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

Ukrop's 10k 2018 (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

I decided to do the Ukrop's 10k, in April, this year as it was a week before Star Wars and a good warm up.

The expo is usually at the Author Ashe Center, but this year it was moved to the Raceway.  I headed to the expo on Thursday and once I got in there, it looked like the exact same setup as before.  I assumed that it was moved to the Raceway because it had gotten too big.  But it turned out that it was because there was a Squirrel game (baseball) on Friday (the second day of the expo) and both share the same parking lot.


I picked up my bib, shirt, and bag and ran into one of my running friends.  It turns out that she was being a blind guide for her cousin during the race.  The story is very interesting.


I bought a shuttle ticket and headed to the expo booths.  The only thing that interested me was the Roo Sport.  I had the original one and it did nothing but chafe me.  After running the Princess Half without my big belt, I wanted to give this a try.


I was done and started to look for the exit.  For the life of me, I couldn't find it.  I asked a volunteer and he pointed me in the direction of it, and I still couldn't find it.  All of the booths and frame of the area, you couldn't see doors or the exit signs.  I finally wandered around and found the exit.

The race was on Saturday and I planned on meeting a friend at the shuttle parking lot.  When I got there she had run into a coworker of hers.  The three of us got on the bus and headed to the race.  We did all the pre-race items: port-a-potties, bag check, and a little stretching.


I walked to the start to find my corral and got there just as they were about to leave.  As I waited for them to set us off, I realized I never turned on my Garmin.  I hoped it would find the satellites fast.  If not, I'd hang back and go with the next wave.  I was in no rush.  But it synced just as they let us go.


The start was close to 70 and just getting hotter.  A lot of the course is shaded by trees, but not all of it.  Even though that's hot for runners, it was great weather for the crowds to come out and cheer us on.  One of the great things about this race is that it brings out tons of spectators.  There were the group that comes out every year to do Tai Chi, marching bands, cheerleaders, and college students handing out beer.


I passed the Richmond Police Trainees running in formation.  I had read an article about how each county had entered in their police trainees to run the 10k.  This was to promote comradery and cooperation with the different counties.


I was really worried how my knee would hold up for the race.  It had really been bothering me a lot during my last runs.  It was tight the whole time, but I never had any sharp pain.  I was also paying close attention to my steps so I would not hyper-extend it again.


Even with the heat and my knee tight, I felt very strong through the whole race.  I kept up my walk/run intervals without any deviation.  As I crossed the finish line I realized that I had a very even pace through the whole race.  Almost the same time for each mile.  I got my medal and had them put some ice on my knee.


My Roo Sports worked well and didn't chafe me at all.  Defiantly something I will be using in the future.  I did notice that the earphone hole was fraying.  Thankfully they were going to be at the Star Wars Half Marathon Expo a week later.  I also noticed that the corners of the pocket pokes out.  Functionally it was fine, but just pointed out that you had it under your shirt.

I met up with my friend from before the race and we met others for a fun brunch.  We go to the same place every year and every year we complain that they don't staff very well and everything takes forever.  But we keep going back. :)  This is one time I get to catch up with a lot of my running friends, so if it takes longer to get brunch, I'm fine with it.

This is a race I’ll do most years, but I’ll have to do it again next year. In 2017 they gave out medals that will click together with magnets and create a big medal with the 2018 and 2019 medals.  A great marketing technique to get runners to continue for the next two years.

Do you like when races do things to encourage you to run more races, like challenges, or themed medals?  Have you ever used the Roo Sport?

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.

Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

It's been a crazy week for me!

Monday I was supposed to run before work but it rained.  I even saw snow flakes in the air as I drove to work.  I don't run when it rains and it's below 50 degrees.  Too miserable.

Someone at my work has gotten a standing desk.  I was going to wait till I was full time to ask about it, but she said that she could get one, but the company wouldn't pay for it.  I had a standing desk for years and loved it, so I checked Amazon just to see what they had.  I wasn't planning on buying one right away, but I found one that had a 25% coupon.  That deal was too good to pass up.  It arrived Monday and got it all set up.  Love it!

Tuesday I went to my FT class at the gym.  Just a normal class.

I got a call the day before from my eye doctor who said that I was going to have to reschedule my May appointment I made last year.  Either I could go Tuesday to the office across town or wait till the end of June.  Since my contacts have been crazy dry, I opted to go on Tuesday.  I schlepped across town in the middle of the day for my appointment.  He has me trying new daily contacts (my last ones were monthlies).  These are of the latest technology and a lot more expensive then the ones I've had for years.  We will see how they work for me.

