Monday, March 7, 2011

2011 Armadillo Dash 5K Recap!

Jeff ran his first 5K yesterday! I will admit, it was bittersweet to watch everyone run, but there was no way I could have done even the 5K, much less the half, considering I got home from the airport at 1:30 am, and of course had to spend time with Paco, open the mail, try to get things ready for the early morning...ended up falling asleep around 2:30 am. The alarm went off at 5:00 am and we were off! Well, after taking care of a few important details - can you believe Jeff didn't have his bib number pinned on his shirt? Or his timing tag attached to his shoe?? Have I taught him NOTHING about race preparations??? LOL - he was a little too relaxed about this whole thing, if you ask me. OK, here's the fun part - pictures!

My running club half homie, Julia, and Jeff (note the lack of technical gear on him - and we won't even talk about the non-matching sweatshirt and vest combo!) (please note, Julia is resplendent in her coordinating shades of purple - that's my girl!)

After the national anthem, a prayer, and a moment of silence for this day being the 175th anniversary of the fall of the Alamo (gotta love Texas!), the race finally began.

Aaannnddd they're off! Nice thing about being tall is that he's easy to spot in the crowd.

I had to include this picture - just so you know, it wasn't THAT cold. Still, you have to admire this woman's determination to get out and race in what was to her, a very chilly morning. Oh, and just for comparison? This is what the 5K winner wore:
Side note: I told Jeff this guy would be the winner before the race, when I noticed that his tank top read "Oregon" on it - having just been there, I can attest to the fact that there are a mega-ton of runners, so I figured he would be fast...and he was. This guy ran 3.1 miles in 16:37 - that is a 5:20 pace. Honestly? I would be happy with a race pace double that!
This shot cracks me up because John (a trainer from where I used to work out at) is looking at his watch like he can't believe the time that the first place finisher just got - too funny!

Anyway, back to the race. Look who else I spotted?
Linda! My former trainer, and the person who got me to run my first mile! It was great to see her again.

OK, so I'm waiting for Jeff to round the corner and head toward the finish. I see Julia, and just behind her is Jeff - coach Joni (who had finished her 5K like it was a walk in the park) and I were cheering both of them on:

I posted this picture on Facebook yesterday and Julia commented "I was running away from the man behind me!" - so funny, she is!
Then Jeff caught up with Julia...who will cross the finish line first?
It's a tie! Gun time: 37:03, chip time: 36:02. Nice thing about your running your first 5K? You set a new PR (personal record)!

Sweaty and ready for pancakes:
Congratulations, Jeff - you are a runner now!

22 comments:

  1. YAY JEFF!!!!

    is he a runner and an addict now?
    when is his post about the race? :)

    And you know that *I* totally get the bittersweet.

    totally.

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  2. Congratulations Jeff! Very well done!

    Julia is funny indeed :)

    You are a great race reporter Shelley.

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  3. I can imagine that was hard for you.
    You are a great wife and coach, Jeff should be grateful. And, I bet he is glad to have you home.

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  4. Go Jeff!!


    haha. I would have picked the guy with the short shorts and Oregon to as the winner. I've seen them in 20 degree weather in Chicago. LOL.

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  5. WooHoo...way to go Jeff!!! Sorry you had to sit this one out Shelley. But at least you got these great pics of Jeff's first race.

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  6. Congratulations Jeff! But beware... when I come to TX to run with Shelley, I fully expect you to finish your 5K and then get back out there to support us doing our Half Marathon.

    Shelley, maybe this will make you feel better: I've been running 9 years. I had gotten Mr. Helen some Under Armour t-shirts to wear under his karate gi and he loves them, but it was just this past year that I convinced Mr. Helen that he needed technical clothing to run. So I geared him up at Christmas. Just the other day he said, "I can't believe I waited to so long. This stuff is great!"

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  7. YAY, Jeff! I'm so proud of you! You're a runner! Nice time too. :)

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  8. Aw, Shelley, you are a good sport to do that on 2 1/2 hours of sleep. Hope you are making up for it today!

    And when I saw the picture of Oregon man? It gave me the urge to run again. BUT I'M NOT GONNA!! I ran a couple times on our walks this weekend, and my knees, hips, and ankles are complaining about it.

    I can work on walking farther and faster though!

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  9. Um, I would kill for Jeff's time - way to go for his first 5k!

    Glad you got to be a cheerleader for him Shelley - he's been such a great cheerleader for you! :D

    Happy Monday!

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  10. awww, that is awesome. Now you have a new running buddy when you are ready to get back out there, how fun!

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  11. YAY Jeff!!!! Way to go!!!!!! Glad you were there to support him! Have a great day.

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  12. Looks like fun. I know you'd would have rather been running with him, but all in good time. Congrats to him!

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  13. Your FB pics had me smiling over the weekend. The woman with the sweats and scarf made me LAUGH! Thanks!

    Jeff is Da Man!

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  14. What a great coach to get out there and cheer after 2 1/2 hours of sleep -- congrats to Jeff!

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  15. Great race!
    It brings chills to my bones when I see runners in shorts and the weather is SO cold. I don't like to get hot but I won't don shorts when it's 30 degrees either (not that it was that cold in TX - but is here in the NE).

    Pancakes sound great to me right now.

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  16. Totally understand the bittersweet taste of it all. But for you to be bigger than that and still arrive to cheer him on speaks VOLUMES about you. :)

    Love that he didn't really know what was going on...seriously, do they not listen to us at all?? ;)

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  17. Gooooo Jeff! That's awesome :)

    Your commentary totally made me laugh!

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  18. Aww.. That's awesome Jeff!!! Wahoo!! Then did you take a long nap after the pancakes?

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  19. Great post! Theres nothing like finishing your first 5k.

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