Ashland Harvest 5k (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

Many years ago, when I was training for my first half marathon, I heard about the Ashland Harvest 10k.  I had always wanted to do it as we do not have many 10ks around here and I have always liked that distance.  I was happy to hear that they also had a 5k option.  To my surprise, they have always had the 5k option and I never realized it.

I signed up for this race a few weeks ago before one of the price bumps.  This would be the race I did for October.  I had been looking forward to it, as Ashland is such a nice little quaint town.  Most of my bike rides are from my house up through Ashland and back.

They had packet pickup for a couple hours the evening before as well as an hour before the race started.  I decided that I would get up early and get my bib before the race.  That would give me time to get parked and situated and not worry about anything last minute.

That morning it had been raining, but radar showed that by the time the race started, it would be sprinkles if not gone.  I got my bib and shirt and two tickets for door prizes.

The door prizes ranged from $25 off oil, to a gift certificate for Creative Memories, to jewelry.  The drawing was at 8:30, so everyone would just need to check back after they were done with their race.  I put my tickets in and headed back to my car.

On the way back I saw that they were setting up a pin for two horses.  I made a bee line over there to say hi to the two beauties.  It turned out that they were from Wings of Hope Ranch which rescues and rehabilitates horses.  There are free programs for children who are in need, no matter what type of need.  It's mutual help between the horses and children.


I went back to my car to shed the jacket and sweats and get ready.  As I headed back to the main area I heard someone call my name.  It was a lady that I see from time to time at the gym.  She actually volunteers with Wings of Hope Ranch and was only running to support them.

It was time for the race to start so we headed to the start.  The 10k start was at 8 and 5k at 8:10.  The 10k had a separate start line and they did their thing.  I stretched some and just kinda tried to enjoy the moment.  It was in the mid-50's and the rain had stopped.  It would be a nice morning to run.  There were some announcements and then the National Anthem and then we were off.


The race started on a unpaved path that went from the road we were on to the road next to the railroad.  I hate running on unpaved paths cause I'm such a clitz.  But I made it to the other road without issue.


My knee had been bothering me a lot more then usual the last few weeks, so I tried to keep an eye on it.  So far so good as I continued my 30sec/30sec run/walk.  We ran parallel to the rail road for about a mile.  I was bummed that no train came while we were running next to it.  The 10k course was a bit different so there were runners coming towards us for a little bit of that part.


About mile in, we turned off the road next to the train tracks.  We were now running through a neighborhood.  Even though I bike a lot through Ashland, I have never been to this part of the town.  It was nice to see a different part while running.  A lot of the houses had their Halloween decoration out, and I enjoyed seeing all sorts of scary items on the lawn.

We had our first an only water stop.  I actually didn't grab water as I really wasn't too thirsty and I knew I would get a bottle at the end, so I kept on trucking.  Around mile 2 you could see we were near the finish line.  I knew we had a turn off soon, to get the extra mile in, but I don't like when races get you so close to the finish line when you are not close to being done.

After the turn away from the finish line, we ran through another cute neighborhood.  At this point the 5k and 10k were on the same course and would finish together.  There were a handful of runners around me at any point of the race.  I knew the ones that zoomed past me were the 10k runners and the rest I was playing leap frog with.

At this point my knee started to bother me.  I tried to slow it down and made sure that I took all of my walk breaks.  But after I did my second mile well under 13 minutes, I knew why my knee was hurting.  But at the same time, I knew that if I kept it up, I would do my fastest 5k in a long time.  I really tried to talk myself into slowing down, but as usual, I got caught up in the fun of the race.

We came around and the finish line was behind me.  There were two ladies in front of me that I knew I could pass.  I knew that going full out at the end would not help my knee, but it felt great to just run as fast as I could.  As I came close to the end, I saw my friend from the gym call my name.  My knee hurt, but after stretching at home, it felt better.

