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In October I ended up running 3 races 3 weekends in a row. Already posted on the first, so now on to the latter two(with some pics!).
First up, the second week in October was the From Here to Eternity 5k. Everything about this race was awesome for me.
With the intent to raise money for the preservation of Norfolk cemeteries, this race took place, appropriately, in a cemetery. It was really nice to walk around and glimpse a bit about the people laid to rest there and just take it all in. Idk, most everyone in my family's been cremated or buried outside the US, so outside of general appreciation of them, I don't tend to have much cause to visit cemeteries.
That said, the graves made for a rather curvy course...
So many turns, it was kinda boggling. Though after speaking with someone who'd run the race previously, I'm thinking this year's course was their best thought out and marked. Also, it was kinda amusing, when not frustrating, to be able to see those ahead of you a couple turns ahead as though they weren't that far away.
Granted, the race started 15 minutes late as they weren't finished marking the course, but when it did I was feeling pretty pumped, having run the last bit of it and back in warming up. While I was sure I was going to do better in this 5k than I had my last, PR and sub 22 at least, I was really surprised by how well I did.
It started out in typical fashion, for me, while I started right at the starting line, mainly as it wasn't going to be chip timed so I didn't want to waste time getting to the start, I let anyone who wanted to pass me pass and didn't rush myself. Yet...
Miles 0-1: Not too slow, I'm feeling better about not saving my energy as much in 5ks as they're just not long enough to be holding back for too long. First half a lot of people passed me, but then they kinda copped out by the time we reached the first mile marker allowing me to just mosey on by, lol.
Miles 1-2: Looking ahead of me I realized that there were two women ahead of me, I didn't realize it right away, but they were the leads. I passed the first of them, but held back on the second, taking my time and gaining slowly. Passing is tricky sometimes, some give it up easily, others will make it hard and tire you out with the effort so I got behind her and waited. During this time I kinda studied how she was going, making note that she was running in the harder packed dirt of the trails tire treads, rather than the softer and harder to run in grass, and copying her.
Mile 2.5: It occurs to me that she's the first place woman and I finally pass her at one of the turns shortly after the water station. Kinda exited and D: over this. Start kinda angling my turns to glance over my shoulder every so often to keep track of her, lol.
Miles 2.5-3: Going well, but beginning to feel the wear. Mentally I'm all "Maybe I should just let her have it..." mixed with "Fuck that, I'm doing this!" Luckily, the latter won out and I kept moving.
Mile 3: The final little bit of the course was this semi-paved(very cracked) road. As expected, the moment we hit it, my primary combatant started to make her move. Unfortunately for both of us, we began pushing before we got a real look at the finish, which they'd turned into a curved loop rather than the straight away we'd left from. This kinda made it harder and helped me. I hugged the inside of the turn and just as we were both pushing so hard I could hear nothing but the two of us breathing, it was so dramatic, lol, I could kinda feel the moment she lost. Like, I recognized that moment from having faltered before, and felt bad for her but also totally awesome as I WON!
Yay!
Ah, I was so shocked and pleased and I still wanna get faster but this was cool!
So, yeah. :D
The week after that, I ran the Blue Moon Wicked 10k. It's basically the largest Halloween-themed local race, so, lots of costumes.
Given the size, there were corrals, I was in the first by sheer virtue of an expected sub 45, and was surprised by how many people didn't bother dressing up... unless being a runner was their costume at least. Idk, since time is important to me, I made an effort to make my costume as running-friendly as possible, though I wouldn't not dress up at all. Speaking of, and to get it out of the way, pics!
