Pony Pasture 5k 2018 (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

As I was doing all of my recaps for the last few races I participated in, I realized that as of June, I had done at least one race a month.  Being half way through the year, I decided to see if I could finish the year doing at least one race a month.  I signed up for the Pony Pasture 5k that was on July 28th.  It was down by the river and after looking at the race results from last year, I knew that I would be able to finish before they packed up the finish line.


Pony Pasture is a popular hangout on the James River.  It is where people come to walk some of the trails, put their kayak/canoe/tubes in to ride down the river, or swim.  I was down there a few weeks ago with my photography workshop taking pictures.  The race was to start at 7:30 and while you could pick up your packet the night before, there was also packet pickup before the start of the race.  While the parking lot there is big, it would not accommodate all of the people expected, so they set up a shuttle from a shopping center which was close.

I had decided that I would pick up my packet before the race.  And since I knew the parking situation was not great, especially if I want to bring my shirt back to my car, I decided to get there a little before sunrise and take pictures as the sun rose.  I got there about 5:50 and brought my camera and tripod down to the river.  For the next 30 minutes or so, I just took different pictures as the sun came up.

By 6:30 I was packed up and ready to find the table where I could pick up my bib and shirt.  There was only one person in front of me and they just asked for our name, no ID needed.  The bibs were not chip timed, so I got the next bib on the stack.  They gave me my shirt and that was it.  The shirt is one of those soft cotton ones, which I like to wear around the house.


The park had real bathrooms, so I went to use them.  I then walked around some, stretched, and played on my phone till the race was ready to start.  At the start it was 72 degrees with 100% humidity.  I was drenched before we even started.  I debated on carrying a water bottle with me, but in the end I decided it was too much trouble.


The race was an out and back and everyone lined up on River Road for the start.  They played the national anthem and then we were off.  Not knowing how my knee would be, I decided on a 30/45 run/walk.  Soon enough the runners were ahead and there was a good little group around me doing different run/walk intervals.

River Road is very pretty with the river very close.  There were plenty of trees which provided plenty of shade, even though it was overcast through the first part of the morning.  They did not close the road from traffic, but since it was 7:30 on a Saturday, there were not a lot of cars out yet.


There was a water stop just after the first mile marker.  Just in time as I was getting thirsty.  Soon after that I could tell my knee was going to act up.  It wasn't hurting yet, but it was tight.  We continued down the road to the turn around.

Since it was an out and back, we had the same water stop again a little after the second mile.  On hot days like that, I am glad we had a second water stop.  By the second mile, my knee started to officially hurt.  I continued on, running slowly and making sure I took all of my walk breaks.  It wasn't bad like it was for the Star Wars Half, but it did hurt some.


Before I knew it, I had hit the 3 mile marker.  I couldn't believe that I was almost done.  Despite the humidity and a little bit of knee pain, it felt like I was only out there for a mile.  The finish line was a turn into the parking lot and down a small hill.  There were still tons of people there cheering the finishers on.  Since it was not chip timed, several people were calling out the bib numbers and the time as we ran down the chute.

This being a small race, there was no medal.  I kinda wished we got a medal instead of a shirt, but that's OK, I did only have to spend $20 for registration, so it's a win either way.  The only thing I didn't like was that I didn't see any water or fuel for after the race.  I didn't look very hard, as I had water at my car, but I did think that was odd.

I walked down to the water and got a finisher picture with the river.  I stretched some and headed home.  The good news was by the time I got home, my knee felt good.  So maybe I am on my way to recovery with it <knock on wood>.  Overall, I really enjoyed this race.  While it wasn't as exciting as the Run and Ride 5k from last month, it was just peaceful.  Everyone was super nice and encouraging and being down by the river was the icing on the cake.  I would do this race again.



Would you rather have a shirt or medal?  

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

Star Wars Dark Side Magic Kingdom 2018 vlog (Friday Five Edition)

I had finally caught up on all of my race recaps from the Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon Weekend.  Now I'm making my way through the vlogs.

In case you missed the recaps from the Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon Weekend in April:

• Expo & vlog
• 5k & vlog
• Magic Kingdom
• 10k 
• Half 

Here is my vlog from Magic Kingdom on Friday.  Enjoy!

