Women's Running 5k Race

Got up at 5:45am, made myself a shake, got dressed and was out the door by 6:10am. St Pete isn't too far away, and I do drive by it every day to/from work, so I knew the route pretty well....got off the 175 highway right around 6:45, and followed all the "hard to miss" signs directing drivers to a parking lot. Unfortunately, the signs directed everyone to the same lot, or so it seemed. Weird since there were other lots south of this location, which would have been easier to access from the 175 highway. I digress....there I am literally parked (or at least it felt that way) for a g00d 25 minutes just trying to enter the parking garage! Once in I realize it had nothing to do with the amount of parking spaces left, but moreso to do with the length of time the entrance machine takes to process a single $3 parking charge! But alas, I am eventually parked and head down to the Al Lang area where the 90+ porta potties reside. I make the requisite visit to the porta potty, and then 5 minutes later I get right back in line...a necessary step for me. I then venture down to the 5k corral area, which really wasn't an area at all....actually it was just outside of the formal half marathon corral area. We were basically behind them with no formal "corral lines" surrounding us, so we got bumped around a bit with the half marathoners trying to get into location. Not a big deal, but it did make it hard to spot my 2 runners from work. I did manage to find one prior to the race, and we made another trip to the porta potties together :)

Went back to the corrals and headed up to the starting line. I was about 8 rows back, so not too much traffic to contend with in front of me. Got through the finish line with nary a bump.

First mile was steady and slightly uphill from the waterfront. Sights seen.....a high school cheerleading squad (surprising, but nice!), a small band (played quite well...great street sound), and then a nicely-equipped water station at the 1-mile marker. The next mile was flat and looped around mirror lake, and then met up with the next water station at around the 2-mile mark. The final mile ran slightly uphill again, and then was downhill most of the way back to the water. Strange, as one would think the downhill would be easy, but seriously was fighting major wind at this point! The final .2 miles was along the waterfront, and the finish line was right in front of the Dali museum. I managed to push it and really picked up the pace the final leg. Garmin isn't exactly 3.1, but definitely indicates what I experienced. Average cadence was 88spm, with a max cadence of 91spm. Pleased.

We did eventually find the other runner....waited by the food and she came in soon after the first one. They were 37 minutes and 38 minutes...quite well showing for first time runners. Both have less than 3 months of running, so I was quite pleased with seeing their pride!

So, we shared some bananas, granola bar,s frozen strawberries and water....then had a few cookies from Publix (soft batch kind...yummy). Check our my "official" stats...final time was 29:42. Overall, I was #136 out of 1063 finishers. I was also #17 out of 132 in my age group. Yes, I was quite pleased!

So, after hanging out for awhile and seeing the gazelles which are the top runners in the half come in, I head back to the parking garage....lo and behold, cars will not be able to exit for an estimated 2.5 hours! Yikes! Everyone was displeased about this, even the half marathoners that parked there. Apparently, there were signs in the stairwells and elevators which indicated this, but they were mostly torn down the day prior (per the security guard). That being said, it was soooo unclear from the womensrunning website where the parking garages were situated...and even if you knew where it was, the entrance to the parking lot wasn't clear on the map, so even if you did compare the garage to the closed roads, you would be wrong. All of the information from them was spot on...but this one map provided only online was so hard to read, that I basically gave up on even trying. Sure, they did provide all the detail on the anticipated road closings, so maybe its partially my fault here, but seriously, in the middle of darkness arriving here, one should expect that if you are directed to a parking garage that it would be somewhat accessible escaping after the fact.

So, we wait. Its a tad before 10am, and the police tell us that they will try to get us out in the next 10 minutes. So, we pile into cars and go down the winding exit ramp several floors below. Unfortunately, there were two parked cars blocking the way! I would presume that since they were told that they were blocked in for awhile, they went for a stroll. While I don't entirely blame them, they must also realize that it is simply unacceptable to leave your vehicle if its not in a "proper" parking space. The police said that they cannot tow since its private property and the security guard said he's not necessarily authorized to tow (thinking because he told everyone that they probably cannot escape for another 1+ hour?). So, the police finally give guidance...have the guard call a tow truck. But that will take some time.....in the meantime, they will open up the "entrance" so all the cars in this winding garage exit ramp had to back up and go down another winding garage entrance ramp to escape...but we get out, and I'm home before 11am :)

Both coming and going with this garage was insane. That being said, every other part of the race was fabulous. The layout of the race, the entertainment, the water stations, the directions, everything great. I hope next year they make the parking map much more legible and maybe even indicate suggestions were 5kers should park.

Will I run this race again next year? Oh yes...I'll be going for the half marathon :) So, even if the parking issue doesn't improve, it won't matter since I'll be finishing way later than this year!