I got my bottle of water and headed to see if I won any of the door prizes.  I did not win anything, but that was OK.  I love door prizes and it's just fun to see what could be won.  I realized at that point that we didn't get a medal.  I think their logo would make a super cute medal, but if that meant more money for the charities, I was OK with that.  I noticed that if I left at that time, I could make it to Costco as they opened, so I headed to my car.

I would defiantly do this race again, either the 5k or 10k.  Even though the courses were a bit different, it was very well organized.  Even when there were only a couple people around me, I never felt like I would get lost, or end up on the 10k course.  There were different colored arrows plus a ton of volunteers everywhere.  Plus there was a door prize with tons of options to put your tickets in.


I just looked at my official time, and shockingly, I was 3rd out of 4 in my age group.  I didn't see anywhere that said that they did age group awards, so it was OK that I didn't stay.  And I looked and one of the ladies I passed at the very end was in my age group, so the knee pain was totally worth it. :)

I haven't chosen my races for November or December yet.  But I have a couple in mind, so stay tuned.

What has been your favorite attraction at a race while you waited for it to start?  Do you like door prizes as much as I do?  Do you get swept up in a race and push it more than you should?

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.

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.

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

Lucky Charm 10k 2018 (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

I really don't have a weekly wrap as I have been having issues with my knee on and off and I'm trying to get it to be totally off.  I might add in biking or swimming next week instead of running.  We will see.  Instead I thought I'd share my recap of the Lucky Charm 10k from back in March.  I wrote this recap once a few weeks ago and it go lost in the netherworld.  I know this won't be as good as the original, but here is my second take.


St. Patrick's Day weekend I went up to Pennsylvania to visit my friend Meranda.  We had decided to run the Lucky Charm 10k in Harrisburg.  We got to the race early as we needed to pick up our bibs.  Bib pickup was very easy.  We even saw Ana there with her son, volunteering.  Meranda's mom came with us to watch, so we were able to give her our shirts, and other things, to hold while we ran.

We finished getting ready for the race and used the port-a-potties.  It turned out that someone left a sub sandwich in one of the urinals of the port-a-potties.  Very random.


Apparently there was an announcer but we couldn't hear him at all, but it sounded like the race was about to start.  We made our way to the start and quickly we were on our way.  We headed down the street and I was doing my walk/run.  A lady came up behind me and asked what intervals I was doing.  I told her 30/30 and she asked if she could stick with me since she forgot her timer.

We turned a corner and ran towards the capital and then away from it.  We ran towards the river and turned and ran next to it.  What a nice view to run with.  My new running partner's name was Josllyn and she's a parole officer in Harrisburg.  It was great to have someone to run with who wasn't always two steps ahead of me because I was slower.


We came to the 5k turnaround, and since Josllyn was running the 5k, we parted ways.  I noticed that most of the people that were slower like me were turning around at the 5k.  There really was only a couple people behind me that was doing the 10k.


Since I stuck with Josllyn for the first couple of miles, we took things slow.  This gave me a chance to try and do a negative split.  I decided to keep my eye on the person ahead of me and make it my goal to pass them.


I was really getting thirsty and I didn't see any water stops.  I should have carried a water bottle with me, but I didn't want to wear my race belt.  We turned off the river and headed back into the city.  I noticed a water stop, but they were all focused on the people on the other side who were heading back to the finish line.  I had to yell at a volunteer to turn around and hand me water.

All of the volunteers and police who were stopping traffic were super nice.  Most of the roads were still open as we were running by a church and museum that were still open.  Thankfully there was rarely a car.

As I headed to the turn around, I passed a dad pushing a stroller and carrying his daughter.  We chatted for a second and he said that she just didn't want to stay in the stroller.  I thought just pushing a stroller would be hard, but having to carry the baby as well impressed me.


As I headed back to the river, I kept picking people off, one by one.  I kept up my walk/runs, and just looked to passing the one person in front of me.


I was looking forward to the water stop that I had passed as I was very thirsty again.  And when I came up to it, it was gone?!?!  I know that I was at the very end of the pack, but really, they should have stayed out till we all passed.

