Category Archives: Past Races
Past Races
Advocate Cypress 5K
Decorative bib
Race #1 of the 13 in 2013
Race #3 Overall (since November 2012. The first two runs I didn’t blog about because I hadn’t started the blog yet: The Turkey Trot and the Gingerbread Jog. Of those two, the Turkey Trot is the largest race I’ve been in so far and the Gingerbread Jog was somewhat disorganized but a lot of fun.)
So I know it’s a week late, but I ran my first race of 2013 and my third running race overall last weekend. The Advocate Cypress 5K. It coincides with the Louisiana Marathon weekend also. I had several friends run in that. (Maybe next year.) The weekend is loaded with activities, cheer zones, entertainment, expo, you name it. It seems to be put together pretty well.
For now, I handled this fairly easy 5K with a raised bridge over a railroad in the middle of it. I definitely ran for my longest this time, all the way to the top of the bridge before I finally had to walk a bit and then jog down. It was an out and back so coming back across I just walked up and then ran down the other side. After that, it was a slow jog to the finish. I did see one friend at the finish line. This was her first 5K race. Not bad for a first race. She finished about two minutes behind me.
I recorded another personal best, but it wasn’t easy. This run came up quickly after about a month hiatus due to rain before Christmas, a Christmas trip to New York, and then more rain after Christmas until three days before race day. I enjoyed the course though, right thru downtown on fourth street to North Blvd to 19th Street then back.
Finisher’s Medal
I believe there were a lot of first timers at this race. I could hear some conversations while in the run. Most were pairs where one seemed to be coaching a newbie. Most tips sounded informative. Other tips sounded crazy. But it was fun to stick with a group for a bit until either they pulled away from me or fell behind. I’m not sure what running etiquette there is yet. I ended up next to two women in the last mile who were listening to some loud music, I forgot what it was playing but it sounded pretty cheesy. Also, I’m not in the habit of passing people at the end. I usually pace someone who’s running into the finish and I just follow them in, no thought of passing. I mean, if I couldn’t pass you during the first 3 miles, what’s a last tenth of a mile going to accomplish. But the guy and his son he was pushing in front of me jogged for a bit and then decided to take off sprinting to the finish. Well, I felt obligated to follow along. So I kept up with him all the way to the end. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to get away from me or to just look good at the end.
This definitely was a fancier race. It had photographers all over and they even handed out finisher medals which from reading other blog stories appear to usually be reserved for marathon and half marathoners and then other select races. I guess this was one of those. So I got my first finisher’s medal. That was pretty awesome in itself.
And now I get set to run some 10K races. The first comes in three weeks with a local favorite, the Mardi Gras Mambo. I’m setting a goal for 90 minutes. If I run my current 5K pace, I should make it in about 75, but I anticipate being slightly slower at times, to make it through the entire 6 mile distance. My goal should simply be to making it to the end.
Race: Advocate Cypress 5K
Date: January 19, 2013, 8AM
Place: Downtown Baton Rouge
Time: 36:54
Rainy New Year
I think it’s rained 13 out of the 15 days so far this year. The first rainy week was warm but stormy. The second rainy week is cold and misty. So much for getting a few extra jogs in before the first race of the year; although, I’m not that much worried about 5Ks anymore. This particular course will be flat and fast for sure. Fewer turns which is good. Just a straight out and back via two main streets.
The real test comes up with the 10K. I’m signed up for three already in two states and looking at a fourth one in an additional state. Turning the 5K 50 State challenge into a 10K certainly made it a little more difficult and not only because I’m doubling the race length. I have no doubt I’ll master the 10K after a few tries (no world records for sure, but I’ll feel good about completing the race in a respectable time after a few attempts). The hardest part honestly is going to be that there are probably less than half the number of 10Ks around the country than 5Ks. While it would have been easy to pick a 5K in virtually any state at any time of the year, the 10Ks leave less room to be picky and require a lot more advance notice and planning. Some locations might only have one two 10Ks in any given month or perhaps a handful of times per year. Not to mention, racing in two 10Ks back to back in neighboring states will be a challenge as well. I may have to pick races near holidays to take advantage of that strategy, of flying into a city, running a 10K, driving a short distance to a neighboring state and running a second in the same 3 or 4 day holiday weekend. While 5K races are scheduled constantly all of the country, 10K races appear to only be bunched up around holidays and select weekends. So perhaps this will be a challenge in itself and make it that much more adventurous to complete. My biggest worry is deciding about half way through that I want to advance to half marathons. Haha.
NEXT RACE: Saturday, January 19th – Advocate Cypress 5K (local)
2013 A New Year
The world did not end, so it’s time to take advantage of a new year and make some pretty bold resolutions with every intent to follow through with them.
After dad died last October, I began thinking about my own life, how to improve on it. It’s easy to say we want to lose weight but it’s not always easy to actually accomplish it. It’s easy to make promises that can’t be kept. Thinking about it now, maybe it’s just that we need to find something that we can enjoy. For me, it appears to be running. Three months ago, I never thought about running. I was thinking maybe do a few 5K walks and cheer myself for just getting out of the apartment to do something new. The first 2012 walk (in November) went about as expected but it was slightly different. It wasn’t in my own backyard. It was in a strange place around total strangers, and I liked it. Then I was intrigued by the fact that some 5K races didn’t restrict you to choosing between walking and running. So in the next race, I tried some running. Much tougher for someone who doesn’t generally run except for around the bases. The 5K seemed to last forever but it eventually ended and I survived. Two weeks later, I ran in a second 5K. It seemed remarkably easier. I ran a lot longer, faster and increased my pace by over 2 minutes.
So I’m feeling incredibly confident now with the 5K, I decided to push forward with my goal to run in a 5K race in every month of the new year. But running twelve races in 2013 didn’t sound complete, so I’ll add a race and make it an ‘even’ 13 in 2013. In addition, the new adventure in running accompanied with the journey to an out-of-state race led me to decide to make it into a 50-State bucket list adventure. The ease of running the 5Ks and the urge to make the 50 state adventure a tad more reasonably challenging, I decided to up it to 10Ks. I can run a 5K anytime, but to count towards my 50-State challenge, it should be a 10K. If for some reason I begin to find it difficult to find reasonable 10Ks that I can attend, perhaps I could settle for 2-5Ks, but for now I’m going for 10K. (I say that because the number of 10Ks readily available and during a time I can possibly travel to some of these locations is far less than the number of 5Ks.) Why not marathons you ask? Does anyone actually believe I could run a marathon? Within 7 hours even? Perhaps in a few years, with some thorough training that helps with my endurance, but I’m eager to start my challenge, so 10Ks it is. 🙂
I guess 2013 will also be the year I start a blog. Perhaps I can use it for this and other travel adventures and… time will tell.
Anyway, for now, I’ve got the site set up with some quick info and my list of races as I sign up or plan for and complete them. I intend to include a map as soon as I decide which I like best and which is easiest to update. I’ll come up with other stuff as I go along.
It’s only Jan 2 and I’ve already signed up for four races this year in the first three months, 1-5K and 3-10Ks, in two states. I intend to look into a third and possibly a fourth this summer. Let’s see if I can start knocking out the south quickly in 2013. Hey, come join me if you like. It’s not like I’m that fast.
500K Across the USA 