Yesterday I ran my second 5K race. Ben, Andy and Lisa ran too. It was held at the Boonshoft Childrens' Museum in Dayton - a fundraiser for museum - which we used to take the kids when they were smaller. Ben and I knew we would be in Dayton visiting his parents, and were looking at races we could do while there since Maria would be at 4-H camp and Ben's parents could keep Sam for us, when we stumbled across this event. For $40, we ran the race and got the usual T-shirt, but also had all the food and drink we could eat at the event after the race, and 5 beer (or other drink) tickets. The party also featured live bands and went from 7:00 - 11:00. Seemed like a great deal - especially when most races cost around $30 and don't have the food or beer.
So we decided we'd sign up, and were thrilled when Andy and Lisa were going to be able to join us as well. We all were kid-free too. The only downfall - a race at 6:30 in the evening. In 91 degree heat. Although some was in the shade and for a while there was a slight breeze, it was still hot. Very, very hot. The last race I ran - 46 degrees and windy. I can only seem to be at one extreme or the other. My only goal was to beat the time of my previous 5K - 32'37". But as the afternoon wore on, I knew that was probably unrealistic given how hot it was.
When we started, I had a great first mile. I ran my pace, let Lisa get ahead of me, and thought I could run that pace the entire time. But it started to get difficult in the second mile, where I had to walk some - I just was out of breath, my legs hurt, and sweat was dripping off my face. So I knew I couldn't keep up. By the second mile I would jog for a little bit, and then have to walk some more. The walking didn't seem to help me catch my breath like it should have. By the end, I was feeling pretty bad about this race. I really questioned whether I should ever run a race again. I finished in 36"12" which was more than 3 minutes over my last time. And I did not feel good when I crossed the finish line - I had to sit down and keep drinking water. But I also reminded myself I don't do this to win - I'll never be fast - I just want to stay healthy and in shape.
But then I talked to the other people in our group - everyone but Ben had to walk at some point. No one was happy with their time. Everyone agreed the conditions were horrible. Even people we didn't know commented on how unbearably hot it was. So I felt a little better. My first mile was my fastest ever - 9'21" - which was certainly not the plan and also probably contributed to how bad I felt the second half of the race.
But the rest of the evening was a lot of fun. It was a really nice event - the variety of food and beer was awesome, the weather was hot but at least it didn't storm, and as usual when we're with Andy and Lisa, we just had a great time hanging out. And Ben got 3rd place for men ages 30-39 (probably his last race in that age group!), so that was cool too.
Final results:
Total racers: 119
Ben - 15th overall 22'22"
Andy - 20th overall 24'00"
Lisa S - 71st overall 34'04"
Lisa K - 81st overall 36'12"
Note - Pictures are all pre-race except the one with Ben and his bronze metal. Post-race pictures would have been a very bad idea.
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