We turned and ran next to the river again.  It really was a very pretty sight.  I did see someone handing out water.  I don't remember that water stop there on the way up, but glad we finally got a second station.  But really there should have been more then 2 stops for a 10k.

We passed the start line, which was a few blocks up, and continued on next to the water.  The course continued down the bike path right next to the river.  It was nice, but I was ready for the race to be over.  I still had a few people in front of me that I kept my eye on.


While running, I stepped wrong and hyper-extended my knee.  OMG did it hurt!  I decided to walk the next few run intervals.  That seemed to help and work out whatever I did.  Thank goodness it wasn't bad.

We came to the path to take us back up to the street.  I knew that once we went down, we would have to go back up.  It was a tight turn and a steep hill.  I decided to walk it and make sure I stepped carefully not to hurt my knee again.


Once back at street level, we were to run down the sidewalk to where the police officer was stopping traffic for the runners.  There were two ladies in front of me who wanted to cut the corner and ran in front of traffic.  No one around could believe they did that, they could have been hit by a car.  I went down to the crosswalk and the officer stopped traffic for me.

I decided that I would pass these two ladies.  It was my goal to end the race in front of them. We had 3-4 blocks to go to get to the street where the finish line was and it was all up hill.  I concentrated on getting up that hill.  As I did, I saw Josllyn heading down to the parking lot.  It was so fun seeing her as I headed to the finish line.

At the top of the hill I had passed one of the ladies.  Just one more to go.  We turned the corner and the finish line was right there.  I turned it into high gear and passed her and I kept booking it to the finish line.  I passed probably 10-12 people for the last 4 miles and no one passed me.  I was so proud of the race.  After the first 2 miles each mile was faster then the last.  It was a great negative split for me.


I was so happy to be done, but couldn't wait to get water.  I as so thirsty.  I finally found the table where they were handing out green bagels and Lucky Charm cereal.  But the water they had were little cups and a water jug to fill the cups.  I stood there and drank a glass and refilled, drank a glass and refilled, drank a glass and refilled.  I couldn't believe they didn't have bottles to take with us so that we could re-hydrate.

I found Meranda and her mom.  Once the race was finished, there was to be a St. Patrick's Day parade.  We found a place to sit on some bleachers that a bar had put out.  I went to change my clothes and find some place to buy water and a coffee for Meranda's mom.  The only coffee I could find was iced coffee and it tasted like grounds.  And I got another cup of water, though this one was a little bigger then the dixie cups that were at the end of the race.


The parade was a lot of fun.  There were bag pipers, rescue dogs, Storm Troopers, Gaelic Dancers, a DeLorean, fire trucks, floats, tractors, and a band.


We headed back to the cars as the parade came to an end and parted ways.  It was a very fun weekend and I really did like the race.  Except for the lack of water and being so far from home, I would do it again.

Do you like to stay after the race and enjoy the after party.  Do you like watching parades?

I am linking up with Holly and Wendy for their Weekly Wrap!

Princess Expo 2018 (Friday Five Edition)

I realized that I didn't get any photos of the expo buildings or area.  Oh well, you will have to use your imagination. :)  I'm not sure if this is normal for the Princess Weekend Expo, but the first day didn't open up till noon.  I had been to other runDisney expos and they all had opened first thing in the morning.  The noon opening worked out well for me as I didn't get to Florida till after 1, and not getting to the expo till 3.


1 - Buildings
This year, just like Marathon Weekend, they had put the official merchandise in it's own building.  I found this to be so much better.  It meant more walking, but everything just felt a bit more spacious and less claustrophobic.  Bus drop off was in a different location too, but about the same amount of walking so that didn't make much of a difference.  I knew that the official merchandise was in a different building and I had walked right by it.  I think I was thinking that there was a third building back with the other two and didn't even look at the first building.  I could have actually looked at the map that I had, or the one that I printed out, or looked online before I got there, but I didn't.

A=Official Merch, B=Bib Pickup, C=Expo, E=Kids Races

My first stop was to get a beer on tap with my runDisney cup.  I've done this at every expo that has the cups.  The new thing is some sort of alcoholic flavored sparkling water.  I tried that instead of beer and really liked it.

