"When I do the best I can with what I have, then I have won my race." Jay Foonberg



Saturday, March 5, 2011

ECO 5k

It was so good to race again! It's been too long. Now, don't take me wrong, the marathon was a race but for me it was more of finishing than a race. My racing for me had been put on hold during my training as I didn't want to take a chance of incurring an injury just before the marathon. We'd signed up for the ECO 5k but as the weather begin to worsen we weren't sure we were going to make it. But decided to bite the bullet and go for it.

Festivities began the night before when we picked up our packet. They were held at the quaint little Mockingbird Cafe. I loved the ambience and art there. We were also treated with a choice of a hamburger or veggie burger with drink and Miss Vicki's chips as part of our race fee. Let me tell you, that is probably the absolute bestest hamburger we've EVER eaten!! I'm not talking size (though it was huge), I'm talking taste. It was 100% Angus beef, at least an inch thick. It was on a roll type bun made with cheese and jalapeno's in it. Oh my goodness...it was fine!!! We could not finish it, it was so huge.

Race day started out with a 100% percent chance of rain forecasted but for "some" reason it delayed until lunch. The winds had been so strong for a couple of days and nights with gusts up to 30 mph, but they had subsided some. This was a biathalon (kayaking and running) AND a 5k race. You could do either one. But the wind and currents were so bad (a small craft advisory had been issued) that the kayaking was deemed unsafe and was canceled; therefore moving everyone to the 5k race. Even that was a bit questionable. We spoke with a couple of EMT's before the race and they were concerned because of a terrible storm that was to be there in about 30 minutes...the time the race was to start. With this in mind, we planned on racing in the rain. Unless the weather presents circumstances like lightning, it's not cancelled. We, also, met up with Ed W., lovingly called "Special Ed", and he took pictures until his disk reached "full" and that ended his tour of duty.

Here's Kent & I...okay...we didn't plan to dress alike. We NEVER do! And, I almost wore my black/gray cap, too.

At the beginning. Me in the middle and on the far right is Tommy P. Great job in your run, TP!

Ed on the left. Thanks so much for taking your time to snap a few pics.

ADDED NOTE: I forgot to mention this when I initially wrote the article but I really wanted to. There was a very nice man, D. Baria, who came up behind me when I was coming to the Finish Line. He was like an angel. Seems he just "appeared" right behind me and pushed me to run harder at the end. He could have easily ran past me but stayed right behind and kept telling me to "beat" him forcing me to run harder and harder. Thank you so much, D. You'll never know what that meant to me. Because you were so close and yet behind me I never got a good look at your face so I could never find you and tell you what that meant. I hope you read my blog so you will know now that "I thank you" for your help!

Because it continued to look like the sky was going to split wide open, we immediately left when the race was finished and headed back over to the Mockingbird Cafe where post race activities were going to take place. We received an extra shirt, an energy drink and a wrist band which gave us access to LOTS of good food, drink and homemade cookies. There were sausage and chicken jambalaya, chicken with tomatoes and onions in vermicelli, and a black bean with rice and pork loin dish followed by very large oatmeal raisin homemade cookies. Of course, there were energy drinks, beer, and coke products. It was delish! Here are some pics of the Mockingbird Cafe.

Here are the pics of the 5k winners. Loved the masks that the top winners got. They were all different and very pretty.

Overall Male

Overall Female

Masters Winners: Nancy & Leonard

Grand Masters Winners...that's me!

My Cool Mask!

Also, received this pretty handmade plaque

Race report can be found here. Thanks to Leonard and everyone who made this race a very successful one in spite of the weather! Great job...

2 comments:

Ed said...

Robbie, your reports are always fun to read. And you are also a photo-op looking for a place to happen (photogenic!) Kent's not too shabby either. :^)

Happy Feet 26.2 said...

Hello Robbie, I'm just catching up with your race report. congrats! welcome back to the short races. Looks like it was a fun one.

2019 Races

  • 05/11/19...9.38 mile Good Life Ride
  • 04/13/19...Raven 5k
  • Dec. 15 - Mar. 8 2019...175 Mile Challenge
  • 02/16/19...Sweetheart 5k
  • 01/19/19...Casio Bridge 5k...DND

2018 Races

12/09/18...MS Gulf Coast Half Marathon
12/01/18...Honeybee 5k (cancelled-weather)
11/17/18...Seville Quarter Turkey Trot 5k
11/11/18...Battleship 12k
10/20/18...Hope Haven Run for Hope 5k
10/13/18...Shrimp Festival 5k
09/29/18...Don McCloskey 5k
09/01/18...Bloody Mary 5k
01/27/18...Casino Bridge 5k

Through December...200 Mile Fall Challenge
Through August...175 Mile Spring Challenge
Through June...150 Mile Spring Challenge

2018 Goals

Bike 500 miles.
Improve gear shifting.
Strength training 2 hours/week.
Run 600 miles.
Improve running without walking.
No processed sugar 75% of time.
Improve positive thinking.
NEVER give up!