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Star Wars Dark Side 5k 2018 vlog (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

I had finally caught up on all of my race recaps!  I know, finally.

In case you missed the recaps from the Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon Weekend in April:

• Expo & vlog
• 5k
• Magic Kingdom
• 10k 
• Half 

Here is my vlog from the 5k on Friday.  Enjoy!

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

Star Wars Dark Side Arrival and Expo 2018 vlog (Friday Five Edition)

I had finally caught up on all of my race recaps!  I know, finally.


In case you missed the recaps from the Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon Weekend in April:

• Expo
• 5k
• Magic Kingdom
• 10k 
• Half

Here is my vlog from my Arrival on Wednesday and the Expo on Thursday.  Enjoy!

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Run and Ride Kings Dominion 5k (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

There is a series of races around the country that has races through amusement parks.  No, this is not part of runDisney, but the Run and Ride series.  They put on different length races in four different amusement parks around the country.  I am lucky enough to have one of those four close to home, Kings Dominion.


This is the third year of the race and the weekend includes a 1 mile and 5k on Saturday and a Quarter Marathon (6.5 miles) and half on Sunday.  They also offer a ticket in the cost of the registration, but you had to use it the same weekend.  You could choose a lower costing registration that did not come with the park ticket as well.  There is also a Total Inversion challenge.  This included the Half or Quarter Marathon and the 5k.  The only thing that was on the web was that you get a 30% discount on the 5k.  I didn't even know that it existed except that I saw it was a cheaper option when I signed up for the 5k.  I went to try and figure out what that was and I couldn't find any other information.  I don't think they give any extra swag beyond what comes with each race.  I chose the 5k which took place on June 2nd.

I had been debating on doing this race for a few months.  As time got closer I was having issues with my knee and really didn't know if I should sign up and run another race with my knee acting up.  At the same time, this was a race that I really had wanted to do for the last couple of years.  In the end, I signed up for the race.  On Friday.  The day before the race.  I opted not to get the park ticket as I had to use it that weekend and I've been there several times in the past.  Even without the park ticket, signing up the day before made it an expensive race.

Thankfully they had packet pick-up before the race, so I didn't have to make two trips there.  I got there early to make sure I had time to get my bib and put everything in the car before the race.  I was glad I got there early as there was a huge line already.  It took me about 10 minutes to get through the line.  The swag was a hat that came with race registration.  I ended up paying to get the shirt too, because it was Snoopy themed.  Hello, cute!


The start area was right outside the park.  The theme was Peanuts, and they had some cute signs decorating the area.


This was my favorite.

I took my stuff to the car and came back to the start area.  I noticed that Charlie Brown was coming out.  I of course had to get a picture with him.


I hung around the start area and stretched some.  Soon, Snoopy came out.  He headed to the finisher backdrop and quickly a lined form to get a picture with him.  Glad I knew to follow him so I didn't have to stand in line.


The Clown Band had come out as well to entertain us till the start of the race.  They kinda reminded me of a marching band from school.  They played some songs for us and also told jokes.  Some were corny and some were actually a bit funny.


The band finished up about 5 minutes before the race and we were instructed to head to the start line.  The only issue there is that they filled up the area from front to back.  Since I wanted to be towards the back, I had to work my way through all the people standing at the front to get behind them.  They should have had us walk around to the back to fill in.


They soon played the national anthem and then we were off.  It was in the mid 70's with high humidity.  For the heat and humidity I don't think it bothered me too much.  At least at the start.  The first part of the race went through the parking lot, but very soon they had us in the park.  As I was running through I realized that it had been probably 15 years since I actually was in the park.  As I saw all the new things, it made me wish I opted for the park ticket. 


We came around and they had us running on the car track, but only for a very short time.


We then came to this dinosaur area, Dinosaurs Alive, that was new to me.  It looked like a path with life size replicas of different dinosaurs.  They were huge and some had buttons where you could press and have different parts move and make sounds.


Really cool. 

Then they had us go through a gift shop, which I found amusing.  My knee hurt a little at the beginning of the race, but by this time it worked itself out and felt fine. 


We went around the Wind Seeker, which was new to me.  It looked like a very tall swing type ride.


Then we came around to the Twisted Timbers.  This ride area used to be the Wayne's World coaster.  It is now the newest ride that they keep advertising on TV.  It is part wooden and part medal.  Not sure how that makes it different, but it's the newest coaster.


