Finding my happy place + 5K recap

For March, I barely ran just over marathon distance the whole month and only ran six times. But you know what? They were all happy runs! I had definitely thought I’d run more than six times but that’s how it worked out and I’m good with it! I really feel that March was a chill out and reflect month because I certainly did a lot of both. I’ve been taking the barbell and spin classes regularly, and had many dog-walking miles that add up. JFRing + enjoyable classes + dogs = HAPPY PLACE

I also chose not to run the 30K that I was signed up for and highly untrained for. Sometimes you really DON’T need to suck it up and tough it out. Since I didn’t run the 30K, I still needed a March race so I signed up for a local 5K that was held on Saturday. Dirt Coffee is a local non-profit coffee shop whose proceeds go towards employee people with autism and providing scholarships to families in need and their caregivers. So grateful that my registration fee went towards that as well!!

Friday night, we got about 3″ of snow at our house. When I headed out for the 5K, it was quit chilly but really clear and crisp. The ground and trees were covered in snow, but the roads and greenways were clear – that’s my kind of snow! This was going to be a small race (64 people actually) so I didn’t feel the need to get there too early and even picked up my bib that morning. I parked on the street, right beside a McDonalds, and was able to use their bathroom – SCORE! I had on a thin base-layer top, tights, and my owl earmuffs and felt pretty comfortable.

Owl earmuffs! They are unbelievably warm!

My goal was to go fast and just try to maintain it. Even though I hadn’t been running much, and certainly not doing any speed work, I knew I could still run a decent race. The trails were completely clear except for under and over bridges; I think the wind had blown while it was snowing because it blew some underneath the bridges – I did have to slow down a tad for those. As usual during races, I was chasing ponytails. I can tell when I can possibly pick someone off so I just focused on that – everything was feeling great! There was one tiny “hill” where I actually passed three ladies. The next one was up ahead and had a GIANT orange puffy jacket on. If you are good enough to run that fast, don’t you know better than to wear a puffy jacket to run in? Even if it were colder, you wouldn’t choose a puffy jacket, right? I passed her just after the turn-around and I could tell she didn’t like that. She passed me back, but only for like 100 yards. I stepped on the gas and never saw her again. The next one I really wanted to pass was running with TWO dogs, but I just couldn’t catch her. I was losing steam and just held on to what I had left.

This course was GREAT because, while it was an out and back, you ran beside the Platte river on one side, crossed a bridge, and ran back on the other side; the only part we re-ran was the last quarter mile. I could hear the finish line cheers before I even knew it. 5Ks are tough but MAN they go by fast! Oddly, there was no water at the finish or anywhere on the course – there was coffee though! I didn’t hang around long because I was there by myself and just didn’t want to stick around. The coffee shop was offering a free beer in exchange for your race bib but I like keeping those!

Results: My pace was actually 8:07 based on the 3.16 my Garmin recorded. Yessssss!

I loved this race because of all the things I’ve already listed but it was also just very simple. No race shirt (thank you!) unless you paid extra for it, and no finisher medal. I do like my medals but I don’t need one for every single race. Race 3/12 for the year, complete!

The next day, I ran 6.5 miles at the monthly bRUNch run and had chicken and waffles and a screwdriver afterwards!

If you’ll notice, there was at least one ! in every paragraph 😀 This shit is getttin’ good, folks!

JFR friends!