Monday, March 28, 2011

Downtown Derby 3K Recap!

Surprise! I ran a race on Saturday!!! I didn't mention it ahead of time because quite frankly, I was nervous. I had not run since January 15th, when I injured my ankle. But, this was the ten week mark of when my orthopedist said that my ankle might be healed, and the race was a low-key event - Jenny and I did it last year, and I wanted to do it again to see if I could run. They offered both a 3K and a 5K, so Jeff and Jenny signed up for the 5K while I signed up for the 3K. I figured that even if it ended up that I couldn't run, I could at least walk it.

I tell you what - I was a bit cranky Friday evening. I know it was nerves. This race would tell me where I was with my ankle. Now, some people might think I was a little crazy, doing a race for my first run in ten weeks, but haven't you heard? Runners ARE a bit crazy!

The good news is that my ankle didn't hurt while I was running. I cannot tell you what a relief that was! This means that I should be able to ease my way back into running, which is a good thing, since my running club starts back up this coming Saturday. I was able to run just over a mile before I had to take my first walking break - walking because my lungs needed it, not because my ankle needed it. I then walked and ran my way to the finish line - 1.88 miles in total!

And now (you knew this was coming) - pictures!

Now the length of this race really didn't call for pre-fueling with much of anything, but hey, since I had some GU Chomps, why not? This flavor had a tiny bit of tartness that I liked. Jeff and I each had a couple - besides liking the flavor, our only other comment was that they were a bit sticky.
When did we become a family of two runners?!? Jenny and I, ready to get our run on!
In the starting area, Team Jelly - reunited at last!

The race started and all runners headed the same direction, which was great because I got to run with Jenny and Jeff for a bit. Weird also - this was my first time running with Jeff...good thing we had Jenny as a buffer between us! About .6 of a mile the 5K people turned left on the course while the 3K's made a U-turn. Because this was billed as a family-friendly race, there were a lot of kids, strollers (with the babies wearing race bibs...cute!) and dogs. It was just fun to be out in such a nice group of people. Oh! I almost forgot - as we crossed one intersection where the local police were stopping traffic, the cop there called out "Hi, Shelley!" - all three of us did a double-take...then I realized it was Darryl, from my running club! He is a retired policeman but comes back to work these kinds of events. Really fun to see him, and I even got a "high five" from him on the way back!

I was getting close to the turn toward the finish line when I saw Jeff coming toward me - what I want to know is when did I become the race photographer?!? Anyway, I crossed the finish line - woohoo! Obviously no picture because my pit crew abandoned me to become a runner - what nerve!
This is Mary Ann - my former co-worker's baby. She and her mama were at the finish line and she was so cute, waving and cheering on all the finishers.
Here's Jeff coming in for the finish...
And here's Jenny!
My "finish line" picture.

Dueling Garmins - Hers:
Mile 1 was an 11:35 pace - not bad for my comeback! Of course the second .88 was a 13:15 pace - still, I am ELATED!

Dueling Garmins - His:
Dang, he's fast. And he's only been running for about 8 weeks! Jeff's average pace was 10:50.
After - racers with nanners.
There was a *tiny* health expo after the race...
...where I got this swag - please note A) I did not grab all those bandage holders, they gave me that many; and B) black and white head in lower corner is Paco investigating the goods!
For a race that had a health expo afterward, I have to say it was a little contradictory to have these ginormous, sugar-and-calorie-laden muffins as post-race fuel. We just ate a banana...ok, we also had plans for a trip to IHOP, but still...those muffins don't even cross my radar as an option to eat anymore.
They had a lot of door prizes and Jeff won a gift certificate for a Road ID! You know I promptly stole that from him - I've been wanting the Wrist Elite, and now it shall be mine!
And finally, panqueques at IHOP - yum, I love love love their Harvest Grain and Nut pancakes!

All in all, a very good day!

28 comments:

  1. all in all a GREAT DAY.
    love that youre BACK.
    adore that you two are doing this *together.*

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  2. YAY! for running. So cool that you and Jeff are doing this together!