That evening I went to a meetup for those that do the same thing I do.  I don't know if they have it for other industries, but in IT there are monthly meetups for everything from .Net to SQL to Networking.  Mine is about the Agile community.  Each month there is a different speaker to discuss different aspects of the community.  The topic interested me, and while I didn't feel like I learned anything new, it made me feel better that I was on the right track.  I also saw someone there from my last job.  It was interesting to catch up and hear what's happening over there now.

Wednesday I got out and did my 5 mile run.  It was around freezing again and I wore my new fleece tights I had gotten a couple weeks ago and it hasn't been cold enough when I ran to wear.  I was worried that the waist was a little loose and I'd just spend the run pulling them up, but it never did that.  They also had a draw string that helped as well.  These are definitely a keeper.

While my knees started feeling better on my runs last week, Wednesday it felt tight again.  No sharp pain to make me stop running, but it nagged at me the whole run.  I probably shouldn't have done the full 5, but I haven't been running much lately and felt like I needed to get them in.  I had a PT appointment that evening and he worked a bit on the same area as last week and found some interesting spots around the same place, but on the outside of the leg.

Wednesday night I had another bad night's sleep.  I hadn't been able to sleep through the night and am up for 2-4 hours in the middle of the night.  My mind is just racing so much that it wakes me up and I can't get it to stop to be able to fall back asleep, even with all my little tricks.  I still dragged myself to the gym for my class.

With the Ukrop's 10k on Saturday the Expo is held Thursday and Friday with no packet pickup the day of the race.  I headed there after work on Thursday.  They had changed venues and I had to go across town to get there.  I understand why they changed venues as the race has grown and where they normally have it, there isn't enough parking.


Of course I got there after work with most people, and I knew it would be a pain to get in and park.  I have done several events there and knew that there was plenty of parking.  What I didn't understand was, with several entrances, why they had the cars come in where people had to cross the traffic to get into the building.  So there was a lot of stopping to wait for pedestrians as well as when you were walking to the building a lot of waiting for cars to pass.  That could have been done a lot better.

The expo itself looked identical from the last venue.  I got my bib, shirt, and shuttle ticket.  I ran into a running friend and said hello.  I didn't see anything interesting at the official merchandise section.  And all the other booths were the same.  I dropped off a pair of used sneakers.  Looked to see if anyone had my shoes with a good discount (they didn't).  And then I couldn't find my way out!  This was not a very big Expo, just everything was high enough not to see any doors.  And there were no signs for exits.  I asked a volunteer and he pointed me in a direction.  I still couldn't find it and eventually after looking around a corner I saw a door.  I was free!

Thursday night was another horrible nights sleep.  It even got to the point where I just got up and started getting things ready for the race on Saturday.  Awake for another 3 hours in the middle of the night and falling back asleep just in time for the alarm to go off.

Friday I did get up for my run.  It was now in the mid 50's which meant shorts and a shirt.  So different from Monday and Wednesday.  I wanted to get another 5 miles in, but I told myself that if my knee hurt I would stop.  And if it was tight I would only do 3 miles.  Within the first 100 feet it was tight, just like it was on Wednesday.  So 3 miles it was.  As I was heading round to finish the second mile I kept thinking of the fact I had a 10k the next day and a weekend of running next weekend.  I looped around the block and called it quits at 2 miles.  This close to races I'd rather rest then get the miles in that I need and hurt myself further.

That afternoon I had to take my old lady cat to the vet for more blood work.  While a month ago we found her kidneys are doing wonderful, her liver numbers were very low.  She doesn't act like a cat that has something wrong, as she has just been her normal self.  The vet has her on a daily pill and wanted to see how the numbers were as well as check her thyroids.  Well the pill was helping and the issues is definitely her thyroid.  So she doesn't have to take the daily pill anymore, but has a daily liquid now.  We will be back in a month to see how that is doing.


After the vet I dropped her off and headed downtown to meet my parents for dinner.  We have a yearly subscription to local plays around the city.  This play was Romeo & Juliet and it was at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which also has a really good restaurant in it.  We had a good dinner and a wonderful bottle of wine.  We were taking our time as we thought the play started at 8 and by the time we made our way down a little after 7:30 we found that it did start at 7:30.  Thankfully the people there know us and there were no assigned seats so we made our way down the side to some vacant seats.  I've seen this play many times, but I have to say the lead actors were very good.  And looked very young.

Saturday morning I got up and headed down to the Ukrop's 10k.  I met up with friends before the race.  I ran it on my own and while it was very hot, I felt very strong for the whole race.  My knee was a little tight the whole time, but nothing like it was Wednesday or Friday on my training runs.  There might be hope for the knee next weekend.  We all met up after the race for brunch and to catch up with everyone. 