Lol, I am not a very good photo person in running. Though yeah, I was Rainbow Dash. Got lots of little kid, mom, and older teen/early 20s female recognition. I think one guy shouted praise, but if there was anyone else who knew who I was they kept silent. But, on the note of making it 'running-friendly', hunted hard of a pair of running shorts and top in the right color that where a little looser/covering than my normal running gear. For the wings and ears, I used craft foam painted with fabric paint, so they'd be really light weight, sewn down/to me. In place of a wig, figuring it'd be too hot(would have been horrible with the wind), painted a strip of fabric all rainbow-like to use as a headband. As extras, wore a rainbow ribbon around my neck, painted a rainbow band around my socks, colored in the Nike logo on my shorts to be rainbow-y, and had 'Rainbow Dash' painted in rainbow colors on my back. ;p
That aside, for the running itself? It had unexpected complications. That is, this was the weekend of Sandy. While it was thankfully rain-free, the winds started in early and hard. At one point, running along the boardwalk, me and a few of the smaller runners had trouble staying on our feet, lol. My wings certainly didn't help matters, though I'm wondering how they looked as I moved since I'd attached them in a way that made them flap with each step. :D
While I can't say much for a mile-by-mile breakdown on this one, was keeping track of splits but writing this so late the memory of what they were has gotten fuzzy. Still, it was similar to any other race on the oceanfront. We started at the convention center, then ran along the oceanfront for a bit, got back on the main street, and then turned around and ran back down the oceanfront ended just past the Neptune statue. The scenery might do it for someone who wasn't local, but this being the third I'd done on the boardwalk and who knows what time I'd been down there total, there wasn't much new to see for me.
Which brings me back to the main attraction of this race, the costumes. At the very end I passed Batman and someone dressed as a cat. There were probably dozens of superheroes(the first leg of the race I was behind someone wearing a red and gold tutu and "Iron Ma'am" on the back of their shirt), someone was a hamster in a giant wheel, a group ran as the cast of Spaceballs, another as the London Olympics, a couple was Clark Kent/Superman and a phone booth, and just so many other awesome things. It was tons of fun!
Also, I took 2nd for Women 20-24 and PR'd by ~1:20, so close to doing sub 7 miles in a 10k! Also, also, they had beer and bread bowl(including veg!) chili at the finish. Might do it again, if I'm around, next year.
First up, the second week in October was the From Here to Eternity 5k. Everything about this race was awesome for me.
With the intent to raise money for the preservation of Norfolk cemeteries, this race took place, appropriately, in a cemetery. It was really nice to walk around and glimpse a bit about the people laid to rest there and just take it all in. Idk, most everyone in my family's been cremated or buried outside the US, so outside of general appreciation of them, I don't tend to have much cause to visit cemeteries.
That said, the graves made for a rather curvy course...
So many turns, it was kinda boggling. Though after speaking with someone who'd run the race previously, I'm thinking this year's course was their best thought out and marked. Also, it was kinda amusing, when not frustrating, to be able to see those ahead of you a couple turns ahead as though they weren't that far away.
Granted, the race started 15 minutes late as they weren't finished marking the course, but when it did I was feeling pretty pumped, having run the last bit of it and back in warming up. While I was sure I was going to do better in this 5k than I had my last, PR and sub 22 at least, I was really surprised by how well I did.
It started out in typical fashion, for me, while I started right at the starting line, mainly as it wasn't going to be chip timed so I didn't want to waste time getting to the start, I let anyone who wanted to pass me pass and didn't rush myself. Yet...
Miles 0-1: Not too slow, I'm feeling better about not saving my energy as much in 5ks as they're just not long enough to be holding back for too long. First half a lot of people passed me, but then they kinda copped out by the time we reached the first mile marker allowing me to just mosey on by, lol.
Miles 1-2: Looking ahead of me I realized that there were two women ahead of me, I didn't realize it right away, but they were the leads. I passed the first of them, but held back on the second, taking my time and gaining slowly. Passing is tricky sometimes, some give it up easily, others will make it hard and tire you out with the effort so I got behind her and waited. During this time I kinda studied how she was going, making note that she was running in the harder packed dirt of the trails tire treads, rather than the softer and harder to run in grass, and copying her.
