3rd Annual Chunky Dunk Duathlon Race Report

This is one of my favorite races. I did the Chunky Dunk back in 2011 when it first started. I had an amazing experience due to the awesome event staff and race director, that I knew I’d be back. And I was. I did it last year, but never wrote a race report. I had kind of an off year with blogging.

This year was the 3rd annual Chunky Dunk Duathlon and as a new addition this year, they had a paddle board race and swim as an option. My friend, Alyson came and did the race with me for the 2nd year in a row and we did the usual swim/run race, but it was nice to see them branching out!

In usual race fashion, I set out my stuff the night before and aimed to get a good night’s sleep. And in usual race fashion, I didn’t go to bed until 2 am. Happens all the time. I know I’m not the only one!

After getting checked in and tatted up with my race number, I realized that I had gotten a T-shirt for paddle boarding instead of the Chunky Dunk. So I went over to exchange them. On my way back to the set up area, my posse informed me that I had gotten the wrong race number. Sure enough, I wasn’t Meredith... and I wasn’t number 33 either. That was disappointing. I was kind of excited that I was number 33 because that’s my age! It’s the little things that excite me, I tell you. Instead I was number 65. They had looked at my age instead of my race number when pulling my packet. Since I had already been written on in sharpie, I got block numbers on me to cover up the mistake. I calculated that it would come off in approximately 32 days. Turns out, rubbing alcohol takes of off in about 10 minutes. Maybe 2 for regular numbers. But with half my arm blackened, it was a bit longer. Holly, I’m looking at you on this one.

See? Not me!

As I was getting ready, I realized I was again breaking the cardinal rule of racing by trying out something new on race day. Goggles. I had been having issues with my goggles because they were old and fogged up really bad within seconds of starting a swim. So I bought a new pair. It was the same brand so I figured it would be fine. It wasn’t. I had issues with the straps pulling loose and not fitting into the bracket, resulting in loose fitting goggles. I actually used them for the first time at the Mass State Triathlon  and I had the same issue then too. You’d think I’d learn

They started race announcements and told us that because there were a bunch of different races going on at the same time they were going to have all the swim/run racers start in one wave together instead of in 4 waves as planned. Damn, I was hoping for a head start!  

We headed out on the half-mile swim and I realized I couldn’t see the buoys. So I just followed the hoard of people in front of me and figured I’d see the buoy when I got close enough to it. I was right. And it was fine. Got the swim done, hit the beach with my usual out of water pose and headed to the transition area to get my sneakers on for the run.

Who am I kidding? I didn’t run. This was my first running in a race since 2012 sometime and my first time running in at least a month. I was in no way shape or form ready to run. But I kind of did it anyway. I did a bit of running, or jogging really, but walked most of it.

A few people were behind me in the swim, but passed me on the run, no surprise there, so I was the last finisher of the swim/run. Normally being last place would bother me as it has in the past with my mantra of I don’t care where I finish as long as I finish, and I’m not last. But when I realized I could still feel accomplished even when I finish last, like I did at the Mass State Triathlon, I wasn’t so bothered.

I was however disappointed with myself for not training at all. I certainly had the time do some training swims and runs before this race, but I got lazy and just didn’t challenge myself. I like the fun of the races, but none of the fun of the training. All that does is build me up for disappointment at a race when I know I could have done better. Last year in the race, I shaved 4 minutes off my time from the year before. This year I added 3 minutes. I know I can do better. And I know I’ll do this race again next year, so I know what I need to do to swim and run a better race.

After the race, they were doing the awards for the top finishers in each age group. Instead of medals they were giving beer mugs with the Chunky Dunk logo on it. I jokingly asked the race director, Holly, where my award for last place was. She grabbed a mug and handed it to me. I told her I was only kidding!! Then said “Wait!” and grabbed a second mug then said, “You get two because you’re so awesome”. Well, THAT I can agree with! I went back to our transition area with my trophies and gave one to Alyson, because in my book, we’re both awesome!

We headed back to the house to change and take some pictures with our shirts, mugs and of course the infamous “We don’t skinny dip, we chunky dunk” sign before heading back into town to grab some lunch.

And the next day we celebrated with some wine with frozen grapes in our mugs.