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  3. I knew you would not be "out of the running" for long. Ba-dum-bump! Congrats, and welcome back!

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  4. Happy, happy, joy, joy!

    All up in here. Makes me happy for you.

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  5. Jeff's legs are a lot longer than yours...I'm just sayin' (with regard to him being faster than you) :-)

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  6. Damn, Jeff is fast!! Holy cow! Glad you had such a great race day and that your ankle was fine.

    I've actually been at races where they had kegs of beer after a 5k - crazy!

    Happy Monday Shelley! Now if you could please send some of your warm weather to the Midwest, I would appreciate it!

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  7. SHE'S BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Shelley I can't tell how happy I was reading this report. I'm so happy for you. Finally your patience for healing your ankle and not running has paid off: you can run again!

    Congratulations my friend!

    Congrats to Jeff too, great time for a newbie runner.

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  8. YAY!!! *jumping up and down* so so so so happy for you.

    In one photo it looks like the police are escorting Jeff. Nooooo, not the sag wagon! LOL I know that's not the case though. Way to go, Jeff!

    And yay for Jenny too. I love the name Team Jelly. :)

    Great repot, my friend. And I'm very happy to see it. You're back!

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  9. This post made me smile. I was rooting for your ankle.

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  10. Sounds like you had a great time. How fun.

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  11. Yahoo, Shelley! Good for you for being patient (lol) and giving your ankle time to heal. So fun to see you all doing this together.

    I laughed so hard at Paco investigating. His short little sister Sophie does exactly the same thing.

    And I'm with you on the muffins. Interesting that that is one 'sweet' that doesn't tempt me at all. Now those pancakes...

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  12. congrats on running! I am happy you were able to do it pain free :-)

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  13. CONGRATS!! You have no idea how it brightened up my Monday to see that you are back to running! I think by having a 3K race scheduled on the day of the end of your "confinement," the universe was aligning itself to welcome you back to running.

    Just in time to run in the Texas summer heat. Wait, this may be a time for condolences rather than congratulations. :P

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  14. Yippee - glad you're back to running!

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  15. Congrats on running again and painfree :)

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  16. Glad you're able to be back at something you love, Shelley! Congrats to Jeff, too! Funny that he's ditching the spectator aspect and joining in on the fun! My husband is starting that crap now, too! I just signed up for a 5k in May and he insisted on doing it, too. Hmmmph! ;)

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  17. Awesome news! Marathon here you come!

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  18. Congratulations on a great comeback! A relief, I know. It's also great that your hubby is doing it too.

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  19. WAY TO GO SHELLEY!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!

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  20. So happy for you Shelley!! I'm glad you ankle is feeling better (mine is too) and you were able to run the race. Thanks for sharing, it looks like you had a great day :-)

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  21. Cute running outfit.

    I thought the name team Jelly was cute. (yes, I figured it out.)

    Neat that you & Jeff both run! (wondering why a buffer is needed between you two, ..would there be some pushing and shoving?) haha

    Mary Ann is adorable.

    And now I am hungry for ihop pancakes. Thx, Shel.

    But this is so exciting! You are easing back in to running! Wahoooo

    Hugs, Chrissy

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  22. Wow I'm glad I found your blog.. I was looking for something inspiring and here it is! Love your pics and congrats on the 3k...

    http://insearchofmytoes.blogspot.com

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  23. Yeah, you can snag that wrist elite like he snagged your sunglasses. Looks like in the race photos, he's still wearing them. What nerve!

    I loved the baby photo even if the baby is not related to you in any way.

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  24. Yayyyyyy for running! And pancakes! and GU Chomps!

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  25. So happy you were able to "get back" into the game - and how cool that both you AND he run together?! That's awesome!

    And total WOOTWOOT on the RoadID win!

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  26. girl, tears in my eyes, seriously! read this with such joy, I can only imagine how amazing you feel being able to run again! So happy for you!
    xoxo

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  27. New follower! Nice job on the comeback. Love your skirt!!

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