Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Girls Just Want to Have Fun 5K Recap!

On Saturday, I and about 1,000 other women ran the inaugural Girls Just Want to Have Fun 5K - and you know what?  It WAS fun!  This race is part of the BCS Marathon race series - from what I heard, the race director expected 500 women to sign up, but had to close registration after just two weeks when it went over 1,000!  Costumes were encouraged (I went as a runner), first-timer racers were encouraged, the course support was staffed by male volunteers wearing tuxedo-print t-shirts, and desserts were promised at the finish line...it was a great atmosphere and a really nice race experience.

I'll let pictures tell the rest of the story - and I have a lot, since my pit crew (Jeff) was on camera duty thanks to the "no men" running rule.

We got to the race early - it was still dark out, and cold - much colder than the weather channel had predicted.  We even drove through a downpour on the way, but thankfully that was it for the rain.  I stayed in the car, huddled under a towel for extra warmth, until about 20 minutes before the start:
We were parked next to my half homie, Julia, who was staying in her car, too.  We chatted through our open windows and texted our other runner friends to find out where everyone was (answer:  in their cars, lol).
Runners ready to start - we were WAY in the back.
...and we're off!  Jeff didn't see us at the start (you had ONE JOB, Jeff!)(kidding, it's the finish line pictures that count) but this was a cute shot of everyone starting out.
A group of ladies brought umbrellas and opened them up right before the start - I wasn't sure why, but we wanted to get out of their way to avoid getting poked by them.

I wanted to include this picture just to show you how cruel the course was - we came out of the subdivision on the right, could see the finish line arch, but had to run up this hill to mile 3!  The last little bit was downhill, but man oh man, this was a tough spot for the last (of several) hills:
This Wonder Woman (there were several at the race) was one of the top finishers; hence the look of effort on her face. 

The race was pretty crowded the entire way - and with so many newbies, there were a lot of walkers who started too close to the front, so we had to do a lot of weaving around them for quite a while.  Jenny and I (Team Jelly!) ran with her friend Shalada, and we chatted pretty much the entire time.  Like I said, it was a FUN race.  I was quite proud of us, as we ran the whole way - hills included - and even managed to sprint toward the finish line!
Coming in for the finish and spotting our cameraman, Jeff...
This is where I said "let's kick it!" to Jenny and Shalada...
And this would be us passing the woman who was walking ahead of us.  I felt kind of bad about that, but you can see that we did spur her on to run to the finish!

Our finish time was 40:35 - not fast, but that's probably due to all the weaving we had to do.  And the talking...wait, this was a race???  Oh well, next time.  This was for fun!
The race director handed everyone a rose at the finish line, and then we got our Gatorade all fancy-like, in a plastic wine glass.  Funny story - I saw a group of women pose for a picture with their wine glasses, and then they all took a sip for the photo.  One woman, sounding disappointed, said "this is Gatorade!" - I laughed...did she really think they were passing out wine at 8:45 a.m.?

There was really nice food at the finish - fruit kebabs and a chocolate fountain (although the fountains were not flowing by the time I got there - Jeff said it was too cold for them.  I dipped my fruit into it...still tasty!), and mini strawberry tarts and key lime pie from a local restaurant known for their desserts:
Good eats!  Very nice change from the usual banana/orange slices/bagels after most races in the area.  We thoroughly enjoyed everything.

We hung around afterward, waiting for the award ceremony.  They gave prizes for best costume, along with age group awards.  Here's some of the great team costumes:
Jamaican bobsled team!  
Wonder Women!  (aka Kim and Carrie from running club)
 
The Old Lady Runners.  Most of these women are from my running club, and I knew that they were doing this, but seeing it in person?  Freaking hilarious!  The candy cigarettes had me rolling - I swear, our next-door-neighbor, when I was growing up, looked pretty much exactly like this weekday mornings when she'd come over to have coffee with my mother...well, she wore slippers instead of running shoes, but otherwise, this was her look!  The Old Lady Runners not only won the costume contest, but two of them placed in their age division!  Go old ladies!!!

