10/31/2011

5K in a nor'easter...check

Look at me churning out these posts today!  I know I've mentioned a few times before that I've signed up for a lot of races lately in hopes of keeping myself motivated to run.  Well, one of said races was this past Saturday.  If you don't live on the east coast you may not be aware of the weather we were forecasted for Saturday; they were calling for 30+ mph wind, drenching rain & SNOW!  I don't really love throwing money away but I was pretty sure I was going to skip this one.  Then Friday morning, I received an email from the event staff that said, and I quote "Linwood, NJ Shorefest 5k: MEGA EASY AWARD ALERT! Less entries than awards. Nice little 5k in very pretty neighborhoods in town on Rt 9 below Atlantic City."  I sent and email out to my favorite running girls asking for advice, Angela, Kat & Amy all told me to go for it.  Angela even offered to come out and run with me!  I crossed my fingers that the weatherman was wrong and went to bed early.

The weatherman was not wrong.  I could hear the wind howling all night long.  When I got out of bed and looked out the window it was pouring.  I used the Runner's World website to figure out what to wear, it suggested shorts(!), a long sleeve shirt, rain jacket and a hat.  I put on capri pants and a long sleeve running shirt (I don't have a hat or jacket) then went downstairs to eat something.  When I opened the front door a cold wind about froze me, I turned around, ran upstairs and changed into under armour tights and a thicker long sleeve shirt.  I gathered up all of my gear and headed to car but before I pulled out of the lot I ran inside again and grabbed a fleece lined pullover.  

I parked near the start line and didn't see anyone, could it be true, no race?  After 15 minutes I got a text from Angela, they were around the other side of the building, damn.  I bitched and moaned the entire way through check in and then waited with the other 12 runners for the run to begin.
We were moved to the start line with a minute to spare, the organizers were super nice about keeping us dry as long as possible.  We all just sort of shivered there and kept talking about how crazy we all must be.  The woman in the teal sweatshirt was running her first 5K ever!  If I were her it may have also been my last.
I just love that no matter what the weather all the runners have got their watches out and ready for the gun.
And we're off!
It wasn't a pleasant race but it could have been a lot worse.  Once you got used to being wet the rain wasn't too bad, it was just when the wind kicked up that was torture.  About 2/3 into the first mile my shoe lace came untied!  I never have equipment failure like that!  Then right around 2 miles my calves started bothering me again like they did during the 10K, it was almost unbearable.  As we were rounding the next to last turn we saw some guys coming back towards us, they were very sweet and cheered us on but I panicked because I thought we were almost finished.  Did we really have another block to go around!?!?  I didn't say anything, just kept trudging along but later Angela and I were talking and it turns out we were both thinking the same thing!  Thankfully, as we turned the corner we saw the flashing lights of the finish line, Angela could tell my calves were really bothering me (I was almost whimpering) and suggested we just finish strong and not sprint  but I couldn't stop myself, I just wanted to be done!


I ended up finishing just before Angela and taking 3rd female overall and 1st in my age group, she was also first in her age group (it pays to run with people that are younger then you).  I thought it was going to be a personal best because I would be running faster trying to get it over with but it was pretty standard.  My watch had the course as short so it didn't stop when we crossed the finish line!  I turned it off a minute later when I realized.  My official time was 31:45.
We made sure to take an after photo.  Luckily I had brought a change of clothes so I stopped at the car and changed into sweats and galoshes.  I didn't realize while I was running but EVERYTHING I had on was absolutely soaked.  I was really surprised to see that Angela's shirt was totally dry under that jacket!  I immediately went home and added one to my wish list, although she got hers on sale at the outlet.  I'll have to check it out next time I'm over that way.
We wasted some time walking around the "festival" while they tallied the results and waited for the walkers (seriously, who walks a race in that kind of weather) to cross the finish line.  It was a pretty small area and I was too tired to do much shopping.  Oh, and those prizes, they were medals.  Don't get me wrong I love a medal but seriously I came out because I thought there were actual prizes, gift card, sweatshirt, something!

3 comments:

  1. Well done! I live right outside DC, so we had the snow and rain too. I've been training for a 15k and had a 6 mile run scheduled. Earlier in the week, before they added snow to the forecast, I was going to go out and run it in the rain. Once I felt that cold air though, I headed straight to the gym and got my 6 miles in on the treadmill.

    What kind of jacket did your friend have? I need something waterproof so I don't get stuck inside again!

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  2. Thanks! I'm pretty sure it's this one: http://www.amazon.com/Womens-Ultimate-Jacket-Under-Armour/dp/B005DPMMTE/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2TOUX3FDOBMOW&colid=1W6KYSOAG4G41

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  3. Yep that is it! Totally worth it! I had a good time running, even in the terrible weather (and the lame-o prizes). It was fun!
    ~Ang

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