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?