It was great to see so many running friends there:
Caren, me, Karina and Julia

And look who else was there - Joni, my first running club coach!
 So good to see her running again!

Joni, in her first race since having a baby last October, placed third in her age division:
 
 Way to go, Joni - now that's a nice comeback!
My finish line rose - a nice memento of a fun day.

30 comments:

  1. The old lady runners picture made me giggle! Looks like such a fun race.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just wanna have that kind of fun! The bobsled team just cracked me up - that's so clever. And yep, I knew an "old lady" or two in my time. The candy cigarette is awesome. Looks like the ladies from Tuna, Texas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are right about the Tuna, Texas resemblance!

      Delete
  3. FUN FUN FUN!

    Wish I could have been there with you, it looks so much fun and I would have run a PR for those delicious desserts :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This would be a great destination race for you - who says it has to be a half marathon? Come for a 5K! :)

      Delete
  4. Looks like such a fun race... Love the rose and the food!

    ReplyDelete
  5. That looks like tons of fun...I love the old ladies and the Wonder Women. The best part seems that you really enjoyed yourself. Brava!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a fun fun race. The old lady runners CRACKED ME UP! That shot of the four of you in your pretty solid colored shirts is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love the costumes, especially the Old Ladies! HA! What a great idea!

    What a fun race! A rose and desserts at finish line are really nice touches.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The race director is all about doing things that put his races over the top, and I appreciate it a lot!

      Delete
  8. Great pics and I'm so glad you had fun. Sometimes it's more important to just enjoy it than trying to set a personal best all the time. Last night I didn't wear my heart rate monitor to yoga. I just decided to enjoy it instead of worrying about how many calories I burn. It was a nice break :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm looking at this spring as being one of fun running and not stressing/worrying about speed. We all should probably relax and just enjoy our workouts more often, right?

      Delete
  9. Hooray team Jelly! What a fun event, but those old ladies with the fake cigarettes? Priceless!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love the Old Lady Runners! And how deceiving a slight curve in a road can look. Same thing happens on a bike trail. You THINK it's flatter than it really is. Maybe next year you can dress as Cyndi Lauper?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Surprisingly, there were no Cyndi Laupers at the race - lots of '80s girls, but nothing that screamed Cyndi to me. My idea during the run was for all of us to wear our wedding dresses, but that would be crazybulky to run in.

      Delete
  11. Shelley, Kristen told me to stop being a chicken and say hey. I've been following your blog for a few weeks on her recommendation, and I have been loving your posts immensely. This one in particular was *super* fun. Kudos to you and your team! Next year for costumes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you delurked! Nice to meet you, Jessie, and welcome. :) Glad Kristen dared you to post - she's awesome.

      Delete
  12. Sounds like such a fun race! I love the added touches of the rose and "wine"..how great is that!
    Oh and love your headband :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. You know what I love about this post? All the smiles!!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh my gosh, if I wasn't already a runner, this post would get me off the couch to become part of the club. What a blast. Well done to you and the race organizers.

    ReplyDelete

  15. Hey Shelley- I had to share this with you. Knitting and a little doggie that looks a bit like Paco :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a great post, and a great run. I lol at your costume "I went as a runner". And LOL at the other costumes too. Such creativity! Girls indeed want to have fun, and they do. Have a great Thursday Shelley! Thanks for sharing the fun with us.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ive never run an all ladies race before, BUT Id love to try it sometime!!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. WOOHOOO go Team Jelly!

    The old lady costume cracked me up! Man, who knew housedresses were still around. :)

    ReplyDelete

Comments are now moderated to prevent spammers from leaving, well, spam - but rest assured that as soon as I read a real comment, I will publish it. So please, comment away, even though the blog is officially closed. Thanks!