Monday, April 30, 2012

BCS Realtors 5K Run For Shoes Recap!

If it's Monday, it must be time for yet another race recap, right?  Fear not, we're nearing the end of racing season here, so regular posting will resume soon.  On Saturday, Jeff and I met up with racing buddy Julia for the BCS Realtors 5K Run/3K Walk For Shoes race - this is a fundraiser that our local realtors have done for 14 years now - they raise money to buy shoes for local school children.  As this race had two distances, there were a lot of families, kids, strollers and dogs around, so that was entertaining.  Wish we could bring Paco to something like this, but he turns into Cujo when he's around other dogs, which can be a bit embarrassing.

This was a nice flat course - I've run the area previously, back when I was training for my half marathon in 2010.  I knew that there was only one slight incline, so it should have been pretty easy.  Hah!  Famous last words.  The race didn't start until 9:00 am, and it was warm.  Like, 75 degrees warm.  And windy, naturally.  That makes for a bit more of a challenging run - we had a headwind for close to a mile, plus we were running in the direct sun.  Later starts for these fun runs are nice in that we don't have to wake up super early, but we sure pay for that with the weather.  Trade-offs...oh well.

I did OK for the first two miles, but my pace definitely dropped during the last mile.  And then, our Garmins beeped, signifying that we were at 3 miles  - but we were not anywhere near the finish line.  A 5K is 3.1 miles, and running a little extra is normally no big deal, but as we all know, running is a mental thing - and having to keep going was tough!  I can't tell you how much I wanted to stop running when our Garmins showed 3.1 miles (and it was interesting, because you could see people ahead of us hesitating at the exact spot, kind of like "hey, I should be done by now"), but we kept running.  I had no kick at the end - the heat got to me.  Total distance ended up being 3.3 miles - yes, nearly a quarter mile longer than it should have been!  I think they didn't get the course measured accurately because we started on a path through a park, and that is hard to measure on Map My Run.  So we ended up running 3.3 miles in 41:57, with an average pace of 12:42.

Couple of other notes:  I had my headphones on and my iPod ready to play, but I started out not running with the music on - I wondered if it would help with my panic breathing issue.  And?  I think it did - at least, the breathing went much smoother.  However, I probably should have turned on the music during that last mile because it might have taken my mind off how hot I was.  The other thing is that I had my headphone cord in the front instead of the back like I normally do, and I kept catching my water bottle on it.  Took me a while to figure out why that was happening - oops.  Guess I just got distracted when I was putting them on.

And now, a few pictures:
My new running skirt, and my hopefully leak-proof new running water bottle!
Lots of pink...water bottle, Road ID, shirt, headphones - what can I say, I know what I like!
Jeff and I, ready to run.  He wanted to know what matching shirts we were going to wear for this race and was disappointed when I said I was wearing pink - can you believe he didn't want to match my pink shirt?!?
Julia and I, ready to get our run on! 
Back of the start line, right where I like to be.
And done!  My face is as pink as my shirt - I was a hot, sweaty mess.  But look at that cute dog in the picture - he ran the 3K...what a good boy!
A shady spot in the grass was calling my name...
Perfect place to hang out while we waited for raffle winners to be drawn.
Jeff's hair after he'd been laying down in the grass...frightening!
Another raffle with tons of prizes, and another time that Julia was the only winner in our group.  She won a year's membership to a Zumba gym!  Last week, she received a gift certificate to a BBQ place as her prize for wearing the most teal - she texted her husband "winner, winner, BBQ dinner" - this week, she texted him "winner, winner, getting thinner" - that girl just cracks me UP!  Congrats, Julia!

23 comments:

  1. Congratulations on finishing the run! :)

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  2. love love love all these recaps.
    now I wanna meet you AND your husband in person.

    wearing pink shirts :)

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  3. Wow, Julia is one lucky gal! Sorry the race was a bit longer - but congrats!! I love that you guys signed up for so many races. :D

    Happy Monday!

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    1. April was her birthday month - she signed up for all these races to celebrate, and then ended up winning something at 3 out of the 4 of them...pretty sweet!

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  4. You and your hubby are such a cute running couple :D

    I liked to wear headphones because hearing other people pant and breathe around me would freak me out LOL!

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    1. You would NOT want to be near me when I'm running, LOLOL!

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  5. Besides the heat it sounds like a fun race Shelley .

    I'm thinking of maybe doing a dog race with Bella someday, maybe after my half in October but not sure. There are rules if you want to participate and Bella doesn't like rules LOL.

    Love your new running skirt.

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    1. Bella doesn't like rules - that reminds me of the "honey badger" video. Bella and Paco sound like they could be related, though, with their anti-rules stance!

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    2. I bet they rule the race and make all the dogs crazy and they got all the dogs demonstrate against the rules :)

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  6. LOL at Fran's comment about "Bella doesn't like rules." Fun recap, and great outfit. I know, what's not to like about pink?

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    1. Fran made me giggle with that! Pink - it's just so fun, right?

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  7. Pretty in pink! I think you are so cute to carry your water bottle on your hot, sweaty Texas 5k. 5ks are tough, and 75 degrees just might deter me...good grief, we are spoiled here in Oregon.

    Hugs to Jeff for wanting to match you. What a great guy!

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    1. I know, the water bottle is funny for a 5K, but I've been at races (especially these smaller ones) where they run out of water on the course, and I've been thankful for carrying my own. Plus, it holds my Burt's Bees! :)

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  8. I love that running skirt! Where did you buy that one? I am getting ready to start training for a marathon and would love to buy some new running clothes for the summer.

    Congrats on finishing a longer than expected race. I think that is a killer when what you think is the distance really isn't. I have been training without music... I am not sure I will be able to run a whole marathon without listening to something but I really have been enjoying the 5k runs.

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    1. Sorry for not answering you sooner - your comment went to spam for some weird reason. Anyway, the skirt is from Skirt Sports - it's their gym girl ultra. I have several of them and really like them!

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  9. Wow, so my 5k yesterday isn't the only one that's slightly above 3.1 miles! I was really starting to wonder about that. That's a great time, especially considering all the wind. Good job!

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  10. Hi Shelley!! Finally figured out how to access the comments again. I have a good memory but it's short. Congrats on the race - you are awesome! I wish I could do the same. Maybe someday.....

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  11. Why did you need a water bottle in a 5K? Didn't they have an aid station?
    And speaking of distances- out 73 mile bike race turned out to be almost two miles short! I was cheated I tell you - cheated!

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  12. oops-dis-regard question. I guess it pays to read others comments first! :-D

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  13. Congrats on your race - I love all the pink :)

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  14. Woohoo another race in the books! Ugh, sorry it was longer than it should have been; that's gotta throw you off.

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  15. Congrats on another great race Shelley. LOVE all the pics (and the skirt). And awww...sweet, scarf modelling, nose in photos Paco turns into Cujo??? AWWW. This post made me smile...have a great week Shelley

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  16. You are becoming the queen of 5k's! Sounds like fun, except for the heat, I hate heat! I'd much rather be cold. And I love your running skirt too!

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