If you live in the area, you definitely need to check out this race next year. It’s one of the good ones. I promise! Plus, I'm listed on their site as a "success story". If I can do it, you can do it!

Chunky Dunk Duathlon Race Report

I’m tired, sore and I had a headache all day yesterday. That can only mean one thing. I did a duathlon! I’m exhausted! I can only imagine what the triathlon will do to me! I might be crawling across the finish!

I chose this race back in May because of the name. We have a sign on our fridge that says, We don’t skinny dip, we chunky dunk. It is just hilarious to me. So, when I was perusing sites for 5Ks to do this summer and I came across this, I just had to sign up. Plus, who doesn’t want a t-shirt that says CHUNKY DUNK on it?

One of my triathlon-training buddies came up Friday night to stay at my place to avoid the 3 hours drive the morning of the race. We got to the race site at about 7:30am and got in line to register.

Then a lot of things happened all at once that is better explained in pictures:

Since it was a swim/run race, we had to get our numbers written on us in sharpie.

I was the 14th crazy person to sign up for the race!

I look way too excited with way too much stuff in my hands! 

Trying to figure out where to pin everything. Shirt or no shirt?
I went with a shirt. No one needs to see a shirtless me running!

This was my transition area all set up. Too much stuff?

The pride and joy of the race! I love it!

As we got everything situated and organized at our transition area, which seemed like it took forever because I kept moving things around nervously, we decided to get into the water to get a feel for the temp and do a quick warm up swim. I also needed to test out my new earplugs. I can NOT swim without earplugs. Water gets in my ears and distracts me to no end. I won’t wait until I get out of the water to shake the water out, I’ll do it with every stroke, meaning I will be picking my head out of the water every 2 seconds to prevent the water from getting in my ears. It just bugs me. Recreational swimming (i.e. lounging around in the water) is fine for me without earplugs, but swimming laps or anything of the sort, I NEED earplugs. There’s a point, to this tangent, I promise. I was afraid that I’d lose my earplugs after the swim portion as I was frantically trying to get myself dried off and ready for the run. Now I guess that’s not so much of a big deal since I wouldn’t be swimming soon thereafter the race and I could easily go buy new ones, but I wanted to be prepared ahead of time and possible have a pair that had a string holding them together to help me keep track of them. While I was in Rite-Aid the day before the race, I looked at their earplug selection and figured all I’d find were the foam ones for sleeping or concerts. But lo and behold, they had swimming earplugs AND they had strings attaching them AND it was a 2 pack! Score!

See my way cool earplugs? And how awesome do we look in our swim caps?

Testing out the water

Doing a warm up swim. Savor this; it's the only picture of me in the water, swimming. Maybe.

We got out of the water and made sure everything was ready for the transition (again) and then just milled around until the start of the race. It all kind of happened fast. I knew the start time was 8:30 and we were organizing our stuff at about 8 and testing out the water around 8:15, but it just happened so fast!  We started the race in waves. I was in wave one. I figured at least if I got a head start, I would be finishing the swim as the faster guys were just about to finish and I wouldn’t get as trampled, so I was happy about my wave assignment. Not to mention it gave me a head start so I might not be last! (HA!)

It was an in water start and we had to cross the chip mats before we entered the water. I don’t understand how they did the chip timing if we crossed the mat a full 10-15 seconds before the race actually started, but I used my trusty Garmin, G-Cube, to keep track of things for me. Yes, in the swim too. He was under my swim cap – sneaky devil!

If you look closely, I'm out there somewhere.
Probably just finished rounding the buoys at the time this picture was taken.

My exit out of the water wasn’t captured, but don’t worry, you don’t want to see that anyway. I was shocked and very happy to see that my swim time was

23:49

I have been averaging a swim time of 27-28 minutes per half mile for my open water swims, so this 4-minute reduction was exciting! I’m sure it was the adrenaline of a race that pushed me to go faster, but also I gained a lot of self-esteem by passing people. Yes, me, passing people. I know my time isn’t that fast compared to a lot of people, but swimming is my strongest area of the three triathlon sports, so to see myself get better and pass people in the swimming portion, where I actually feel good about things, was great. I don’t pass people in any of the other 2 areas, so I needed this to reassure myself. Just a personal thing. Don’t judge.

