Vinton Fall Festival 5K Race Report

If you've been reading my race reports for a while, you know I've had a discouraging year.  Coming back from injury (and, for that matter, having twins) is hard.  I almost didn't run this race, but in the end my friend Steve talked me into it by telling me what a fun and fast race it was.

I picked up my race packet and walked back to my car, where I sat for a while trying to warm up.  It was a misty and cool morning, which was bad for waiting but good for the running part!  The race packet had one of the oddest hodgepodge of goodies I've ever seen.  I mean I don't typically get a dog treat in my race packet.  Luckily, I also got a toothbrush, so at least I could brush my teeth after fueling up for the race with a dog biscuit.  Okay, so truthfully I saved the dog biscuit for Scooter, who really loved it.

The race started right on time.  I went out fast and tried to hold.  The mist was so thick you couldn't see much at one point.  I loved that!   There were no mile markers and I didn't wear a watch, so I just ran by heart.  The course is really quite flat - there are some small grades but nothing that could actually qualify for a hill.

At the halfway point I kind of realized I was the third female.  And that there were two other females on my tail, so I'd better hold strong and push if I wanted to hold my lead.  I was hoping the two females behind me weren't planning to run a negative split, because I knew I couldn't go any faster.  Getting an overall award is really rare for me, as I'm not very fast, but if there's an opportunity it does motivate me to perform well.  Luckily, this race I didn't have anything holding me back - no asthma, no nausea, no side stitch.  I just felt great and I dug deep and ran.

I was thrilled to cross the finish line in 23:20.  That's not a PR for me, but it's a significant improvement from where I've been. The race may have been short - I wouldn't be surprised because I was really expecting to run in the 24 minute range.  But the one lady's Garmin I checked did say 3.11.  And in the end, I was the 3rd overall female, so I got a very nice plaque plus two $15 Road ID gift certificates.

While it's always exciting to get an award, I care a lot more about my performance in comparison to myself (because really whether you get an award or not is just based on how fast the other people are who show up for the race on any given day!).  And regardless of whether the race was short or not, I feel like I ran strong and I felt good during this race, so that's a great boost for my running self-confidence, at a time when I need it.  And now I have to decide if I want to try to attempt the 10 miler later this month.  I'm still on the fence, as I'm really not trained for it.  Ha ha, I guess we'll all find out in a few weeks, huh?

Alison Hart contacted me yesterday and said that she was thrilled with the response to her book giveaway, and she would be happy to give away two copies of her book!  So hooray for two winner, and thanks to Alison!  The winners of Alison Hart's book Risky Chance are Valerie from For the Love of Pete and In the Hammock Blog.  Congrats to Valerie and In the Hammock Blog, and thanks so much to all who entered!