The next area they took us to was the water park side of the amusement park.  Last time I was here, they had some water rides, but I never actually been on them.  The heat had started to get to me and I realized that we hadn't had a water stop yet.  And I was thirsty.  The first part of Soak City we went through was a wave pool.  They actually had us run right next to it (with a life guard on duty).  I saw a guy ahead of me take his hat and get it full of water to dump on his head.


We ran by a splash pad, where water comes out of the ground and other designs.  This one was off and I was disappointed as I wanted to run through the water to cool down.  We ran through another wave pool area.  More people were splashing water on themselves.  We then ran past another splash pad and this one was on.  I ran through it and it felt so good.  A young girl followed suit behind me and then she complained that she was wet.  LOL.  We then ran by the Lazy River and I so just wanted to jump in and relax on one of the floats.


It was time for us to leave Splash City and head back into the other side of the park.  We ran by the Drop Zone.  That has been there since the last time I was there.


We cam back around to the area where the Shock Wave used to be.  That was a roller coaster that you stood up on.  They tore it down a few years ago.  We finally came to our first and only water stop.  I took 2 cups I was so thirsty.

We ran past the Country Kitchen.  That restaurant has been there since the first time I went to the park.  When we went as a family, we always had a meal there.


We then entered the Planet Snoopy section.  This is an area full of rides for little ones.


They turned us so we went into Safari Village.  This section of restaurants and shops was exactly how I remembered it.


We ran by my favorite ride of the park that I remember, Volcano.  It is such a smooth ride with a very fast take off.


We headed back into Planet Snoopy.  It really is a cute area of the park.


With Snoopy.


And Woodstock.


We came around and there was a hill towards the very end.  That is mean.  I turned the corner and there was the finish line!

After I got my medal I made a beeline to the water.  They were out of water bottles except for one case that was being opened as I go there.  Seriously, with it as hot as it was, I couldn't believe the lack of water.  I grabbed a bottle and downed it right there.  I was going to grab a second, but I noticed a jug to fill up water bottles and went over there to refill my bottle.  They did have plenty of chocolate milk, but I just wanted water.


I headed to my car and at that point I was glad I didn't get a park ticket.  I was hot, thirsty, and hungry and all I wanted was to take a shower to cool down and clean off all the sweat.


Except for the lack of water, this was an amazing race.  It kinda reminded me of runDisney at the beginning before they sold out in a day.  I am defiantly doing this one again, but will sign up earlier so I don't have to pay as much next time.  I'd sort of like to do the Quarter Marathon as well, but looking at the course, we spend half of it in the parking lot.  You really get great park time with the 5k.

Have you done a Run and Ride Race?  Do you prefer water or chocolate milk after a race?

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

Uncorked 5k 2018 (Friday Five Edition)

I made it through all of my Star Wars Dark Side race recaps, and now I have two non-Disney recaps to do.  I'm currently working on the vlogs for Star Wars, so those will be up soon.  Till then here is my recap on the Uncorked 5k that I ran on May 5th.


I received and email about a fairly new race, the Uncorked 5k and Half.  They were being hosted at the New Kent Winery just outside of town.  I had done a couple 10k races at this winery before, but this was something new.  This was the second year for the half, but the first year for the 5k.

A friend of mine, Lora, had started to get into running over the winter and had done one or two races since. She is a wine lover and thought this would be a fun race for us to do together.  On top of that, for an extra fee, there was a Sip & Savor brunch afterwards.  It included a VIP area to sit and watch the runners finish, brunch, and unlimited wine and mimosa.   Since she hadn't paid me back for our Harry Potter in Symphony tickets yet, she offered to pay for my VIP entry. 

As we coordinated packet pickup I found out another one of our friends, Dawn, had signed up as well.  The more the merrier.  Dawn was gracious enough to pick up all of our packets during packet pickup the night before.  Both Lora and Dawn had different bibs than I did that specified VIP, since they paid for theirs.  I had a bracelet with Lora's bib number on it that was to let me into the VIP section. 

