On the run! |
I found out about the race postponement on Wednesday night of this week. To add to my annoyance, the race was postponed to one week before the Philadelphia Marathon, so I would not be able to do it at all this year. Luckily, I was able to defer my entry to 2014 so I did not totally lose out on my registration fee.
I was pretty frustrated that the race had been postponed, so on Wednesday night, I started frantically trying to figure out a backup plan and find some alternate races. Luckily, I found another half marathon only a week later - the Heritage Half Marathon in Gainesville, VA. But I was still antsy to get out and race THIS weekend. I didn't have much luck finding 10ks, but I was able to find a nearby 5k - the Race to Rid SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) 5k. The race was conveniently close to my house, and the course also ran right past my friend's house - twice!
On Friday afternoon, before the race, I was scheduled for a 5 mile recovery run with some quick striders. So, I decided to head over to Oak Hill Elementary School (where the race starts), to do a course preview. While running the course, I ran into my friend and stopped to talk with him. He is a runner too, but would not be able to run (or watch) the race because he was coaching at a cross country invitational the next morning. But he said his wife would try to come out and cheer me on!
During the preview, I realized that the course was a little hillier than I thought it would be (See elevation map). I was in pretty good shape though, and thought I should be able to run a decent time - maybe in the low to mid 18s. Although with marathon training, I was not exactly in "5k shape." Marathon training is mostly long runs and lactate threshold work - not VO2 max workouts, which are the key to a fast 5k. After the Philadelphia Marathon, I'd like to focus more on faster speed work, and running some fast 5ks and 10ks - maybe try to get under 18 in a 5k.
Race to Rid SIDS 5k elevation map |
Race to Rid Sids 5k race t-shirt |
After a one mile warm-up, I headed over to the start line. It was fairly warm for October - mid 60s on race morning, and it rose into the 80s later in the day. Luckily I was only racing 5k today, so it shouldn't effect me too much. I would probably be finished with the race before I overheated. It honestly would have been pretty lousy weather to run a half marathon - too warm and humid. Maybe the shutdown race postponement wasn't so bad after all!
Encouragement along the way |
1st place 30-39 age group award! |
Overall, the Race to Rid SIDS 5k was a great experience, and I would recommend it to anyone - nice volunteers, nice shirt, nice awards. Even though I didn't get to run the Wilson Bridge Half Marathon, this turned out to be a good back up plan.