2 - Bibs
I headed and picked up my bib.  I didn't notice a third building back there, but still wasn't sure where the official merchandise was.  Again, I could have looked at several maps, but at this point I was going to get my bibs, shirts, check out the expo and figure out official merchandise later.  I was running the 5k and Fairy Tale Challenge, so I had 2 bibs to pick up.  While I was there I heard several people mention that the wait to get into the Official Merchandise was 2 hours.  Hmmm, not sure if I wanted to wait that long.  But I would check out the line when I finally found the place.

3 - Expo
I headed over and got my shirts, which were in the building with the expo booths.  That area was so much nicer to walk around.  While there were still a ton of people, it didn't feel packed.  Since the booths could spread out and use the space that the official merchandise usually uses, the walk ways were wider to allow more people to pass by.  I did see that Sweaty Bands was having a sale, so I picked up a few of those and headed over to get my shirts.  I looked at them long enough to try one on to make sure it fit fine and put them all back in the bag.  There wasn't much that I wanted to do there, so I headed out.  I did remember to buy a rolling stick from The Stick for my friend C who forgot to get it while she was there.  Now to find the Official Merchandise.

4 - Official Merchandise
My friend K had gotten the Race Retreat which meant that they could get into the expo at 10, instead of noon.  Fretting the merchandise that I wanted would be sold out by the time I got there, I gave her my shopping list.  She was awesome and was my personal shopper.  I still wanted to see the merchandise in person and planned on looking around and getting at least my "I did it" shirt that I knew wouldn't sell out so I didn't ask her to get it.

My other friend C, that had gotten there a couple hours before me said that the wait to get into the official merchandise was 2 hours.  Her family was there and she didn't want to wait in that line.  She asked if I would get her a Challenge Pin.  I wasn't sure if I would wait in line for 2 hours, but after asking a volunteer where to go, I went to check out the line.

I slowly realized that I had walked right past the building and kinda felt a little dumb.  They did have the race banners out of the main traffic near the building.  I thought that was nice.  I got my picture with the Fairy Tale banner and headed in to check out the line.


We were lead down a long hallway to a room on the right.  I knew that was probably the start of the line and that more lines would probably be across the hallway on the left.  It didn't look too bad in the room.  I waited in line for about 15 minutes till we were ushered across the hall.  And to my surprise we were in the Official Merchandise area!

I was shocked on how big the area was.  I didn't even think about taking a photo or video while I was in there.  The first couple rows of merchandise was their new Character Performance Wear.  It was tech clothes that was supposed to look like a character.  I didn't understand the characters till someone pointed them out to me.  They were cute, but I tend to buy most of my training clothing on the clearance rack.

The next rows each were dedicated to each race.  And there were still tons of merchandise of everything.  There were still Sweaty Bands.  There were still Pins.  There were still lots of everything that I could have wanted.  I guess K didn't really have to be my personal shopper, but you know Murphy's Law.  I picked up the pin for C and got my I did it shirt.  I did fall in love with the Fairy Tale jacket.  I just loved that color.

There was a section for just runDisney merchandise that is not race specific.  Here is where I found the lack of merchandise and sizes.  I had been eyeing a runDisney shirt online and thought that I might pick it up at the expo.  There they did not have my size.  I found a really cute "Race Day Checklist" that was princess themed that was really cute.  None in my size.  And then there were these shorts that I would have bought in a second.  Not in my size.  I found that interesting as they always have plenty stock of the generic runDisney items.

I did see that they had their personalized artwork for sale there.  Since I'm not a huge princess fan I didn't go over to that area.  But I do like that they are starting to do it at most of the races I have been.  It makes for such a special keepsake from the race weekend.

I got the couple things I came for and headed to the checkout line.  I probably waited about 20 minutes there, but the line moved quickly.

