After a lackluster downright awful Old Town Beerun race, the very next weekend (3/24/17) I ran a 5K on the runway of the Greensboro / Piedmont Triad International Airport here in lovely North Carolina. This was my second race this year as part of the Greensboro Race Series.
In years past, this race was in June. A resounding THANK YOU to the race organizers who decided to have mercy on all of us and change it to March.
So, it went from Blazing Hot…
to Freezing Cold.
Ha! Old Mother Nature has been keeping us on our toes 😉 Reference Race reports from 2017 and 2016.
Race: PTI Run the Runway 5K (there’s also a 10K and 1 mile, plus kids’ dash).
Goal: To beat last year’s time of 23:37, but knowing I’ve hit a slump due to giving blood and getting sick… I was shooting for 24-ish minutes.
Gear: With this crazy spring weather, last week’s race was hot, and this was freezing! As such, I wore my Smartwool pants & undies, North Face bra & striped shirt, new-to-me Oiselle bird beanie, gloves, iPod, Mizunos.
Gut: Had a PB&J two hours prior, 20 oz of Nuun, and a GU 15 min prior to race. Felt good!
Weather: COLD. 37* and cloudy, with a little wind.
Pre-race: Arrived early, boys were cold, thankfully brought a blanket. Did 0.7 mile warm-up and felt OK.
Race! As I’ve mentioned last year and the year prior, this race is a tough one mentally for me. It’s a long straightaway, and has this weird optical-illusion, desert-mirage thing going for it. I had a tough time getting in a rhythm, and the effort felt especially hard for the times I was running (~8 min/mile).
I went out too fast (again) and tried to pick it up at the end, but just like last week’s race, I didn’t have much pep in my step. Thankfully I didn’t feel as crummy as last week, but still not performing where I know I can. A lot of people showed up for this race, so plenty of competition, but at the end I was surrounded by guys (which means I don’t have much incentive to beat them since they’re obviously not in my age group). I had a hard time pushing it in, and even still, was breathing really hard. I didn’t even care if I beat this teenage boy or not (and usually I’m fiercely competitive)…
Results: 24:52 total time, 7:56 avg pace. 2nd place Age Group.
We had some snacks, checked results, and waited around for quite awhile for the…
Kids Race! The kids wanted me to come too, but since it was just about 25 meters down and then back, I figured I could just watch.
So, Gabe took off (and pretty much “won” though it wasn’t timed), while Asher realized I wasn’t with him, and came back for me! Check it out:
The kids seemed to have a good time, altho Gabe was complaining so hard we nearly left before the kids race started.
I love the pics of them!
Recommend: I’m still undecided on this one. My company is the main sponsor for the event, so I get to run for free, which is a big perk for me that of course not everyone has.
The Pro’s—it’s flat, which makes pacing easier and is more conducive to faster times. There’s support (1 water stop) and snacks post-race. Lots of people show up so there’s good competition.
The Con’s–The age group awards have been something other than medals for 2 years now (a wood board painted last year, and a picture frame this year). I can’t help it, but I just love a good old medal. This year’s awards were disorganized and had at least one mistake (my friend Sandra got 3rd, but then didn’t get her award until later, due to a glitch). Probably the worst thing for me is the lack of scenery and that feeling of not moving forward very fast (the desert mirage thing I mentioned earlier).
Next up? Run the South… on Sunday 4/15! My first half marathon in over a year. I’m not ready… but I will have fun regardless!
What’s on deck for you this spring?
Garmin data:
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