And let me add a side note here about my earplugs. They worked great, however, I need to adjust the length of the string because it kept getting caught under my arm because it was so long and I came close to yanking them out of my ears (by accident) because of this. I guess this is why we don't try new things on race day, huh?

My transition time was 3:29. I’ve never done a transition to anything before, so I’m happy with this time. I also knew I wasn’t going to run in just a bathing suit, yet I didn’t have time (or the guts) to yank it off in front of God and everybody to change clothes. So I threw on my running capris and a t-shirt. I had planned ahead and wore my sports bra underneath my bathing suit so I didn’t have to worry about that. Could you imagine seeing that in transition?

Off to the races!

I headed off for a 5K through the woods along the Cotton Valley Rail Trail, yes the very same path that I bike most weekends when I’m up here in New Hampshire. I was very familiar with it having ridden it several times and having completed the Dog Days of Summer on it a few weekends ago. My complaint about it last time was the amount of tiny pebbles and rocks that I got into my shoes while running. Luckily this time, it rained the night before. And by rain, I mean torrential downpour. It kept the path wet enough so that there wasn’t much dust to fly around and get caught in the sneakers. There were a few puddles along the way that took up the entire path and caused runners to either run through them or step off the path completely to go around them. I went around them. I was wet enough from the swim and my bathing suit soaking my pants and t-shirt. I didn’t need my feet wet too!

I tried something new with this race, and it might be why I’m still sore a day later. It’s no secret that I’m struggling with running. The last time I complained talked about it someone commented and mentioned that she just kept going with the running and didn’t take walk breaks. I scoffed at that idea, because it’s impossible for me to not take walk breaks while running. In fact, it’s mostly walking, and bits of running here and there. Someone else had mentioned the same thing to me earlier this year. She said she did a shuffle-jog thing and although it was kind of the same pace as her running/walking intervals, she felt that it allowed her body to think she was running and she was able to get that shuffle-jog to a faster pace and it was easier for her than doing the running/walking interval workouts. I decided to try it, because lord knows I need all the help I can get in the running department.

Guess what. I ran the entire 5K. Let me explain. The word “run” here means a shuffle-jog, but it was a huge milestone. Because I did the entire race like that. A few times where I checked my pace and saw that my “running” was starting to get close to my regular walking pace, I’d walk for a little but to give those muscles a rest, then start the running again. It worked! I am sore in areas that I didn’t know had the capability to be sore. I’m guessing that means those are the runner’s muscles. Because I sure haven’t used those things before!

Overall my pace was about the same as my run/walk interval time, but I maintained that pace the entire time instead of having a slow walking pace and then and minimal and only slightly faster running pace.

The 5K was an out and back so I was able to see a lot of people coming back as I was still going out. Almost every single one of them had a positive thing to say to me. I’m sure I looked like a hot mess out there doing my shuffle-jog, but I was doing it. And I was proud of myself for doing it, the entire time. I’ve heard people say that they don’t like the “encouragement” or “good job, you’re almost there” from other people during a race, but I love it. It keeps me motivated and makes me feel like we are all in this together. Even though I might be last or close to last, I greet every passerby (yes, even if they are ahead of me) with a huge smile when they say “Good job”, and I always say “Thanks”. Because I mean it. One day (hopefully) I’ll be on the other end of that and I hope I can give someone else encouragement too.

But, on a more serious note, don’t say, “you’re almost there” if it’s not true. I heard “almost there” about 57 times and I was most certainly not “almost there”. Liars.

Coming into the home stretch: when I really was "almost there".

Crossing the finish line, so happy.

I finished the 5K in a time of 51:36 (according to my Garmin, because the race results only show my swim & transition times).

My goal was to finish this race in 1:30.

Race time total: 1:18:59. That’s an 11-minute goal buster.

High Five. And I'm not gonna lie, I teared up a little bit. This was a big thing for me! I did it and I did it better than I thought I would. That's cause for happy tears.

I also had to share my finish picture zoomed out because what I love about it is the volunteer with her hands up in the air, just like mine. She was just as excited for me as I was for me!

That's the kind of support I'm talking about!!

WE DID IT!

And my favorite support system: my mom. She drove us to the race, guarded our things in the transition area, took pictures and hooped and hollered when I was coming out of the water and coming back in from the 5K. I couldn’t ask for a better supporter.

