Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Race Report: TRF Runners on Parade '10 (and more)

So, on Saturday, I ran the Three Rivers Festival Runners on Parade. Basically, it was a 5k that runs part of a parade route that officially starts the Three Rivers Festival in Fort Wayne, which is my favorite festival in my hometown and has been since I was really young. It was also the first race that I participated in in 2010, not to mention my first ever 5k. A lot of firsts. Running a first 5k also means your first official PR. lol. However, I can't find any official results online, which is a little disappointing, but I had my Nike+, which helps me to see my time.

It was really tough to get to the race. With the parade starting, parking in downtown Fort Wayne was a mess. I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before- Andi, Katherine, and I decided to have a sleepover and pretend we were back in high school... lol. I eventually got to the race and realized I had left my iPod in the car. Ugh! Andi actually went back to get it for me and got it to the start like a few minutes before it was time to start.

I had two goals for the race: run the whole thing without any walking, which I didn't end up doing. I haven't really trained much in a long time, so I had to walk some. I also wanted to average about 12 minute miles, which I DID accomplish. According to my Nike+, I ran 11.53 miles, which is awesome. Actually, at the end, my iPod let me know that I had run my fastest mile so far. (I've only had the device since May, so it's probably not my fastest ever mile, but still...). I'm really impressed with how it turned out.

The race was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I feel like I'm better trained for longer distances, which is weird to me. I felt like I was just getting into my groove at the end, so I could have gone longer and faster. It was a new experience for me, for sure, but maybe one that I won't be participating in a lot. The first few miles of any race are usually the most difficult for me, which probably had something to do with my frustration... plus I couldn't run the whole thing without stopping which also was stressing me out. It's nice, though, to have people at the end who are specifically cheering for me. Kath and Andi were at the finish line waiting, which was a great feeling.

I always feel like the finish is the best part of the race, with the crowds excited and cheering. One thing that propelled me through this particular race was the fact that there were SO many people there. They were there to watch the parade, as the route ran through part of the parade route, but it still felt like they had interest in watching us race. That was really meaningful to me.

I do wish that I could have run with someone again. It's not the same... running by yourself and running with a companion. I really enjoy running with someone, so it was strange to be by myself. Even the last race that I ran... I technically ran at my own pace, but I knew that both my mom and Katherine were also running. It was just strange to realize how solitary racing can be, even in big groups. Something to think about, I guess.

I've run a few miles since then, but I didn't run yesterday because I went to my grandparents' lake house... and went skiing and tubing. Now my entire body aches... Ugh. Just what I need!

Goal: 1000 miles/365 days
So far: 412.23 miles/251 days
To go: 587.77 miles/114 days

2 comments:

  1. 1) I am just catching up on my Google reader.

    2) I didn't know your hometown was Fort Wayne!

    3) We should have had a bloggy meetup!

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  2. I popped over from Rustbeltrunner and agree with Holly - maybe next time . . coming back to fW for the Fort 4 Fitness?
    Hope you have found the race results by now, but just in case . . .
    fwtc.org/portal
    click on race results then scroll down until you see Runners on Parade

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