SLRC Free 5k - Race Report

What a great Saturday!

My dad, being the awesome guy that he is, came to our house at 7am to watch the kids so we could go run the Salt Lake Running Company Free 5k. My sister was going to come with us, but she ended up having to work so it was just Pete and I. It was really nice, especially since we don't get out by ourselves much lately.

It was kind of hard to get up that early and make such a big deal about running 3 miles (excuse me, 3.1 miles). When we looked out the window and saw snow on the ground we were a little less than excited. But we grabbed some jackets, scraped the ice off the car, and headed down to the store.

I used 2 kid headbands to serve the dual purpose of keeping my hair out of my face and keeping my ears warm. They did a good job. Don't I look awesome? I noticed that it was 34 degrees on the way there.

We got there by 7:15 so we could be there for the raffle, in which I had 3 extra tickets (!!) since I bought my shoes there the other day. They were giving away awesome stuff like a tri suit, lots of shoes, shirts, fuel belts, and even a Garmin!

There were 1,000 people doing the race, and half of us squeezed into the store to watch B.J. Christensen announce the raffle winners. We got nice and toasty warm in there! Unfortunately, my extra 3 tickets didn't do any good, but oh well. It was a fun atmosphere to be around anyway.

At 8:00, we all walked down from the store to the starting line which happened to be right by where we parked . We were able to drop our jackets off since the sun had come out and it had warmed up a bit. I still had long sleeves and gloves and that was just perfect.

UPDATE: Here's the video they put out. You can see me talking to Pete at the start about 23 seconds in. :)

My ankle was feeling awesome, but as soon as we started running, I could feel it again. It never really got painful, just a little sore, so it wasn't a big deal. I stayed with Pete for a little over a mile. He had the Garmin so I had to stay with him if I wanted to know my stats. Plus it was just fun to run with him. We've actually never ran a race together. We've done tris together, but then we don't get to start together and only see each other in passing on the course. This was actually Pete's first 5k that wasn't in a tri. He commented on how weird it was to be running with so many people around us. In a tri, you're pretty much by yourself with a few other people here and there.

We ran down this beautiful tree-lined street and it looked magical all covered in snow. I may have been the only one, but I was now happy it had snowed.

I told Pete to go ahead if it felt like I was holding him back, and he did begin to pull ahead just before we got to the turn around. I could see him for about half the way back, then I lost him. I think I slowed down quite a bit, but I did try to keep pushing. When I was starting to wonder if it would ever end, I suddenly heard a stampede of people coming up behind me. Like a heard of cattle in the desert that had just seen water, they had seen the finish line. I wasn't going to let them pass me! They were a good motivator to step it up and finish strong!

I crossed the finish line at 30:29 which was much faster than I could have hoped for after averaging 13:35 minute miles on Wednesday! I don't think I've ever been as close to throwing up after running as I was when I crossed that finish line! I was even moving over to the side of the road, and thinking, "Please no!" Luckily it passed after a minute of walking around. I just wish I had a faster time to show for it!

Here were are afterwards with our awesome matching, free shirts! (I know, I'm so good at taking pictures of myself!)

When we got home, the kids were all just as happy as clams to be spending time with Grandpa, including George. It's aways nice to know they're happy while we're gone.

After I got George fed and done for a nap, I hopped on the trainer to do my long ride. It may have been the perfect temperature for a run, but it was still way to cold to ride outside! I didn't mind, though. It was only a 90 minute ride, and I can do things on the trainer I can't do outside.


I can talk to my kids when they periodically come into the room. I can check twitter while I ride. I can listened to music, and not worry about anyone hearing me sing along to White Sky by Vampire Weekend (you try listening to that and not *trying to* sing along!).

Ok, maybe Pete heard me, and maybe he thought, "what the heck is she doing in there?" But he still loves me. :)

We spent the rest of the day cleaning, shopping and getting ready for our big family get together the next day. Then Pete's brother and his wife offered to watch the kids so we could go out to dinner! Two dates in one day, AND a race AND a solid trainer ride? Does it get any better than that?! I tell you it does not!