Women's Running Expo

Just got back from the expo. I actually went with a newbie runner (one of my girls from the running club at work that I conned into running the 5K). She was quite overwhelmed by the entire experience...so I thought maybe others would be as well, so I'll summarize the steps that we went through.

First, you follow the signs for "race packet pickup" and find your name on the board to identify your bib number. For a large race like this, emails are typically sent to the participants with their number, so no need to look it up...but in case you didn't bring your email and/or memorize it, the board is handy.

If you brought the email for pick-up, you simply sign/date the form. If you didn't, there were plenty of empty papers available to fill out.

We immediately got into line at the 5K table to pick up our bibs. The 5K tables are separate from the Half Marathon tables.....we received blue bibs and the others received pink bibs. I was hoping for pink, but alas, I can easily live with baby blue :) They took our signed consent form, checked our ID, handed us our bibs and encouraged us to steal four safety pins.

There are two tear-offs from the bibs received. The first one provides you a goody bag, which was adjacent to the bib pickup tables. We gathered our "oh so pink" designer goodie bag. So, what was in it? The pink bag, magazine with a TON of inserts (as usual), gu chomps, two dole snacks, emergen-c, softlips sugar & spice (nice), aquaphor sample, freeze-it sample. All in all, not bad.

The race shirt was picked up next...man, those run large. I requested a Medium, and it seemed definitely at least one size too big. Cute and simple...no advertisement on the back, which is a plus. I just wish I ordered a small....if it doesn't shrink, my daughter will gladly use it for PJs!

We then entered the expo. Immediately picked up some cute give-aways from Publix (one of the main sponsors). They provided a plastic flexible/foldable vase....yes, you heard that right. Fill this little pouch with water and it expands and holds its shape. If you are ever given a bouquet of flowers without a vase, you can immediately pull one out of your purse and say "voila!" ...everything is right with the world. Actually, this thing may come in handy at work when flowers are delivered to me...hint hint hubby :) Also, we received a pink Publix-logo "yowie" multi-functional headwear....I could use this in the winter maybe. You never know.

Next, we ventured over to the Sweaty Bands store. I do like their store set-up....easy to try everything on, which they encourage. But, more importantly, no shipping fee :) I picked up 3...couldn't resist. The more I run during lunch at work, the more I value a good headband to look ok in the afternoon. And yes, I know they are all polka dots...they simply attracted me today, what can I say?

After that major expense, I did view the Women's Running booth...didn't take a cover photo of their magazine, but did pick up a properly-sized medium shirt that was just too cute not to pass up. It is a nice cotton stretchy shirt (perfect with jeans or whatnot) that says "Live Laugh Run" and it was only $15...easy to justify :)

My pocket was empty after that, which is fine...because I didn't really NEED anything else. We did check out the current season items for RunningSkirts and SkirtSports, as well as added our names to a few chance lotteries. Who knows...maybe we will win a shopping spree at Fit2Run or SweatyBands!

All in all it was well organized. We did get in the registration line at 11am, which is when it opened, and while they were a little late opening the doors, everything was smooth. I cannot imagine what the place will look like after work today, so I'm very very pleased that we did it DURING lunch.

So, 2 more nights and we will be up at the crack of dawn ready to run!

Boo Run Race

Just finished the race this morning. I really wasn't feeling it. Think I was still a bit sore from Thursday's race, and I was simply tired. I had to get the kids up and get them fed/dressed...before you know it, it was time to leave. I did manage to inhale a small cup of OJ and a frozen waffle, and I grabbed a bag of sharkies for the drive. The race was at Lakewood Ranch Main Street....which is basically a small walking outdoors mall area with restaurants/boutiques/businesses that essentially ends in a cul de sac, so its truly not a "main street" in most interpretations of the word.

We got to the venue about 7:15, and wandered around. Saw a few runners, but there was not much signage where we parked....honestly, if we didn't see people walking on main street in between the buildings, you wouldn't even know there was a race. But, once we got to main street, it was evident. We wandered around looking for the porta-potties and the packet pickup. Neither was in an intuitive place. I think the main street merchants ensured that the porta-potties were placed far far away from everything else, which is odd....after all, the merchants were closed during the race. As for the packet pickup/registration table, we definitely needed to ask for guidance to get to it...it was a bit rainy, so maybe the table was moved from a better location to this location last minute (as it was under shelter). When we got to it the lines were all over the place and not clearly defined. If there was a way to put signage over the tables (rather than on the front where visibility is hindered by people standing at the tables), that would have helped tremendously. That being said, I simply don't know how overhead signage could be accommodated given the location of the tables. I don't want to make it sound as if this was stressful at all...these are two minor things that could be improved upon and did not detract from the race at all.

