Sunday, October 24, 2010

Monster Mash 5K - A HUGE Success!

I went into this race wanting to have a PR. The current 5K PR was 33:44, which I set in May just before hip bursitis and the summer heat had me sidelined for a while.  


Saturday morning I was up at 5am, at my mom's by 6:15am, and on the road by 6:30am. Check in started at 8:15, so we kind of got there 30 minutes early. But that's okay, my nerves were calmed just by getting to the parking lot.  I was pleasantly surprised upon checking in to find out that not only did I get the socks that were promised, and the cool tech-shirt I paid extra for, but also a backpack with a water bottle and an apple inside! My number? Oh my number ... I'm pretty sure that gave me an extra confidence booster. If you can't feel cocky when you have my race bib, then when can you?  Yes, today I was OchoCinco! Not Chad Johnson, but ME! Little ol' me. Perhaps it is an OSU Beaver thing? We grow up to have #85 in our adult lives?? After I was checked in I had to head over to the costume judging tables. I had no idea I was going to have to stand in front of about 6 people all asking me questions about my costume and my inspiration. Yikes!


Malice in Horrorland
Here I am trying to explain that my bunny wasn't fast enough. He was late. So he met his demise ... by ME. After seeing who won I realize they had NO taste in costumes. I mean really, the girls that won best duo were just in some neon shirts and were trying to look 80s. I saw costumes that were soooo much better than the winners - and better than mine, too.  But that's okay. I didn't expect to win, I just wanted to dress up and be silly for once in my running life!
She thinks cheerleaders should have jazz hands!
For the first time since March, my dear Mommy was my cheerleader! She wasn't too thrilled about the cold temperature, but it eventually thawed out and she was fine. We had a blast before the race just watching the costumes on the dogs! So many cute dogs were dressed up, one was even wearing glasses! And they were so well behaved. My little Lady would NEVER be able to do this. Aside from the fact that she is out of shape and chubby, she does NOT like dogs. I'm pretty sure she doesn't realize she is one.
I've never seen such a huge dog - and this one had a parrot!
Okay, so time for the race. It was chaotic at the start. I was disappointed that it wasn't chip timed, so I vowed to be closer to the start than I normally would. Unfortunately they decided not to start dogs, strollers and walkers after the runners, so the first bits were spent trying to get around them. Ugh. Didn't they know I had a time to beat here??


I was run over by a stroller. And then a dog. I admit for the first half of a mile I was not thrilled. I did manage to work up a happy "look at me I'm going to kick ass" moment for the camera though!
Hi Mom!
The crowd finally thinned out and I found myself constantly by/slightly behind this woman that had to be in her late 50's. We were going fast. I mean faster than I ever go. I would try to slow down, but I couldn't do it. So I just kept with her. Around mile 2 I passed her and never saw her again. I couldn't believe I was passing people, and rarely being passed. I was soaking it all in - and also felt like I was soaking in sweat. That costume, as flimsy as it is, is NOT breathable at all. I was ready to rip it off at mile 2.5. I just wanted to get to the end so I could switch into a normal shirt (I had a running skirt on underneath.)  A 10K and 5K were happening at the same time. Nearly every single person running the race was from Eugene, so when they heard the instructions that 5K was supposed to take the Defazio bridge, well I'm sure they knew what that was. Me? Not so much. I lost a couple of seconds asking directions from people behind me when I got to that point.

So here I am, coming off the bridge, down into Alton Baker Park. I can hear the crowd and I know my mom is somewhere with my camera. Did I ever mention how she doesn't know how to use one and was very nervous about her job as professional photographer? She did a good job!  Okay, so the finish line is ahead of me, and in true fashion I kicked it into high gear. I wasn't going to leave anything on that course. This PR was going to be mine.  A woman and her two dogs were blocking my path. I felt bad, but she saw me coming and started to move. I said, "Thanks! I'm getting my PR!" So then she laughed and cheered me on. I was FLYING. It was awesome!  I crossed the finish line. Immediately hit stop on my Garmin. Looked down in disbelief. Squealed something -who knows what I said?? And jumped into the air so high. I couldn't believe it. And maybe you don't either? Well .... my "professional" photographer managed to capture it!


