Unfortunately I'm experiencing some foot pain, so it looks like I'm taking an unexpected rest day. If you know me, you know that I am not a fan of unscheduled rest days. It is what it is and I have to be kind to myself! Besides, I worked really hard this weekend and in my opinion, deserve a day of rest! Hopefully, I'll be up and running tomorrow.
Anyway, I had a fabulous weekend! As many of you know, I went to the Frederick Running Festival for their Twilight 5K and the Frederick Half Marathon. It was a weekend filled of PRs, self realization, and above all, FUN!
Saturday evening was the Twilight 5K and it was nice and warm out. No humidity, whatsoever! So I wore my green Under Armour Sling and a pair of Under Armour boy shorts. I couldn't leave home without my awesome Under Armour knee high socks. I opted for the Brook's since my road running shoes (the Asics) are not good on my feet.
I've never participated in an evening race and I was definitely pleased with this one. I'm not a morning person, which is one reason why this appealed to me. However, I felt warmed up and prepared to race.
Before start time, I gathered my bib and race premiums...
I loved that my bib identified me as a "Nut Job". It not only classified me perfectly, but it identified me as a runner who was participating in both the 5K and the Half.
The shirts were pretty nice too.
Not your typical cotton tee. These shirts were made to run in.
The race was set to begin at 6:00, but minutes prior they played "Sweet Caroline" for Boston, then immediately kicked off the race.
I personally thought that the track we started on was terrible! It was filled with tons of microscopic rocks, primarily for horse racing. I couldn't comfortably run at the speed I wanted, worried I may slip and get trampled on by the runners. Thankfully, this was the shortest part of the entire route. Most of it was a road run.
Only a quarter mile into the race, my stomach decided to act up and give me the worst cramp ever, one that did not subside until hours later. Thankfully, this race was only 3.1 miles or it would have become unbearable while running.
Despite the issues, I managed to finish the race with a PR.
My chip time was 25:43 (my best before was 25:55). I placed at 224th out of 1270 runners. I reached my goal of coming in 5th for women in my age group (in total there were 45). I was extremely happy with those results!
Following the race, we were given 2 free beers, both which I gave up to Peter and our roommate, Chris to thank them for tagging along. My parents even took the trip to see me run. I believe it was the first time my mom ever attended one of my races. The time worked out for everyone, so it was nice having them there to support me. :o)
All in all, the Twilight 5K was a great race to participate in. It's great for runners who enjoy sleeping in and would love to have their families come as well. Not everyone can wake up at the crack of dawn for a race. My only negative is the track, but that is all.
I give it a 8/10! :)
Stay tuned for the Half Recap!
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