5 - Pre-purchased  Merchandise
I usually get the pre-perchased items as they are usually cute.  In the past they used to be something that you could not get at the expo, which made them special.  The last couple years I had found that they are the same as in the expo, but it was good to get them early as they usually sell out quickly.  This year, they were the same as in the expo and there were plenty of them when I went.  As for the pre-purchased jacket, I have gotten in the past and really had not liked the design and last year they stopped taking returns.  I decided that since I was not really into princesses, I would skip the jacket.

As I walked out of the official merchandise area I almost walked out without picking up my items.  Thankfully I heard someone mention them as I was heading out and made a u-turn.  I picked up the items, an ornament, figurine, and magnet.  The ornament was the same type as races past, which was a very cute running shoe.  The figurine was my favorite.  A very cute running Minnie Mouse.  When I saw the jacket I was so glad I didn't get it.  Not really my favorite design.

I got a picture with running Mickey and headed out.  I was exhausted!


I stopped and got a picture with Cinderella's carriage.  The volunteer that was helping to take photos said that it was her favorite job.  That was so awesome to hear.


Final loot:

Extra - Disney Springs
A new thing that I noticed was that they had a stop for Disney Springs in the bus loop at the expo.  This was a good thing as it meant I didn't have to go back to the hotel to head out there.  I wanted to get dinner (I was famished) and go to the Disney store.

I headed to Paddlefish for dinner.  I've been there a couple of times and it has not disappointed.  My favorite item there is the Crab Fries.  Yummy.  I ended up getting the Salmon which was very good.  Between the fries, salmon, and the bread for the table I was stuffed and had to take some of it back to my room.


I headed over to the Disney store after dinner.  I like to look around and I have a couple birthdays coming up that I wanted to see if I could get items for them.  It turns out that about 2/3 of the store was under construction.  There were still the same amount of people in the store and in that less space made it very claustrophobic.  I got a couple things and got out of there as quickly as I could.

I remembered buses near the Rain Forest Cafe side of Disney Springs and verified on the map that buses were still there.  When I got there I found that section was closed.  WTF?  I had to walk all the way across Disney Springs to get to the buses.  I was tired and just frustrated at that point.  I didn't need all this extra walking right before 3 days of races.  Oh well.

Where do you like to eat at Disney Springs?  Do you like to get to the expo right when it opens or wait till the crowds clear out some?

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

Frostbite 15k Race Recap (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

On Sunday I ran the Frostbite 15k.  This was a last minute decision to do.  The mileage fit pretty well within my training schedule so I had thought about it.  And when I found out that the weather was going to be really nice, I pulled the trigger on Thursday.

The night before I kept asking why I had signed up for it.  I didn't want to get up early.  I knew I would be one of the last runners to come in.  I didn't know anyone else that was running it.  The normal butterflies the night before races.

I decided to do packet pickup the morning of the race.  I got up early and ready and headed out nice and early.  I still wasn't sure why I had signed up for the race, but at least the weather was going to be nice.  I got to the race around 7:30 and found parking very easy and very close.  Packet pickup was in the school and there were absolutely no lines.  I then realized I forgot my race belt so that I wouldn't have to pin the bib to my shirt.  Oh well, there were plenty of safety pins.  I asked if I could use the bathrooms inside and the answer was no.  Oh well, there is always the fun port-a-potties.

There was over an hour till the start of the race, so I went back to my car and played games on my phone.  Around 8:30 I ate my Honey Stinger cookie and put on my running shoes and headed toward the start to find the port-a-potties.  When I got up to them I could not believe the line.  It was huge!  I still had 30 minutes to the start and I had to go so I headed toward the back of the line.  I ended up passing one of my friends who was half way through the line.  I stopped to talk to her and catch up.  We talked so long I ended up cutting in line.  I hope no one cared.

We were getting closer to the front of the line as it was nearing 9 AM - race start time.  It didn't matter to me, I wasn't going to be able to run the race without going to the bathroom.  The race was chipped, not that my time mattered either, I wasn't going to win the race.  So I stayed in line.  I finished just in time to get to the start and have the gun go off.  It was nice to just start the race.