Thanks mom!

This race was the first annual and it was very well organized. This is the second event (in one month, no less!) that I've attended that has been hosted by The Nick. The organizers were great, the location was great, the volunteers were amazing. The sponsors were great too. We got this bag of swag. 

Coupons galore!

It was an overall fun, happy, and encouraging atmosphere. I will most definitely do this race again next year. Who's with me??

4K on the 4th Race Report.

Well, it finally happened. I was dead last in the race this morning. Oddly enough I'm okay with that. I thought I'd be upset, but I'm not. I just got it out of the way I suppose. I even got a prize for being last.

BUBBLES!

They called it the Perseverance Award, but I’m calling it my Dead Last Is Out Of The Way Now (and it better never happen again) Award. The race was held by 3C Race Productions. It was a small race but you could tell these people really love their company and they were a lot of fun. I even had my own personal coach for the last half-mile of the race.

Hi Nick.

 That guy has so much energy. He was still running a half hour after the race while we were in the parking lot chatting. If I could, I would hire him as my personal running coach. (Call me.)

The course started on grass, then onto pavement, then onto a trail, then back to the grass for the finish. I was looking forward to the grass and trail because I’ve been having problems my shins while running on pavement. As it turns out, I don’t really like running on grass either. It was uneven and I was nervous about turning an ankle or something. Once I got on the pavement, I started feeling twinges in my shins, but nothing strong enough to stop me. I had plans to run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute. For some reason, I cannot do this outside. A few days ago, I finally was able to run for 3 minutes straight, but it was on the treadmill, not outside. So I’ve gotten over the time frame of 3 minutes hump, but now I need to get over the running for more than 1 minute outside hump. Although, now that I think about it, last week I was only able to run for 30-45 seconds outside and today I was doing 1-minute intervals. So I guess that’s progress right?

I saw this sign along the way at the time, it made me pause and ponder it. Now, I realized I wasted 10 seconds! But it’s a good message.

It says: "He, who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish little in life"
Small print at the bottom: "Risk running as fast as you can for as long as you can"

As I was nearing the finish line, I saw a guy standing out by the orange cones marking the course. I was probably 200-300 feet away from him. He started clapping for me, and kept clapping until I came up onto him. I told him that I was the last one and he could start collecting the cones. He said “You must be Sara!” and then he started running with me. It was my coach, Nick! I thought it was funny that he kept clapping that entire time, so I took a picture of him doing it.

Of course you can't tell he was clapping in the picture,
but I assure you, he was! I'm clap-worthy!

As I was about to cross the finish line, the announcer said my name and that he had a prize for me. 

I think that excitement is because I knew I was getting
a prize and not because I was finally finished.

I had joked at the beginning of the race that there should be a prize for the fastest last place runner on the new 4K course. Either they felt bad for me, or they just had extra kids prizes left over from the kids races. Either way, I got a prize. And who doesn’t love bubbles? I also won a raffle item. It was a $15 gift certificate to Road ID. I’m stoked, because I’ve been wanting to get a Road ID bracelet for a while and now I have $15 off!  I also have a $2 off coupon from my race bib today. Hopefully I can combine them and get a really good deal!

A few of my triathlon training friends drove up from MA and met me at the race. I’m glad they came. Even though we didn’t run together (me=slow; them=not slow) it was nice to have them there and it makes races more fun when you’re with people that you know!

Before the race 

After the race. Oddly enough, we look happier.

Oh and the race t-shirts were really nice tech shirts.

I got two shirts because there were extras.
My second shirt has "Concord, NH" on it.
Strange.

This race also had a big array of samples like balance bars, SunButter packets, Vitamin C gummies, Ironman muscle rub, shave gel, shampoo/conditioner sample packs, and $10 off coupons for Sports Authority. I got plenty of each. Thanks guys! And it had, by far, the largest variety of refueling food for after the race. They had bananas, bagels & cream cheese, grapes, cherries, and tons of water. Most races have one or two things. These guys, stocked up. The race was supposed to be a lot larger, but due to a new big race in Manchester starting this weekend, they lost a lot of participants. They said there were about 100 people but I think there was less. Maybe 50-70. I guess I’ll find out when the race results are posted online and my name is dead last. (I’m okay with this, I swear.)