The day of the race we all met at Dawn's house and she drove us to the winery.  From her house it was easier to take the back roads and, even though we were redirected by police because the roads were starting to be closed for the race, it was better then getting on the interstate.  When we got to the main entrance we saw a huge line of cars coming from the interstate.  There were so many cars that I had a feeling that the race was not going to start on time.  Once we parked, we heard someone say that there was also a golf tournament going on, and since there was only one road to both events, traffic was crazy.

We checked our bags and decided to find a bathroom inside since there were VIP benefits before the race.  The lady checking bibs kept asking me for my VIP bib and I showed her my bracelet.  She said that I would have to be with the person who's bib number I had on my bracelet.  We all thought that was a little bit of an overkill.

The half was supposed to start at 7:30 and the 5k at 7:45.  The half didn't get going till 7:45, which meant the 5k didn't start till around 8.  The three of us decided to do our own thing for the race.  Dawn, who is very fast, took off, while Lora and I were towards the back.  Lora had been doing Couch to 5k and said that she was about 5 minutes running with 2-3 minutes walking.  I planned on doing my normal 30/30 walk/run.


The first part of the course was down a hill on the gravel driveway.  There were tons of walkers in front of me that I couldn't get around on my run times, so I just decided to walk behind them till there was a safe path around them.  I was fine with that as it kept me from going out too fast and from slipping on the gravel.


The course was an out and back through the neighborhood around the winery.  Lora seemed to stay about 10-20 yards in front of me.  When we were about a mile in, we saw Dawn with the people already heading back.  Not long after that I started to catch up to Lora and passed her.  We came to the turn around and I kept an eye out behind me and noticed that she kept about 10-20 yards behind me.

We got back to the gravel driveway and I saw that Lora was still close.  I decided to walk up the path till she caught up and we would cross the finish line together.  Once she caught up, I told her we could finish walking up the hill, but she said no, she wanted to finish strong.  So we ran up the hill and crossed the finish line together.  It was actually really nice to finish a race with someone I knew.  Afterward, Lora said that she was glad that I waited and could finish together.

After we finished we went to get our bags and look through the few booths that were out.  They had one of those frame things to take finisher pictures with.  They had a merchandise booth and a couple others as well as the beer/wine areas where you could buy drinks.


We headed to the VIP section which was right next to the finish line.  The same lady was checking bibs there that was checking them before the race.  I showed her my wristband and pointed to Lora's bib at the same time.

The VIP had two big tented areas with about 5 big round tables each.  We decided to go to a table that was close to the start line.  On the chairs were purple and sea-foam green flip flops of different sizes.  After we chose our seats, we went to trade for different colors and sizes from other chairs.  There was also stemless wine glasses with the name of the race on them at each spot for us to take home.

We all went to the bar and ordered a drink, I went with a mimosa for my first drink.  We cheers'ed to a fun race and I went to change out of my race clothes.  As I left, I made a point to tell the lady that I have a bracelet and my bib person was at the table.  Thankfully she remembered that when I came back and did not need to get Lora to let me in.

We had brunch and a few drinks.  Since we were right by the bar, we had talked to the woman pouring drinks and her suggestions.  We did go with a couple of her suggestions.  We enjoyed watching the finishers come in.  The first woman for the half was right on the heals of the first man.  I loved seeing that.  We also saw the last 5k walker finish and we cheered as loud as we could for her.  We also saw a man who's two young daughters ran out on the course right before he finished.  They youngest insisted on being picked up, so he did and grabbed the other's hand and crossed the finish line with them in tow.

After awhile we decided that it was time to head out.  Before we did, we decided to head inside and buy a bottle or two of wine.

Overall, this was a very fun race.  I'd probably do it again, weather we did the VIP as well or not, but the VIP did make it very enjoyable.  I might even decide to do the half at some point.

Do you like watching the finishers come in?  Have you slowed down your race, just to finish with a friend?

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Star Wars Dark Side Half 2018 (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

I'm finally getting to my Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon Weekend recaps from April.


In case you missed previous posts from the Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon Weekend:

• Expo
• 5k
• Magic Kingdom
• 10k 

We didn't meet as early this morning like we did the other mornings.  We had no plans on getting any pictures before the start.  Like the 10k, the start of the Half was in the parking lot of Magic Kingdom.  We did the normal bag check, port-a-potties, stretching, and off to our respective corals.  Kelly and Franklin were in the same coral ahead of me and I was in coral F.

