Buffy Weaver :: Jinglebell k5

RACE DAY: December 13, 2009
Race Information
Race Results

On Friday after work, I went to pick up my packet and register my husband, Terry, for the race. I really appreciate the volunteers for working that packet pick-up. It was cold out there, and they are all troopers for being out there to help everyone get what they needed. Thank you, volunteers! Good race packet, too. I love getting those mini Clif bars in race packets – the regular size ones are usually just too much for me.

I got to bed way later on Saturday night than I had planned, but I suppose that happens from time to time. I rushed around a bit on Sunday morning trying to get all my stuff together and make sure I had everything that Terry and I might need. We headed out into the ridiculously foggy morning – it was so foggy it was like driving into nothingness. We didn’t make it too far because we decided that we needed breakfast tacos first. After a quick stop for delicious tacos, we were back on our way. We are “Southies” so we don’t get up to the Domain often. Luckily, we got there with ease and in plenty of time to amble around before the race and chat with some of the RLE Brand Ambassadors.

I really like that this race started with a Kids K. I think it is super important to keep kids active and it is just so fun to cheer on kids in a race. After the Kids K we lined up for our race. We got stuck in the pack pretty far back. I’m just not good at pushing my way to the front. I probably should line up for races sooner so I can get a better starting spot! My general goal for the race was to finish in under 25 minutes. I didn’t think that was even remotely possible after the start of the race. It was a very, very slow start for me. Since I lined up so far back, I ended up sort of slow jogging/walking behind other participants and trying to weave my way in between people without being rude and/or knocking people over. After the first half mile or so, I managed to get out of that pack and I had some more room to move. I did my best to pick up my pace, but I told myself that I wasn’t going to look at my Garmin to see how my time was going until I reached the 2 mile mark. At this point I still thought I’d come in way over 25 minutes.

I really enjoyed the out and backs on this course. It makes it more likely that you’ll see other runners you know out on the course and you can wave and cheer each other on. It was really fun to get to see everyone in the race that way (and many thanks to Terry and my RLE buddy, Carol, for the cheers out there on the course!).

At the mile 2 marker I finally took a peek at my Garmin and realized that I very well could still finish in under 25 minutes. It was pretty exciting, but I decided to just try to keep my pace steady at that point. The weather had warmed up considerably and I was getting pretty hot, but didn’t want to stop to lose any clothing. I crossed the finish line a second behind another RLE buddy, Corina, and had a good time with her reviewing how our races went. Terry found me after that. He did awesome and finished way faster than he thought he would, especially considering he didn’t decide to participate in the race until 4 days earlier!

I would like to insert here how cool it was to see all the Girls on the Run participants out there. I’ve heard of this organization, but I haven’t seen them out at a race until this one. I was so impressed with both the girls and with the adults running with them. They were all encouraging each other along and cheering for everyone. I also noticed that they had medals for their girls after the finish line, which I think was probably a good reinforcement/motivational tool. Seeing them out there really made this a special race for me. Great job, Girls on the Run – I appreciate what you all are doing!

After the race, Terry and I walked around checking things out and talking to the people we know about their race experiences. We just happened to stumble upon the race results table (it didn’t even dawn on me to look for it) so we stopped to check it out. I was pretty shocked to see that I finished 3rd in my age group. I just couldn’t believe it. Until this race, I had never finished in the top three in my age group in any race. Honestly, I’m still a bit stunned by it. I also noticed that a whole slew of other Brand Ambassadors finished in the top three of their age groups (way to go, you guys!). We had a great time cheering for everyone at the awards ceremony. I must admit that I was super excited to go stand on the podium (thank you, Red Licorice, for having a podium at races – I think that made it extra fun for me). Also, I’m a bit obsessed with Christmas so I really appreciate that the awards were jinglebells decorated to look like reindeer. That was just about the most perfect award I could hope for!