Now, once everyone gathered their items, they walked back to main street. There were announcements, tables to check out, drinks, an array of tables from the restaurants that were closed this early. Plenty of space and plenty to wander around to waste time until the race started. The race actually started 10 minutes late due to a police issue on the route....details were not provided, but then again, definitely not needed. So, the announcer took the opportunity to thank the volunteers and let the charity organizations speak about their efforts...all worthwhile minutes.

The starting line and finish line were clearly marked with blow-up tunnels. So, I was able to get pretty close up to the starting line. I absolutely didn't want to have an experience like I did at my last race, so I ensured that I was up close away from any pets and strollers! Now, that being said, I know I wasn't as fast as many up there, so as soon as we started the race, I made sure to move to the right side to avoid hindering others run. I saw the kids and Joe, and the kids were clearly excited to see me run :)

I started out too fast, for sure. After I saw the kids at the corner of Main Street and Lakewood Ranch Blvd, I saw I was running under an 8min/mile...absolutely too fast...I slowed down, but not fast enough...I was still running under a 9min/mile pace. I continued doing this pace too long though. The first mile ended in 9:11. Great if it was a 2-mile race, but I knew I was headed for trouble doing the first mile faster than I should. Second mile was 9:55...so I was right were I should be, although a mile too late. The last mile, I stopped 4 times...a total of 1:30 minutes...crazy, eh? Well, I should have been able to predict it, since I started out way too fast. Last mile (due to the stops) ended up at 10:19. My total race time, per garmin, was 30:56 (official time on digital timer at finish line was 30:58, I think. Official postings forthcoming.

About the race...pros:

• Great layout....widest path was in the beginning (the way it should be) and by the time most crossed Lakewood Ranch Blvd, it went down to 1 lane...which was perfect for the size of the crowd. Nobody was riding anyone's behind!
• Course clearly marked....honestly, hard not to do so as the road was the perfect layout for this. It was a simple out and back, which is fine.
• Police were great holding back traffic. I did hear coming back one woman yelling at an officer because they had to wait. Seriously, I'm assuming that there was signage before they got to Main Street telling them to bypass the area due to race (or expect delays). Granted, this is my assumption...but sounds logical.
• Nicely sized event...the venue could easily double the number of participants and it would be fine, so this event can easily grow over the years without much change.
• Water stop was about 1.3-1.4 mile out...you could grab water outbound or on the return...more than sufficient
• Chip timed, which is important to me
• Final 1/10 mile I was able to see the digital clock which definitely encouraged me to kick it up a notch at the end and finish with a strong sprint.

Cons:

• Takes forever to get the official race results online...and when the results were taken they were a tad off due to the line waiting to get scanned. Not significant, but I really was hoping to see an official timing under 31 minutes. The digital timer said 30:58 when I crossed the finish line, but my recorded time was 31:06. Also, I don't think the results are posted to Active.com, Athletes.com or Coolrunning.com for posterity.

• Weather looked unpredictable and started to sprinkle near the end....seriously, didn't Mother Nature know we had plans????
• Would have liked clear markings from parking lot to packet pick-up. We arrived in more than enough time, but if you were a late arriver, I can imagine this would have been stressful if there wasn't that police-dictated 10 minute start time delay!
• Wish the bathrooms were closer. When you have kids along with you, its quite a trek...would be nice to see bathrooms at the start line area and the finish line area
• Packet pick-up table should have overhead signage if at all possible. Maybe a pop-up shade tent would alleviate weather issues AND allow for display of this?

All in all, would I run this race again? Yes!

As for my time, I was quite pleased with it. I will have to work on balancing my energy and not starting out too fast, but at least I was able to give a final kick at the end to finish in under 31:00. So, a PR for me. Sure, I'm a new runner and still have a ways to go, but I'm pleased with this performance, even if I did have to stop more times than I otherwise should have!

Disney Halloween 5K Race

My Results

Really felt great! I know the time doesn't show it, but let me break it down for you...

Per Garmin:
Mile 1: 11:04 pace
Mile 2: 10:32 pace
Mile 3: 10:04 pace
Mile .17: 9:02 pace
...total was 33:11 for 3.17 miles, so adjusting for 3.1 miles, thats where the 32:35 came from.

First mile was sooo congested, and people simply don't have the courtesy of getting into the proper location on the corrals. Really....if you are walking after 1/8 of a mile, you definitely shouldn't have been in the 8-9.5minute/mile placing! Ugh. And then the path narrowed considerably when entering Animal Kingdom, but once we were in the park, it spread out considerably. I rarely ran into people running 3 across....2 across was often encountered, but I just had to wait to get around a tad. And only one time did someone stop when they got water and I ran into them (not sure what they were thinking, but they quickly noticed the err of their ways without me pointing it out to them).

