Race Recap: Run with Santa 5k
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| Me, looking a little curvy these days, courtesy of the =PR= race photos |
Preparation:
No preparation, other than taking a lot of recovery days. I ran 3.8 easy miles on Saturday, stretched, went to Panera for soup and a sandwich with chai tea, ate some sour gummy candies, went to the bookstore, and had soup and bread for dinner. I finished the night with watching White Collar (since I finished all the seasons of Dexter on Netflix).
This race was a last minute decision, as I've taken a lot of time off this week. When I woke up, I told myself, "Anna, it's 6:30am. If you're going to run, you might as well do a run to count for points. You might as well run fast. You better run now, because the weather is just going to get worse later. No excuses about the cold. Get up. Put on some warm clothes. Don't suck. Just do it."
Pre-race:
As I arrived to register on-site at 7:55am, it began to snow. As usual, Potomac River Running Store made race day registration easy. I got my long-sleeved technical tee, a commemorative race Christmas ornament and a race pin. After jogging to and from my car, I did a few dynamic movements to warm-up (squats, jumping jacks, lunges, leg swings, hops) and made my way to the 8:30am start. By that time, it was really snowing and sticking. I was a little apprehensive about the race, as I've been having some nagging issues in my left knee, left toes, left ankle, right ankle, and back. I just told myself to enjoy the run and make it count as one of my six races in the =PR= Trophy Series.
Race:
Since it is the Run with Santa 5k, Santa and Mrs. Claus started the race. A bunch of younger kids started up front too, so I made sure not to trample them. I started off further from the front than usual (apparently 4 seconds back), and I was unable to see who my competition would be. As soon as we started, I realized how difficult it was to see in the falling snow. I quickly found my pace.
I had never run this race course, and I didn't review it before the race on a map, so I was unsure where the mile markers would be. I also didn't bring my watch, so I had no indicator of time or distance--just how I felt. Since I was more focused on the snow, I didn't notice many hills (but I think there were a few small rollers). I remember at one point trying to kick the ice off the bottom of my shoes (somehow it had accumulated in some spots and it felt like I was running with a rock on the bottom of my shoe), but I enjoyed it. I laughed when a lady drove by in her car, windows down, Christmas music blasting.
Finally, the race came to a finish. I felt like I couldn't sprint very well on the slick uphill, and I struggled to stay with two other girls with whom I was running (I finished 2-4 seconds behind them). One of the other girls was Anna. She's an awesome runner, and it was fun to run with her for a little bit of the race. I finished in 19:37 (chip time), or 19:41 (clock time).
Post-race:
After the race, I did some walking to cool-down. I tried to get in line at Panera twice, but the line was long. I tried to get in line at Starbucks, but that was the same problem. I started getting really cold. I checked the posted results at the site and realized I had finished 9th place, 4th in my age group. Instead of waiting around like I usually do to congratulate the winners, I got in my car to beat any bad traffic home.
Once I got home, I looked at the online results--I actually placed 6th female overall and 2nd in my age group (as of now, it could still change)! That would have been good enough for a gift certificate in my age group if I had stayed. (Maybe =PR= will send me the certificate? I doubt it.)
Overall, it was a great race! I really enjoyed the course. I'm glad it was snowing and not ice raining. The weather got progressively worse today, so the roads are wet or icy or slushy right now. After watching the Patriots and Steelers games, I went home and had a hot apple cider and cooked some beef stir fry and kielbasa with sauerkraut and tater tots.
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