2017 Races

  • 12/10/17...MS Coast Half
  • 12/09/17...MS Coast 5k
  • 11/25/17...Kaiser Half
  • 11/18/17...Wild Turkey Trot 5k
  • 11/11/17...Rotary Oyster 5k
  • 10/14/17...Shrimp Festival 10k
  • 02/18/17...Sea Turtle Half
  • 02/04/17...Double Bridge 15k
  • 01/29/17...Big Beach Half

2017 Bike Rides

  • 10/01/17...Southern Magnolia Ride [25.85]
  • 05/13/17...Good Life Ride [26]

Series

  • MS Coast Double Down...5k & Half
  • Run The Beach...3 Half's

2017 Goals

  • Back-to-Back Races [Done]
  • 3 Half Marathons [Done +1]
  • 1,000 Miles-No
  • First Half Marathon Series [3 Done]
  • Work on core/strength 2-3 times a week-No
  • Lose 25 pounds-No
  • NEVER give up! YES!!
  • Control/Eliminate refined sugars-Good

2016 Races

  • 10/15/16...Shrimp Festival 5k
  • 05/30/16...Fiesta Five Flags 5k
  • 03/19/16...Azalea Trail 10k
  • 03/13/16...St. Pat's Leprechaun 5k
  • 03/05/16...Bay to Breakfast 12k...1st trail race
  • 02/20/16...Sea Turtle Half
  • 02/13/16...Double Bridge 15k

2016 Goals

  • Run 1,000 miles-Done
  • Bike 300 miles
  • Half Marathon-Done
  • Eat fruit daily
  • Push through the hard times-Done
  • Cut back on refined sugar

2015 Races

  • 12/19/15...Make It To The Line 4 Miler
  • 11/21/15...Wild Turkey Trot 5k
  • 11/14/15...Oyster 5k
  • 10/10/15...Shrimp Festival 5k
  • 05/30/15...PHind a Cure-W/D
  • 05/02/15...Fiesta Five Flags 5k
  • 04/18/15...Zydeco 5k - W/D
  • 04/??/15...Virtual Remember the Fallen 5k
  • 04/??/15...Virtual Boston Strong 5k
  • 04/11/15...Magnolia 5k
  • 03/28/15...Azalea Trail 10k
  • 03/07/15...Circle K 5k
  • 03/01/15...Gulf Coast Lulu's 10k
  • 02/28/15...Sweetheart 5k
  • 02/07/15...Double Bridge 15k

2015 Goals

  • 1 Half Marathon
  • Eat fruit daily
  • Overlook past failures
  • Push through the hard times/things

2014 Races

  • 12/06/14...St. Jude's Half Marathon
  • 08/16/14...Pinky 5k Virtual
  • 08/15/14...Howl @ the Moon 10k Virtual
  • 02/15/14...Sweetheart 5k
  • 02/01/14...Double Bridge 15k

2014 Goals

  • 1 Half Marathon
  • 700 Running Miles
  • Strengthen my Upper Body
  • Recuperate, Recover, Renew
  • Get active in WW
  • Eat Fruit Daily
  • Start Clean Eating
  • Begin Eliminating Sugar from Diet

2013 Races

11-30-13...Stennis 5k
11-23-13...Turkey Trot 5k
11-08-13...Run For The Kids Virtual Half [St. Jude's]
10-12-13...Shrimp Festival 5k
09-22-13...Talladega Half
07-04-13...Wesson 2 Miles
06-29-13...Emz Liverpalooza 5k
05-18-13...Pursuit of Fun 5k
04-20-13..Warrior Dash
04-07-13...Gulf Coast Half-Pensacola
03-23-13...Azalea Trail 10k
03-10-13...Leprechaun 5k
02-24-13...NOLA Marathon
02-02-13...Double Bridge 15k-Pensacola
01-13-13....Gulf Coast Half-Lulu's

2013 Goals

  • 3 Half Marathons-Done-Plus 1
  • 1 Marathon-Done
  • 1000 Running Miles-No, due to RC Tendonitis & Broken Shoulder
  • Eat fruit daily-A little aggressive but better
  • Maintain weight in 130's-Did NOT happen!

2012 Races

12-08-12...FloraBama Jingle Bell 5k
11-24-12...Jingle Bell 10k
11-17-12...Turkey Trot 5k
10-27-12...Jazz Half
10-20-12...OS Rotary 5k
10-13-12...Race for Grace 5k
09-29-12...5k For Katlyn
07-04-12...Wesson 2 Mile
04-15-12...Gulf Coast Half...[Withdrew-bronchitis]
04-14-12...Diversity Dash 5k
03-24-12...Azalea Trail 10k
03-03-12...MS50 20k...[Withdrew-bronchitis]
02-25-12...Kids Need Heroes 5k
02-11-12...Sweetheart 5k
02-04-12..Double Bridge 15k
01-14-12...Pensacola Half



2012 Goals

  • 1 Full Marathon-Marine Corp filled up
  • 3 Half Marathons-2 Down-Sick had to drop 2
  • 20 Miles-Wkly Mileage-Bronchitis kept me from this
  • Cross Training 2x Week-Poor Commitment
  • Weekly Weights W/O-Again Poor Commitment

2011 Races

  • 11-26-11...Kaiser Half
  • 11-19-11...Turkey Trot 5k
  • 11-11-11...Thumbs Up for Bill 5k
  • 11-05-11...Senior Bowl 10k
  • 10-22-11...Running the Streets 5k
  • 10-15-11...Shrimp Festival 10k
  • 10-08-11...Mullet Run 5k
  • 09-24-11...Waiting for a Cure 8k
  • 09-05-11...Labor Your Legs 5k
  • 07-04-11...Wesson 2 Miles
  • 06-04-11...Bay Fest 5k
  • 05-14-11...Stargazer 5k
  • 04-30-11...Fiesta 5 Flags 5k
  • 04-16-11...St. Benedict's 5k
  • 04-10-11...Gulf Coast Half
  • 03-26-11...Azalea Trail 10k
  • 03-19-11...St. Patrick's 5k
  • 03-05-11...Eco 5k
  • 02-13-11...Mardi Gras Marathon

Secrets to Running a 5k

Here is an excellent site for those who have thought about running a 5k race but just hadn't made that move yet. There's tips, directions and even a section on what to wear. If you have never run a race, you are missing out on a lot of fun. You will have support from most everyone you meet. Now for the site...click here to change your life and get started!

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