Old Town Beerun 5 Miler Race Report

Whew! This one was a doozy!  Mostly because I gave blood on Wednesday (3 days prior to race) and underestimated how much that would zap my energy.

But the race–and life–goes on…

Race: Old Town Beer Run (5 Miler), part of the Greensboro Race Series.

Goal: I had a lofty goal of beating last year’s 8K (= 5 Mile) time, but knew since it was hilly with lots of turns, and the whole giving blood thing… I just figured I’d try my best.  I did want to run 8 min/mile like I did in Charlotte, but that went out the window quickly!

Gear: Oiselle team tank & Roga shorts, North Face bra (trying to go with the green theme), Smartwool undies and socks, Garmin 235, iPod, new Mizuno Wave Rider 21’s. Dog not included.

Gut: With a start time of 4 PM, I ate lunch around 12:30 (eggs, toast, rice & chicken small portions). I made sure to drink 32 oz of Nuun electrolytes (16 morning + coffee, and 16 oz prior to the race, lemon lime flavor in keeping with St. Patty’s day green). Then right before the race, I tried a GU Gingerade (not bad!) and washed it down with about 4 oz water.  Tummy felt great the whole time… but everything else didn’t 🙁

Weather: I hate to complain but it kinda felt hot… It was 68* and sunny! Considering last week I ran in snow, this felt BRUTAL during the race.  I stopped at both water stops and drank some, then dumped some on my back.

Pre-race: The boys came with me, so we arrived at 3:15 and parked in the lot behind the Old Town Draught House on the UNCG campus in Greensboro.  We chilled in the grass, then I ran a 1 mile warm-up.  I ran it in 10 min, and it didn’t feel super easy like it normally does, so I knew it would be a rough day.  Thankfully my body felt rested and no tummy troubles, but I was about to have all kinds of troubles…

Race! I started way too close to the front, so I pretty much got passed the entire way.  I knew right away it wasn’t going to be my day, so I told myself to just try to “Run Happy” and not worry about any times. I didn’t look at my watch except to see the distance a few times.  I couldn’t believe how hilly and turn-y the course was, and kinda sulked in my misery a little.  My energy just wasn’t there at all.  I had zero “pep in my step” as Javi likes to say.  The race became this big mental challenge to just keep running and not stop to walk (altho I did twice, for water).  I can’t say much else, other than this was a bit of a pity party for me, then I reminded myself that I gave the gift of life (blood), and I shouldn’t feel bad about being slower than usual.  Not every race can be a good one, but of course it’s frustrating when I know I’m capable of so much more.  I vowed to get some iron in me later to help the red blood cells regenerate!  I did have a yummy steak dinner cooked by my amazing hubby later on 😉

Oh, and I did have a tiny little sprint finish, so I could beat this girl that I’d been leap-frogging the entire race.  Very classy 🙂

Thanks to my sweet hubby for these pics.  BTW, when I crossed the finish, he says to me “Slow day at the office, huh?” LOL!

Results: from the Garmin…

…and from the race website.  I came in 5th in my age group, with a time of 42:52, which was disappointing but expected.  I needed to be nearly 2 min faster to catch 3rd place, so it’s fine… Next year!

Review: I enjoyed the St. Patty’s/beer theme for sure.  Pre/post race party had a great energetic vibe.  Also, the race T-shirt was pretty cute (nice fabric and design, long sleeve).

The cons… late start means waiting around all day to race, the course wasn’t my fave (hills/turns in abundance!)  Not getting an age group award meant coming home empty-handed (no medal… unless we count the beer?)

 

I chose this race over St. Leo’s 10K, which was the same day, because it’s part of the GSO Race Series.  Next year, I might do St. Leo’s again… not sure?!

Did you run a St. Patty’s day race?  How do you cope with a bad race?