I went home and showered and took a nice nap.  After a long week, a hot race, and a few mimosas at brunch I really needed it.  Then I went out to dinner with a friend.

Sunday I did nothing!  Well I did get my laundry done, but really that was about it.

See what a busy week I had?  I get to turn around and do it all over again, but this time heading down to Florida for a runDisney race weekend.  I'm going to need some time off when I get home just to rest from these last couple of weeks.

How was your week?  Did you run the Ukrop's 10k?  Was it hot or what?  Have you seen Romeo and Juliet before?

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

Ukrop's 10k 2017 Recap (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

On Saturday I ran the Ukrop's 10k.  This is a race that I have done almost every year for the last 10 years, even before I started running.  Some years are good, some are not such great races, but all have been fun.  This year it was a good run.


The expo was on Thursday and Friday.  We usually go on Thursday night and go out to dinner after, but this year schedules did not work out.  So I went Friday afternoon after running errands.  It was chilly and rained most of the day.  Glad the rain got out of the way as race day was nice and dry.  On the way there, I got caught behind all the port-a-potties being put into place on Broad Street.


The expo was at the Author Ashe Center as usual.  The setup is the same as it has been since I started participating.

 

As always bib pickup was efficient.  I also bought my wristband for the shuttle on race day.


They have a small section for official merchandise.  I didn't get anything this year.  They have a lot of nice items, not only for the race, but for 'Run RVA'.


Once through the official merchandise you head around to the other side of the building to pick up the shirt.


I walked around the expo some, but didn't buy anything.  I did find some of my shoes on sale, but I already have 3 waiting for me to wear (I buy when I see them on sale), so I decided against another pair.  I stopped by the VCU Bookstore booth as I realized I didn't really have any shirts or jackets but nothing called out for me.  Will have to tell my mom that would be some good items for my birthday.


I left with I only the reusable grocery bag that they always give out with the shirts, the shirt, my bib, and my wristband for the shuttle.


Saturday I woke up in plenty of time to get up and get ready without rushing.  I really wasn't too nervous as I knew where to go and what time I had to be places.  I met up with my running friends at City Stadium, which is were we meet every Saturday for runs.  We got on the bus and headed to down to the start line.


We usually stop at the coffee place on the way to the start line to use the bathroom, but they were closed.  That threw us off a little, but we made our way up to the bag check.  This year the park where the after party usually is is fenced off for construction.  We did find port-a-potties that were for the after party and there was absolutely no line.  We jumped at the chance.  We then wondered around trying to find our way to the start line but ended up at the finish.  The first racers had already started over 8 minutes before - and we still had 20 some minutes to get to our corrals.


With the construction and the finish line being between us and the start, we had to go all the way back to the bag check to find a way to the start line.  All of us were in different corrals but we all ended up starting in the same one.


The start was smooth and each corral kept going on one right after the other.  

Top: Corrals in front of us.  Bottom: Corrals behind us.

I kept looking around for the water station that they said would be out there, but I didn't see it.  I knew this wasn't good as I was thirsty even before the race started.  Before I knew it, we were off.


The first mile was hard.  It felt like it took forever to see that first mile marker.  Usually for this race it's the second mile marker that feels like forever.  I knew I was going out fast like I always do at races, but I kept trudging on with my walk/runs.

The rain from Friday was totally gone and the clouds were parting to a nice sunny day.  There were a lot of people coming out to cheer us on.  There was a party stop or band almost every block.  The route is an up and back and it's fun to watch the people on the other side of the median.  I brought my music, but I didn't put it in as there was a lot of things to watch and music on the course.
 
There is also a costume contest and there were a few neat ones out there.  There was a group that dressed as the Simpsons and a giraffe made of balloons.  I think they were supposed to be April the Giraffe that is a webcam sensation as everyone waits for her to give birth.  Someone told me after the race that there was a pregnant lady walking the race in a giraffe costume as well.


The second and third mile felt the same as the first.  I felt like I was putting it all out there and I was worried that I would crash at mile 4.  But I kept pushing knowing that if I crashed then I put in a good first few miles.  The crowds kept cheering us on to keep going.


Soon after mile 3 was the turn around.  While the race is advertised as a flat course, there is a little accent and decent (my watch shows 85 feet accent and 108 feet decent).  I felt like we did most of the accent in the first 3 miles so I was looking forward to some very small down hills.  But it really there wasn't any, so it was in my head.

