Even racewalkers have to warm up! I'm already in the car keeping warm.
Kent coming in strong
They had great post race food! There were Subway sandwiches, red beans and rice, different flavors of Jerky, chips and flavored Green Tea drinks. Also, sweet potato turnovers. It was all good!
Kent was awarded 2nd place. Actually, he was first. They gave the first place to a female and didn't correct it though she came up and got the award herself!!!! Regardless, he got a nice cap, a paddle ball set for the beach, and a $10 gas gift card from Circle K Stores.
Next race is the Leprechaun 5k in Robertsdale. Temperatures were much nicer just a few days later. I decided to run this race though it was still a little too early to be running hard after the marathon. I knew I could do the distance but my legs aren't completely where they should be but I wanted to give it a try. Thought if I could do it under 30 minutes then that would be good. We liked our shirts. Though they are not tech, they are still nice quality shirts.
I ran well and felt good. The out-and-back course was nice. It's funny how you don't realize a descend in the road until you are returning and it becomes an elevation. Though it wasn't much, it was about half the distance. The same with wind. You don't realize there is an 18 mph wind when it's against your back but when you turn around and face it, going uphill, then you begin to suck air. I'm glad I made good time going out because it dropped a little coming back. BUT...all I could think about was how good I felt and that I was running better than I thought I would...still hoping for a 10 minute pace. My legs felt good and not sore.
After coming in, I ran to get my camera to catch Kent coming in. He had another strong race.
This week's race, again, had good post-race food. There was great pizza...soooo good and hot. Then we had Irish Stew, in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Note to self: take pics BEFORE we start eating. But then, you may not want to see ALL we eat either, ha!
And, when it was all said and done, we both came out winners. Kent was the First Overall Male Racewalker and I got GrandMasters!! It's become harder to get the GrandMasters Award nowadays for a couple of reasons. One is the fact that younger, strong runners have entered the 50+ age group and I'm nearing the Sr. GrandMasters age and the other is that I am more focused on distance running which slows me down in shorter races. I've lost interest in 5ks because it seems I don't begin to "warm up" until 3-4 miles...which, in essence, the 5k race is over. But...with that said, it made me feel really good to know that I can run faster than I thought I could especially since I had not run hard in MONTHS, due to training for the marathon. Don't get me wrong...my time was terrible but my pace was better than it had been for a while. But I did get under a 9 minute pace...sooooo much better than ever expected. I'm looking forward to stronger, shorter races now.
Us and our awards.
And, here are our award cups up close. They are nice and large.
We loved these two races and hope to do them again next year. They were really nice and fun!
We ran up with Tanya D. from the Coast. She has lost a ton of weight since we saw her last. She looked great! We, also, saw our friends from LA Fleet Feet. We see them a lot running in races in the area. They are a great group of folks. Thanks, Diane G., for taking my picture here. You did great, too! Good job, Mo! You're comeback from your recent cancer surgery is amazing...keep up the good work!
Well, that's it for now. Let me hear how your runs are going. And, if you're not running, it's time for you to get out and
Run 4 It
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