I tried to get excited about the run, but I was tired.  Physically and mentally tired.  It was in the low 70's and overcast.  There was a chance of rain during the morning and part of me just wanted it to rain to cut the humidity.

I tried to get as close to the front of the coral as possible so that I could have as much of a buffer from the balloon ladies as I could.  It felt like forever between the first coral and my coral to get going.  I started out with a 30/30 walk run, and within the first quarter mile my knee gave out on me.  It had been doing so good all weekend long, and now it hurt.  A lot.

I tried to keep up with my 30/30, but ended up walking a lot of the first mile.  I wanted to get it worked out so I could make it to the end.  It got to the point where it was bearable, but it was gonna suck to deal with it for another 3 hours.

We were on back roads with very little entertainment.  I at least thought ahead and brought my iPod and earphones.  It sprinkled for like a minute and made things more humid.  I continued to trudged away for about 4 miles before we got to Animal Kingdom.

We entered Animal Kingdom at the same place I had in other races, like the Marathon, but instead of going left, we went right and headed towards the new Pandora section.  Here I saw for the first time the back of the Tree of Life.  I'm not sure if I ever was in that part of the park before, or just never noticed.  I almost missed it except I saw people beeline over there to get pictures.


We went through Pandora land.  Don't ask me what that is behind me, but it was a photo stop.


We went though the Discovery Island and past the Tree of Life again, from the front.


And then over to Dinoland.


Through Animal Kingdom, I noticed a dog running a little behind someone.  I noticed this dog a few times and couldn't figure out how he was a helper dog as he didn't stay next to or in front of his owner, but like a foot or so behind.  And she was keeping a great pace.

We were in Animal Kingdom probably 2-3 miles, which was great.  It perked me up some and made me almost forget about how my knee hurt.  But that time was over quickly and we exited out of Animal Kingdom and headed towards Hollywood Studios.  Goodbye Animal Kingdom.


Last year it felt like we went into nowhere's land and then came back on the same street.  With more time in Animal Kingdom, we didn't have that awful out and back.  But getting to HS still sucked.

Right outside Hollywood Studios we hit the 10 mile mark.  The 501st Legion was there again.


I decided to walk through HS as I knew we were not in there long, and I needed to enjoy the time we were in there.  It also gave me a chance to rest my knee some.  Again, we were barely in HS before we were leaving it.

We next headed to the path that lead to the Boardwalk.  My knee hurt, but I tried to keep up my walk/run as much as I could so I could just finish.  We got to the Boardwalk and it was nice to see everyone cheering us on.

We got into Epcot the same way we normally do, but instead of going the short way around, they had us go right and take the long way around to Spaceship Earth.  That was so disappointing!  I thought I knew how much we had to go and it was longer.


We finally got to mile 13 and the 501st Legion was also there in full gear.  I knew I was almost there and just needed to finish.


I was finally done and just mentally and physically exhausted.  I got ice, medals, food, and water and just limped to the bus.  I just wanted to get back to my room and shower and crash.  When I got to the hotel there was a photo booth of sorts that they had set up.  I really didn't want anything to do with it, but I had to walk through them and I ended up talking to them a little.  They were such nice ladies there that they perked me up enough to get a couple fun pictures.


I showered stretched and rested a little, but I didn't want to hunker down as I needed to get some real food.  I kept going and headed to Disney Springs.  I hadn't made my way there, yet, this trip and wanted to check a few stores out.


I had no plans for lunch and as I walked by Raglan Road, I saw that they had Irish Dancers and music going on.  I went in and decided to have lunch there.  I was able to get a seat with a great view of the stages.  When I arrived, they had just left on their break.  But soon enough they were back out.


I have always been fascinated by the Irish culture, so listening to some truly Irish music and watching the dancing was the most fun.


I had the fish and chips, and a yummy alcoholic beverage.  It was the most wonderful way to end the weekend.

While I hated the running part, I had a fantastic weekend otherwise.  I'm still in debate on if this will be my last runDisney race for awhile or not.  In 2 years I would have gotten a perfect Dark Side and Kessel Run challenge.  I don't think Disney is doing much of anything for those special few that do the first 5 years, so it may not be worth it.

Where do you like to eat at Disney Springs?  Have you ever seen the back of the Tree of Life?

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.