Over all, this was a great race. I’m glad I went and now I’m looking forward to the Dog Days of Summer 5K race in 2 weeks, also hosted by 3C Race Productions. 4K on the 4th (on the 3rd) is a definite 2 thumps up, Sara approved race.

What's in a name?

I've been thinking about the name of my blog and I want to change it. I think. 


More specifically, the address. Right now it's http://sariah8.blogspot.com. Since this is a blog about my mission to a triathlon and what I'm doing to train, I'd like it to be something about that and not "sariah8" which is really a username more than anything. And because I'm also planning on a half marathon after the triathlon, I guess I'm in this for the long haul and don't know if I just want it to be all about the tri. But, I'm indecisive. And I also can't think of a name. So I need your help.


Any ideas? I was thinking of making this a contest/giveaway, but I'm new at this and don't really have anything to give away. Um, a pair of socks? YES. A special fun, funky pair of socks. Who doesn't like socks? And I'll choose the socks based on the winner's personality. So they'll definitely be fun, funky & cool! Really, this is a win-win situation for all of us!


Here's the deal, you can list as many blog names as you like. But put each idea/name in a different comment. And follow me too. Yes, bonus points if you're a follower. Who knows, maybe 2 pairs of socks will be given away! (Probably) Actually, yes. I will choose a winner based on the blog name choice and another winner will be chosen at random for a bonus prize.


Okay, let's get organized. First winner will be chosen based on my biased opinion and what I like for a blog name. The second winner will be chosen at random. The prize: besides the sheer satisfaction of being the winner, SOCKS.


Enter as follows (each entry needs a new comment):

• Suggest a name for my blog (or two, or three, or seven)
• Follow my blog (and then you'll have to re-follow my new blog once the new name is chosen, haha!!)
• Promote this contest/giveaway on your blog, twitter, facebook, run through the streets screaming, make posters, etc.

What I'd like:

• Something clever of course, because you know me. I'm clever.
• Using my name is good (it's Sara in case you're new around here)
• Anything dealing with swimming, biking, running, triathlon, racing, etc
• Catchy is good
• Play on words
• What you think when you think of me (maybe I don't want that)
• Brutal honesty

I'll end the contest on Friday of this week (6/17/11) and announce the winner on Saturday, 6/18/11. A whole week of fun!

I can't wait too see all your ideas!! And GO.

Stow Run for the Woods 2011 Race Report

I had planned this race because my chiropractor told me about it and that they would be at the race doing massages for the runners. I figured, why not? It’s local, not too hilly, they were giving medals to all finishers, and who doesn’t want a free massage after a 5K? If you answered, "I don't", we aren’t going to get along.

The day before, I was in bed all day with a stomach bug. I was so mad because I really wanted to do this race! And I had already paid for it. But as the day went on, I started rationalizing what would really happen if I couldn’t do it. I at least could get myself out of bed in the morning to pick up my free (kinda paid for) t-shirt. Then I figured if I could get out of bed for a t-shirt, I could at least stay and hang out for a bit and cheer on people that I know (and I suppose people I didn’t know). I debated setting my alarm for the morning and was really contemplating just skipping it when I suddenly remembered. Medals to all finishers. Problem solved. I set my alarm.

I woke up feeling much better. No stomach pains, no nausea. I was glad I didn’t have to try and endure a 5K while feeling yucky. I knew I had to eat something since all I had was soup the day before, so I went with a bland bagel with nothing on it and vanilla yogurt. I couldn’t finish the bagel and halfway to the race, I started getting stomach pains again. Excellent. I got my race number and t-shirt and went back to my car to sit and try to relax before the race.

Look at that. The date. Ten cool points.

Eventually I heard someone talking over a megaphone and I figured I should pay attention. I wasn’t even thinking about not doing the race at this point, because I still hadn’t forgotten about the medals to all finishers. Although, I was replaying the race route in my mind thinking, where I could possibly cut off part of the race and only do, like, a mile. Just kidding. Actually, no, I actually thought about it. But I knew I wouldn’t actually do it, so technically, still kidding. Maybe.

By race time I was feeling better, no stomach pains or nausea, so that was good. And of course there was a guy playing his bagpipes there, so that makes most things better. Or worse, depending on how you look at it.

