the finish line ahead of her! Angel and Rick were there, recording the clock time, but I wasn't sure where the finish line was and just kept running through the chute. Someone had to tell me to stop so that they could pull off the tab at the bottom of my number. That's when I stopped the Garmin, which read 36:01. So that means I ran just under 36 minutes. :-)

I wandered over to get some post-race nutrition in the form of Great Harvest rolls and drinkable yogurt. Then I listened as they announced the prizes. This year, instead of categories, they were going by race numbers. Like if the digits on your race number add up to, say, six. Most of the prizes were going to little kids. Then there was one where two kids and a middle-aged woman were in contention for a prize. The first one to answer the trivia question would win. The question was: "Who was the first person to break the 4-minute mile?" I ran up to the woman and said Roger Bannister, then walked away. She got the prize! She came over and asked me how I knew that; I told her I'm just a running geek. She offered to share some of her prize with me, but I told her no.

Well, Karma happens, because as I was standing there, they called for people whose race number ends with 7. That's me! I had to answer a trivia question--Which Minnesotan ran the 1500 meters in the last Olympics? Hint: it was a woman. Doo Do Doo Do Doo Do Dooo... Carrie Tollefson! I got a $10 discount at a local running store. Cool!

The 5K is a fun distance to run. You can run hard because you know you don't have to do it for long. My average pace was 11:22. Here are my splits:

Mile 1 11:42
Mile 2 11:47
Mile 3 10:56
Mile .17 9:29

As I drove home, I thought about Bold and Nancy Toby doing Ironman Florida. I sent good vibes their way, then took a nap.