The temperature at start time was about 45 degrees.  Great running temperatures.  I wore tights, a short sleeve shirt, and a jacket.  I knew it would be somewhere in the 50s by the time I finished, so I wanted to be able to take some layers off as it got warmer.

The course started through the local neighborhoods.  We passed by Hollywood Cemetery.  I love that place.  I know it sounds creepy, but in college my friend and I would take our lunch and hang out there.  It is so beautiful and peaceful there.  Our favorite part was to visit the Iron Dog.  It's a cast-iron Newfoundland dog that stands guard over the grave of a little girl that died in 1862.  It is the second most visited cemetery behind Arlington.  The views of the river are amazing.  There are two US Presidents buried there and it has a 90 foot pyramid that is a monument to the 18,000 Confederate soldiers buried there.  Passing by just brought up memories from that time in college.

When we passed mile 3, the lead runners were heading back and were almost at mile 8.  For me, seeing the front runners so close to the finish when I'm just starting defeats me a little.  I pushed that out of my mind as we were now heading towards Byrd Park.  Byrd Park is an area that has 3 different parks clustered together with 3 different lakes.  It's a popular place to run, bike, and have time outdoors with the family.  Our Saturday runs tend to take us through or pass these parks.  To get 9 miles out of the neighborhood and park, we circled the lakes what felt like a few times.  Thankfully the signs, rope, and volunteers did a good job to make sure that we didn't follow the wrong person and go the wrong way.

The weather was warming up to the mid-50's and was so nice.  The sun was bright and it was nice to be out after all the cold we have had the last month.  As I look around I realized I was really glad that I signed up for the race.  It got me out to enjoy the weather.

I was defiantly at the back of the pack, I still saw a handful of people behind me, so I knew I wouldn't be last.  Once we had gotten into the parks no one passed me and I was able to pass a handful of people.  It wasn't a very fast race for me, about normal, but I felt strong.

I notice that my balls of my left foot really started hurting me.  I noticed the same pain the week before.  Both times it started the last few miles and stopped when I was done.  I think it is my Morton's Neuroma acting up.  I haven't had that problem in years.  I'll have to bring it up to my PT tomorrow.

Once we were done circling the lakes we headed back to the school.  All the sudden we had so many hills to go up.  I didn't remember all the down hills at the start, but now all we had were up hills.  I still felt strong and ran all my run segments, even on the up hills.  We zigged and zagged through every street.  There were about 3 points where I could see the school just to be turned back around.  I guess it was the only way to get the mileage in and still stay in the neighborhood that didn't have any traffic.  We finally got back to the school and we hit the last hill.  It sort of reminded me of the end of MCM marathon having a huge uphill right at the end of the race.

I crossed the finish line and got my medal.  There weren't many people left out as I was at the very end of the pack.  I looked around and ended up seeing my friends that I ran into in the port-a-potty line.  It turns out that one of their mom's was running the race.  We hung out about 10 more minutes to see her cross the finish.  She is 72 and kicked ass running this race.  What an inspiration!

We headed into the school to get our finish line doughnuts.  I also wanted to see if I could get a shirt.  I signed up too late to get one ordered, but they said that if there was extras after the race we could have one.  I went up to the front of the room and asked the first person I saw.  One of the ladies at the side of the table told me to come see her.  Apparently they had been telling people that they didn't have anymore left as there were some very rude and disrespectful people demanding a shirt.  They were saving them for nice people, like me. :)

I did realize that I got a PR for this race.  Nothing special, but this was the first 15k that I have done, so it's an automatic PR.

I would probably do this race again, but I think I would wait like I did and see how the weather would be before I signed up.  But it was good to see some of my running friends.  They talked about doing the Sweetheart 8k next month.  I'll have to see if it works with my training cycle to hang with them some more.

After I got home I realized I was a little sore.  Not just muscle sore, but I chafed myself.  I haven't gotten back into the habit of using Glide.  I have to remember to put it on for my long runs.  Especially as the weather starts to warm up on a regular basis.

Have you ever run a 15k?  How late have you ever signed up for a race?  Do you get the race butterflies before a race and wonder why you signed up?

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.