Yes I sure did get right next to him as he was playing.

I did a fairly good walking warm up before the race so I didn’t have to start out walking. I was doing pretty good with my walking/running intervals and was faster per mile than I had ever been during a race, so I was feeling pretty confident that I’d be able to beat my previous time. Pretty awesome feeling, especially since they were giving medals to all finishers. It would be sweet to get a medal on a day I got a PR.

At one of the loops (the only loop) there was a volunteer cheering everyone on. She had a positive comment for every single person who passed by her and she was funny. I asked her what her name was because I knew that the second I got back to the finish line, I had to tell someone to give Maureen a raise, because she’s an amazing person. So nice, so encouraging, funny, and just amazing. But then I remembered that the race was sponsored by the Stow Conservation Trust, which is a committee, and most likely unpaid. AND, she was a volunteer. Duh. This is what running does to me. I get dumber. But she was awesome!

So, besides by blond moment, everything was great. Until I hit 1.4 miles. Sharp pains in stomach. Waves of nausea. Turning of the head, bending over the bushes. Almost puked. Almost. False alarm. Sucked down some more water to keep it all down. And kept moving.

And then I was fine. Until 2.5 miles. Same sharp pains in stomach. Same waves of nausea. Different bushes. Almost puked again. Almost. Same false alarm. OUT OF WATER. Kept moving anyway.  Then it was downhill for a while. Literally. On the downhill, there was a water station and some great volunteers hooking me up with that sweet, sweet (and much needed) H2O.

After that, I was okay until the end of the race and after, when I tried to eat an orange. Best diet ever, right? Put food in, get sick, and don’t want to eat. Besides the pain, I like it!

I finally heard the bagpipes again, so I knew I was getting close to the end of the race. I saw my friends near the finish line and then I saw the clock showing a time of 48:xx. I actually got excited, because I haven’t don’t a 5K under 50...ever.

The race results have me down for a time of 49:28, but with no chip timing and me crossing the start line after the actual start, my Garmin says I finished with a time of 49:03. As I was crossing the finish line, I was yelling to my friends “Look! Under 50! Under 50!” and I almost stopped. They had to remind me to keep going and actually cross the finish line instead of looking at my time. I’m smart. Right as I finished, there were volunteers handing out the medals. Yes, even with a time of 49:03, I got a medal!

Obviously I'm so proud of myself here.
And wicked excited about the medal!

And I was NOT LAST. I was second to last. But NOT LAST!

I beat my previous 5K time by 2:25. That’s pretty damn good right? 

After all that drama throughout the race, I looked around for my free massage. Yeah, they weren't there. Liars.

Margaritas 5K Race Report

My 2nd 5K of 2011

So we all know by now that I’m not in this 5K business for the running. I'm in it for the T-shirts and the free stuff. Aren't most people? No? Okay, maybe it’s just me. It's no secret that I'm not a fan of running. I think I've mentioned it a few times before. However, I'm determined to complete my triathlon in September and running a 5K is part of it. My goal by September is to be able to run the entire 5K. I don't care how slow I go (that's a lie, I don't want to be last!), I just want to finish.

Anyway, about the Margaritas 5K race. Great concept. Not impressed. The Stonyfield Earth Day 5K was so well organized and filled with sponsors and volunteers who were on their game and it spoiled me. The Margaritas 5K had great volunteers, but it lacked everywhere else. Besides the free Mexican food and free margaritas after the race (no thanks, I'd rather not drink alcohol after sweating out my toxins) there wasn't really much to it. The T-shirts were bright orange with Margaritas 5K sprawled across the front. No date or other information to determine the time and place. I'm betting they'll use the same ones next year. I would rather it show something to distinguish it from year to year. But, obviously not my decision.

I’m not gonna lie. I check out race details every time I sign up for one and if it says, "T-shirt to the first 500 registrants", I'll act as if I'm registering and if it doesn't give me a space to select my T-shirt size, I know they've surpassed 500 and I don't bother. Maybe that makes me a race snob, but it's one of my things. I want mementos to remember my races.

