Race Recap: Natatorium 5k

In my world, I have plans.  I have organized To-Do Lists that I complete each day.  People do what I expect them to do, and nothing is a surprise.

In my world, the sky is violet, the grass is purple, and unicorns exist.

Sort of like this.

In an attempt to intersect the world in my head and the real world, I signed up my husband and two children to run the Natatorium Family Fun Run (1 mile).  I helped the kids choose their clothes the night before, and I got them to bed relatively early.  I organized my own gear and got myself to bed at a decent hour, rising just before my alarm at 5:30 am so I could have a quiet breakfast before waking the family.  The house was peaceful, quiet.  All was well.

At 6:00 I woke up the kids, and the eight-year-old told me his stomach hurt and he couldn't get out of bed.  At 6:15 he ran to the bathroom and vomited.  Sigh.  I informed my still-sleeping husband (who should have been getting up by then) that he didn't have to get up because he was staying home with Ben.  My daughter, the thirteen-year-old, was a trooper.  When I told her that she didn't have to do the run and she could go back to bed, she replied, "No.  I really want to do this.  I'm going."  Did I mention that she is really motivated to get un-grounded?

We are ready for our Fun Run!

Katya took off like a shot when the whistle blew.  I had expected her to run around a ten-minute mile, which was perfect for my warmup, so I had said I would run at her pace. When her pace in the first half-mile was 8:30, I told her to run ahead because this was a bad idea for a warm up for me.  I got to watch her from behind as she came in as the first child in the run!  There was an older guy running with her, and he crossed the finish before her (grrrrr), but I'm not counting him.

This chick ran a 9:13 mile!  I'm so proud of her!

After the Fun Run, I exchanged bibs for the 5k, handed off my gear to Katya, and stood in the corral with Jen.  We haven't run together in a long time (It's funny/sad how life gets in the way), but it was great to catch up with her while we waited.  I also chatted with Suegene, who will be running the Akron Marathon in two weeks--Go, Suegene!

The weather was a perfect 50-something degrees with a touch of sunshine here and there.  The conditions were perfect for a PR, which I was hoping to get.  I was a bit apprehensive because I haven't done the speed training that I normally do this year.  I was hoping the weight I lost and overall quicker pace I run would make up for the lack of track work.

I felt as good as I was going to feel during a 5k in the first mile, and my pace was on point.  In the second mile I felt like I was going uphill for much of the way, and I don't remember all of those hills in past races! I checked my pace, and it was off by more than ten seconds.  I tried to surge to correct it, but I only took off a few seconds.  The third mile was where I was feeling pretty strong.  I thought, "I feel good.  Usually I'm ready to die by now.  I bet this is my best mile," except that when I checked my pace it was my worst mile.  Dammit.  No wonder I felt good.  I broke my own rule: Nobody is supposed to EVER feel good in a 5k.  If you feel good, you aren't working.

I thought that if I saw my daughter on the route in the last half mile I would get a shot of adrenaline and be able to pull it out, but somehow she didn't get the understood memo that WHEN MOM IS RUNNING AND YOU ARE WATCHING HER, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO YELL FOR HER!!! The second understood rule is that you are supposed to TAKE A PICTURE OF HER!  Instead, Katya quietly read while I struggled through that last half mile wondering where the hell she was.  Ok, fine, not her fault.  I still had my kick to the chute even though I knew I hadn't PR'd.

The race turnout was pretty small this year, so I was hopeful that maybe I placed.  It turns out that Jen and I both placed in our (separate) Age Groups!

We are joyful AG winners! I placed first and Jen placed second.  Happily, we are in separate AGs, so we weren't competing against each other.

The Natatorium 5k is a great little race for this time of year.  It's good to test your speed once in a while, even when you are distance-running.  I enjoy the family atmosphere, which is why I make my family run it each year.  The swag is good, and the price is right, too.

A tee shirt for the fun run, and a hoodie for the 5k

My AG Award (plus a 10 dollar gift card)

Next year, the sky will be violet, and unicorns will graze on purple grass.  Also, my family will all run the 5k with me.  It's gonna happen.  I have plans.

Until then, run happy, Peeps!

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