We turned to start the other way and the sun was right in our faces.  For the next mile the temperatures went up a little and we had direct sunlight.  I could tell it was getting warmer but I felt like I was still putting everything into each mile.  Thankfully mile 5 had big trees that gave us some shade.  Even with it getting warmer, the 4th and 5th miles were faster then the first 3.  I was hopping to keep pushing it to the end.

During the 6th mile the big trees were gone and it really got a lot hotter.  I knew this last mile would be the hardest and probably the slowest.  And then I started to get a side stitch.  Even thought I drank at every water stop, I knew I was a bit dehydrated.  I kept up with my walk/run and breathed through the pain.  I knew if I kept up, I'd have a great time.  No where near a PR, but a good time.  The 6th mile was only a few seconds slower then the 4th and 5th.

Once I passed the 6th mile marker I ran it in.  I saw one lady in front of me that I wanted to pass before the finish.  I passed her really fast, so I kept my eye on one other lady.  She was keeping a good pace and even though I was catching her, I was having a hard time passing her.  At the very last bit, I passed her and crossed the finish line.

This was a tough race and I knew I put everything out on the course.  I was very proud of keeping up with each mile even though they were hard.  And looking back, I even did a negative split.  I was so proud as I never have a negative split at races and even at a race where it got much hotter the second half.  Everything was feeling good, even my skinned knees.  While this wasn't a PR, this is my new proof of time race.

I found my friends at the finish.  

 

I thought the medals were a little dinky and I didn't get the design.  Then I saw someone putting their medals together.  It turns out that there are magnets on the edges and the next 2 years we will get medals to connect to it.  That was actually very inventive and cool.


We collected our bags and headed to one of the local restaurants to have brunch.  We haven't done a brunch after our run in a long time, so it was great to catch up with everyone.

Have you run the Ukrop's 10k?  Do you do brunch after races? 

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.

Local Races (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

So there really isn't much going on in my life now that I find exciting enough to blog about.  Then a friend reminded me of the Tuesdays on the Run topic of local races.  This is something I haven't blogged about yet, so I thought I would tell some things of one of my favorite local races.

In Richmond one of the biggest races is the Ukrop's 10k.  Last year it was the 4th biggest 10k in the US with 23,127 finishers.  The race is so big that probably the first fourth of the field is done before the last person crosses the start line.  This is also the first race I have ever done.  This was back when I was just a walker.  It is a great race that encourages all people to come out participate.  They have tons of band and every inch of the course is filled with spectators.  They even have a costume contest.  The best costume I saw at this race was from Disney's Up where the guy dressed up as a by and above him he carried a full blown house and balloons.  I wish I had a picture of it.  It shuts down Monument Avenue, which is a beautiful road to run.  All of the monuments are beautiful, even if basically all of them are Civil War Heroes.  The houses and architecture is some of the most beautiful in Richmond. It's a great race for beginners as they encourage walkers, which is the way I participated my first few years.

The local YMCA put training teams together all over the city.  They train advance runners as well as beginners and walkers.  The first time I participated I didn't think it was a big deal.  I wasn't even close to thinking about running, but I walk a lot.  How hard could it be to walk 6 miles.  Well in the first mile I pulled my quad and hurt the rest of the way.  The next year I joined the YMCA walk training team and did a great job of walking it all.  I did the walking training team for the next few years.

The one thing I hated about this race was that it was so hard to find a parking spot.  It's all street parking minus a few inconvenient parking garages.  One year, even though I was signed up, I spent an hour looking for a parking spot and finally gave up and just went home.  It was so frustrating that I vowed not to do the race again.  They listened to the complaints and a couple years later they started a shuttle from a couple different places and it works out perfectly with no stress.

When I started running, this was the first race I ran the whole thing.  I again joined the training team and the first week when we did one mile I ran the the whole mile.  Then the next week when we did two miles, I ran it all. And so on each week, I kept running the whole thing.  I couldn't believe that I was actually running more then 5 minutes at a time.

Most of the running community runs this race every year.  All of my running friends usually meet at the expo on Thursday night and go out to dinner and celebrate.  Then on Saturday morning we all meet up at the shuttled parking lot and head down to the start line.  We go to the local coffee place and stand in line to go to the bathroom and we make our way to the start line.  Then we meet afterward and go to brunch.  Most of us do not care about our time and are just out there to have fun.

I signed up for this year's race which is April 1st.  I'm actually looking forward to the fun weekend with running friends I haven't seen in awhile.  Come back to read my race report in a few weeks!

Have you run the Ukrop's 10k?  Have you dressed up for a race to try to win a contest?  Do you have expo/dinner/brunch traditions with running friends around local races?

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.