Back to the race. I didn't do so well. Well, I didn't do badly either. I did my thing, but I didn't feel so good doing it. I had played softball the day before and I was the pitcher. Every pitch is like a lunge, so my left ass cheek was a little sore in the muscle department (along with my right arm/pec/boob area, but that's a different story!). Before the race, I actually warmed up this time. Kinda. And was ready to go when they said go. Yes, they actually said "On your mark, get set, GO, go, go, go, go". Really? Okay. So we went. But there was no start line. They gave us bibs to record our chip time, but no start line. So when they said go, they set the clock off and when you cross the finish line, they get your time with a chip sensor. They set up two traffic barricades to act as the start line, but NO START LINE. I know I'm not exactly a race connoisseur, but uh, there's supposed to be a start line, right? 

Anyway, I had my Garmin on so I recorded my time myself. I started off running (HA…jogging…slowly) and didn't go very far, but probably farther (and longer) than I have before, only because there were crazy people running behind me and I didn't want to stop short in front of them. I'm considerate like that. I didn't glance at my Garmin to check the time, although I should have. I immediately felt pain and tightness in my shins. Excellent. As I was walking I felt like I was barely moving and the person I was with kept holding up her stride for me. I felt bad so I told her to go on with out me. But before she did, another one of our group members was off to the side waiting for us. I told her to leave me as well. I felt bad that I was holding up someone else's race time because I'm a slow walker, but she was having pains in her hip so she decided to walk with me and attempt some run intervals here and there. I was grateful to have her there and she definitely helped me keep a faster pace than I normally would have. (Thank you again, a million times, Jenn!!!!)

As we trudged on, my left knee started hurting as well. I was literally falling apart. My left side was not agreeing with the race, apparently. Every time we saw a mile marker sign - yes, all 3 of them - we ran (again, laughter, jogged slowly) to it then walked again. Towards the end of the second mile, I saw that someone had lost their jacket. I grabbed it to bring back to the volunteer stand and hopefully find its owner. About 30 seconds later, I found a set of headphones and grabbed those as well. Same pretenses. Each time I bent over to get them off the street, I fell apart some more. My hip started hurting, then my lower back – both on the left side. My hypochondriac self thought briefly, “Ohmigod, I'm having a stroke”. But I kept moving. I'm probably okay.

I saw a volunteer along the side of the road waving us on with a flag. I told him, "Hey, I like your flag!" because I like to make conversation with random people when I'm in pain and still have to run more in the near future. He responded "Oh come on, the jacket is much better", while gesturing to his police like glow-in-the-dark vest. I replied, "Actually the hat is the best! Wish I had one". He then took it off his head and GAVE IT TO ME. I said, "Seriously?" and he said, "Yeah, sure, why not?". So at this point, I had a jacket, headphones and a hat in my possession, while still doing this race. And here, I thought the point was to not carry anything while racing.

I crossed the finish line at 52:27. Twenty seconds slower than my PR (personal record) at Stonyfield. At first I was bummed, since the whole point of this 5K business is to improve, but then I realized that I walked a LOT more than I had at Stonyfield and I was limping for part of this race. Therefore, if I had run as much as I had at Stonyfield, I'd have beat my time. That made me feel a little bit better. I also know I'm not always going to do better than the last time, even though I want to see constant improvement. This will not happen overnight, though I wish it would so I could stop training! I also need to stop being so negative. Eventually I will embrace running, but first I have to overcome my mental hurdles about it. I'm working on it.

After the race, they had chicken burritos and margaritas for everyone who had participated. The margarita line was 5 times as long as the burrito line. I get that people like their drinks (as do I from time to time) but after a 5K? I just couldn't. I also don't like tequila, so there's that. Instead I had myself a Kiwi-Strawberry Propel, which was amazing. I must buy myself some of those. It was yum.

We all hung around and chatted about the race, upcoming races, and discussed why we weren’t already friends on Facebook. And of course we took tons of pictures.

Before the race. See how happy we look?

After the race. Post race meal and drinks. See how tired we look?

NOT LAST!!

I was about halfway home when I realized that I threw my stuff in the car after the race and forgot to turn in the jacket and headphones I found. Plus side? Jacket is my size.

I also now have a shirt to wear to work on Cinco de Mayo!

**UPDATE** I received an e-mail from a representative at Loco Sports regarding this blog about the Margaritas 5K. I don't think they were too happy with my comments!! Check out her e-mail and my response to it here. :)