Final time (my Garmin was only 2 seconds off from their official time - not bad) .... 31:11 according to the race directors!  Let me refresh you .... prior PR was  33:44.  NOW 31:11. Holy cow!!

I didn't win any awards, but I did the best I have ever done! Overall I was 105 out of 209 5K runners. (There were 3 overall race categories going on.)   Here's the stat I am thrilled with ... 6 out of 19 in my division. Yipee!!

After the race they had no water for humans. The dogs were all hooked up, but humans could have chocolate milk (which is a no for me since I have my 16 year no chocolate New Year's resolution thing) or they could buy coffee. Hmm.  I found a drinking fountain. My mom and I split a bagel, grabbed a flashing light thing for me to put on when I run in the dark, and a bag of Beggin' Strips for my darling dog, Lady!

Then it was off to shop for leg sleeves. The guy in the store wouldn't even get off his ass to help me. He looked at me like I didn't know what I was talking about when I asked where I could find them. Then he said,  if we had anything like that they'd be over there.  Gee -thanks. Well, I found some Adidas leg sleeves for only $12. Figured that was inexpensive enough that I could try them out before buying something else. Next stop - pizza. Then the Metropol bakery for some bread to take home. Then a detour to Pre's Rock which was a failure due to road construction. Bummer.  I was kind of talking to my running idol during my race when I was needing extra oomph to push me through - so I was hoping to go to his rock. But that's okay, Pre still helped me! ;)

Hooray for no rain - I thought that eye shadow would be all over my face!

19 comments:

  1. Great job on the PR and man that is one huge dog! This race must have been quite fun!

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  2. You looked so cute! Your mom did great as your photographer--is she for hire? Congrats on your PR!

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  3. AWESOME PR!! Congrats! :) The costume looked awesome too, beautiful day for a run!

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  4. Congrats on the PR! Thats so awesome :)

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  5. Great job!!!! I loved your costume too!

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  6. Congratulations on your PR! That's awesome. And I agree, your mom did a fabulous job with the photos!

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  7. YAY for a new PR!! Congrats! You did awesome! Love your race report. I don't get it when walkers don't go to the back..HELLO PEOPLE! You should have won a prize for your costume!

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  8. Oh. My. Goodness... that photo of you jumping is the best race photo EVER. Way to grab that PR!!!!!!! Woo-hoo. Although, I was hoping for full bloody face make-up in true RR style!

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  9. great job ... too bad you couldn't have popped little miss muffet in front of you. That would have been a great finishing picture!

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  10. Woo hoo!! And I adore the shot of you crossing the finish line! Great job!!

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  11. Awesome job! That is one awesome time you racked up there. And your costume is perfect! It looked like you had a great time. And kudos to your Mom for snapping that stellar photo - it totally captures the feeling of the whole race.

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  12. Congrats on your PR!! That's so awesome. I love the picture of you coming in at the finish line...I think those are always my favorites...especially when you had such a great run!!

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  13. Huge congrats to you! It has been a great month huh! Buffet and a PR! Congrats again.

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  14. Congrats on the PR! I am so proud of you! The pictures are awesome, and I love the super bad ass finish line one. *high five*

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  15. YAY! Look at you in your cute/semi scary costume! ;) Congrats on your PR!! That's a big improvement!! You're awesome! :D

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  16. Yay for the PR!!!! What a great costume too -- the theme this year for the Run Like Hell Portland was Alice in Wonderland, that would have been perfect for it!

    And wow, 16 years without chocolate???

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  17. Awesome job on the PR and I absolutely love that finishing photo in your costume. That's got to be one of the best race photos I've ever seen. Congratulations!

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  18. Awesome photo finish! Sounds like you had a super run and a PR too!! Plus you looked great - can't get better than that :)

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  19. Yay!! Congrats on the PR!! And great photos of you!

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