So, you can see that my pace would have definitely been faster if it wasn't for the congestion, and the last mile did have more of an ascent compared to the first 2 miles! So, I would have definitely averaged less than 10:15 pace if it wasn't for the crowd. It wasn't until 15 minutes into the run when my average cadence jumped to 87-91spm (I don't think I've ever run with that much 91spm foot turnover yet). First 15 minutes was 80-86spm.

And, my husband said I looked great at the end and I definitely felt strong...not even winded. Considerably different than my last run 2 weeks ago (he said that I looked beaten up after that one!). Seriously, it had to be the "Slim in 6" and the extra cardio I did in the last 2 weeks, because I could have seriously gone on for another 2-3 miles. This really surprised me since most of my running/elliptical this last 2 weeks has been about 2 miles....I haven't even run a 5K distance since the last race two weeks ago!

All in all, a great run...quite pleased with it! I have another 4 weeks on the "Slim in 6" so I'll try to keep it up as much as possible and see how my next 5k is...which is scheduled for 10/27, but this time its in the evening! :)

Race Critique

As for the actual race, it was great. We woke up at 5am, and out the door of the All Star Sports Resort by 5:45am. Quick drive and parking was a breeze. We were supposed to be there by 6:15, so we were ok with time. Went to the porta-potty line several times (no lines really to speak of) and listened to the performers entertain the crowds while waiting to get into the corrals.

I think the non-runners in the crowd should have been better informed of the corral placement, as too many people didn't know how to interpret the time posts and/or they didn't see them and/or they ignored them. Also, they weren't spaced well enough. At least 30 people were outside the corral ahead of me but had to wait at the corral gate simply because there wasn't enough room in the corral for their anticipated pace time.

The first mile was parking lot, so I wasn't thrilled with that....and once we started into the park, the path narrowed considerably causing more congestion and slower pace. Fortunately, this didn't last long. By the time we were in the park and the back areas, it was pretty easy to run. The water stations were at mile marker 1.5 and 2.25 and that seemed more than adequate. The cast members were cheering throughout the course, which was nice...and lots of music blasting here and there.

The last 1/2 mile was deceiving....people that didn't have a garmin had no idea how much time they had left. Many seemed to have misinterpreted it as 1/2 mile (as the pace posts were only at the mile markers), but we only had less than 1/4 mile to go. Once off this final backlot trek, you turn into the parking lot and voila....finish line.

I'm not sure I will do this again, just because I know I want to focus on the longer runs, but I hope that my husband considers it :)

Canes Classic 5k Race Recap

My first race was this morning....what a great experience running with so many other people! And, I now have a personal record to speak of. Granted, there is nothing to compare it against...but at least I have something!

The Canes Classic 5K started at 8am this morning. I got up right before 6am, as I thought it would be best to finish eating at least two hours prior to the race. So, 6am, I had my shakeology shake with some PB2 and bananas. We roused the kids and had them finish breakfast and get dressed, and we were out the door prior to 7am. We arrived at the site and parked, picked up my registration info/shirt/pamphlets and were ready to go! Since we had the kids with us, we hung out at the playground. I walked a bit and ran a bit before hand, so I was loose.

I already knew that my time wouldn't be stellar...this is, after all, a morning race. I ALWAYS run slower in the morning....how does one change that? But, thats ok.

I ran up in the middle of the pack, and it was a shotgun start. Everyone ran out and I had a nice pace for the first mile. The second mile was a tad slower, but I was happy to get the chance to pour some water over my chest/shoulders at the 1.5 mile mark, and then again at the 2 mile mark. Now, from that point on, it was tough. We were running in the bright sun, and it was hot! I had to walk a bit at the 2 mile mark, and then again at the 2.5 mile mark....so a full 1.2 minutes of walking the course. The last 1/3 mile was under cover (like most of the first half) so I finished that part without pause, but I know it wasn't very strong.

Looking back, I know the morning affected me the most...energy was just lacking, regardless of what I tried to do. The heat didn't play as much of a part of the energy issue as I would have presumed, simply because I know I have run in this heat before! I even had some sport beans right before the race, but that obviously didn't help.

My cadence was especially slow...81spm average (max of 85spm). I typically run 83-85spm, so definitely slower than average. I wonder why though....sure, I had to run around people, but did that really account for such a slower pace...or was it because of this and the morning run?

I didnt' have nearly as many nerve issues as I presumed that I would. So, I definitely think the morning hour made it for me. End result? Unofficial 33:45 time.

Ok, for a first race, I'm pleased I suppose, even though I know I can do better than this. What should I do next time? If its a morning race, which most are, I suppose I just need to run more in the morning to acclimate properly. Nothing else I can do, right? Since I think that was my #1 issue, I simply have to become a morning-acclimated runner.

Next race is a 4-miler through a country club....2 weeks until that. I'll try to do at least 2 runs a week in the morning from now until then and see if that plays into my energy level. Will update beforehand with my predictions!