Mile 2.5: It occurs to me that she's the first place woman and I finally pass her at one of the turns shortly after the water station. Kinda exited and D: over this. Start kinda angling my turns to glance over my shoulder every so often to keep track of her, lol.
Miles 2.5-3: Going well, but beginning to feel the wear. Mentally I'm all "Maybe I should just let her have it..." mixed with "Fuck that, I'm doing this!" Luckily, the latter won out and I kept moving.
Mile 3: The final little bit of the course was this semi-paved(very cracked) road. As expected, the moment we hit it, my primary combatant started to make her move. Unfortunately for both of us, we began pushing before we got a real look at the finish, which they'd turned into a curved loop rather than the straight away we'd left from. This kinda made it harder and helped me. I hugged the inside of the turn and just as we were both pushing so hard I could hear nothing but the two of us breathing, it was so dramatic, lol, I could kinda feel the moment she lost. Like, I recognized that moment from having faltered before, and felt bad for her but also totally awesome as I WON!
Yay!
Ah, I was so shocked and pleased and I still wanna get faster but this was cool!
So, yeah. :D
The week after that, I ran the Blue Moon Wicked 10k. It's basically the largest Halloween-themed local race, so, lots of costumes.
Given the size, there were corrals, I was in the first by sheer virtue of an expected sub 45, and was surprised by how many people didn't bother dressing up... unless being a runner was their costume at least. Idk, since time is important to me, I made an effort to make my costume as running-friendly as possible, though I wouldn't not dress up at all. Speaking of, and to get it out of the way, pics!
Lol, I am not a very good photo person in running. Though yeah, I was Rainbow Dash. Got lots of little kid, mom, and older teen/early 20s female recognition. I think one guy shouted praise, but if there was anyone else who knew who I was they kept silent. But, on the note of making it 'running-friendly', hunted hard of a pair of running shorts and top in the right color that where a little looser/covering than my normal running gear. For the wings and ears, I used craft foam painted with fabric paint, so they'd be really light weight, sewn down/to me. In place of a wig, figuring it'd be too hot(would have been horrible with the wind), painted a strip of fabric all rainbow-like to use as a headband. As extras, wore a rainbow ribbon around my neck, painted a rainbow band around my socks, colored in the Nike logo on my shorts to be rainbow-y, and had 'Rainbow Dash' painted in rainbow colors on my back. ;p
That aside, for the running itself? It had unexpected complications. That is, this was the weekend of Sandy. While it was thankfully rain-free, the winds started in early and hard. At one point, running along the boardwalk, me and a few of the smaller runners had trouble staying on our feet, lol. My wings certainly didn't help matters, though I'm wondering how they looked as I moved since I'd attached them in a way that made them flap with each step. :D
While I can't say much for a mile-by-mile breakdown on this one, was keeping track of splits but writing this so late the memory of what they were has gotten fuzzy. Still, it was similar to any other race on the oceanfront. We started at the convention center, then ran along the oceanfront for a bit, got back on the main street, and then turned around and ran back down the oceanfront ended just past the Neptune statue. The scenery might do it for someone who wasn't local, but this being the third I'd done on the boardwalk and who knows what time I'd been down there total, there wasn't much new to see for me.
Which brings me back to the main attraction of this race, the costumes. At the very end I passed Batman and someone dressed as a cat. There were probably dozens of superheroes(the first leg of the race I was behind someone wearing a red and gold tutu and "Iron Ma'am" on the back of their shirt), someone was a hamster in a giant wheel, a group ran as the cast of Spaceballs, another as the London Olympics, a couple was Clark Kent/Superman and a phone booth, and just so many other awesome things. It was tons of fun!
Also, I took 2nd for Women 20-24 and PR'd by ~1:20, so close to doing sub 7 miles in a 10k! Also, also, they had beer and bread bowl(including veg!) chili at the finish. Might do it again, if I'm around, next year.
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