Sunday, January 11, 2009

Up & Running 5K Race Report

Today was a local race called "Up & Running" which had a 10K and a 5K. It started on the walking bridge over the Rio Grande and had an out and back down along the Bosque Trail along the river as shown by the map below:



Pros:
* It was a great excuse to get out and run on a cold Jan morning.
* They set up some tents on bridge & played music. It was a very festive atmosphere.
* Packets were put together in reusable shopping bags. We'll get a lot of use out of those.
* Race venue was very close to home, maybe 6 miles from my house.

Cons:
* Start time 8:00am on a cold January morning. I much prefer a later start time (9am or 10am) during winter.
* Weren't set up to accept online or mail in registration. They expected people to drive downtown to the BCPR office while it was open (mon-fri 8-5am). I called and asked if I could mail my registration in and they let me do it, but it was an exception. I believe they would have had a bigger turn out if they had an easier way to register.

It was about 22 deg when we left the house. The sun wasn't quite up over the mountains either. Brrrrr!! I was going to take a self-portrait with my cell phone, but my fingers were just too cold.

They started the 10K first and started the 5K runners ten minutes later. The first half mile was mostly downhill. The middle was mostly flat. Then uphill at the end.

The field was small enough that there were only a few people between husband and I after mile one, so I could see him up ahead. I tried to keep him in my sights on the way back, but just couldn't keep up.

No worries, I told myself, I was out there to run my own race anyway.

Near the end of the race, I was passed by a woman and a chihuahua. I didn't mind being passed by the woman, but a chihuahua!?!? That's actually pretty depressing if you think about it.

Here's the graph of my splits, courtesy of Garmin. Official results will be posted by tomorrow afternoon. Garmin says I ran 30:31, average pace of 9:55.

If I could run the whole 5K like mile one, I would be a very happy woman. Guess that's something to work toward this year when I actually start training.

Also, while I'm pleased that I had some energy to kick it up a notch at the end for that final stretch, I can't help but wonder if maybe I could/should kick it up a bit sooner...

All in all, it was fun little event. Something I'll consider doing again next year.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!

34 comments:

  1. That was a cold and early start. Great job running YOUR race.

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  2. Nice! It's great when you can kick it at the end. I know what you mean about the timing, though. It's hard to determine when to really start speeding up sometimes - you don't want to burn out, but you also don't want to wait too long.

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  3. Effff the chihuahua. You are the GQ!!

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  4. Oh that IS a cold start... and hey sounds like you had a good run.. no issues with the **** (I won't risk saying it out loud!)

    GREAT run and good for you for finding a way to make it happen

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  5. That sounds like a chilly start! But you ran a great 5K, and don't mind that Chihuahua, it was just going fast to keep warm!

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  6. Great job on the race and running in the cold!

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  7. Stupid Chihuahua. Cheater!

    Nice race despite the cold.

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  8. Great job! That sounds way cold though.

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  9. I'm here LMAO!!! LOL A chihuahua??!! hahahaha hilarious! He's one good runner! Good job on the race and I agree that no winter race should start before 9 AM!

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  10. Sounds great Lisa! Except the Chihuahua part. Hopefully it was wearing a sweater?

    :-)

    Great way to get up and at em on a Sunday morning!

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  11. Quite a way to start a chilly morning. Does the Garmin draw the line between jogging and running? I still feel like I'm running at 10+ minute miles, that seems insulting. Anyway, good job on your race, hard to know when a good kick at the end means you should have picked it up earlier in the race.

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  12. Great run! 8am is really early for a winter run... no sense in starting that early when there's no sun to beat! It's hard for me to pace well during a 5K... I always feel like I could have run faster, but I don't want to burn out at mile 1. anyhow, nice race!!

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  13. Congrats on a great 5K! LOL @ the chihuahua. Maybe it just had too much Taco Bell.

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  14. That is COLD! BUt I would take that right now! Nice job on the 5K in January!

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  15. Getting out there in 22 degrees is always hard! I can't believe you have the same temps and yet no snow! Yesterday it was about 28 degrees and snowing the entire time I ran.

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  16. Wow that was cold. Great time!

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  17. Stupid chihuahua!! ROFL... You did well!! Learning to negative split a race is hard!!! Well done!

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  18. Aye Chiuahua. That is a cold start. Great job on the race

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  19. Brrrrr, but well done!

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  20. Good job on the race! I totally snickered at the chihuahua though. ;o)

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  21. Great job, and I agree no winter race should start early, or allow chihuahua to compete! LOL

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  22. Now, that is cold!

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  23. Great race! I love that I have run on that trail and can picture it in my head now. And don't let the chihuahuas get you down. (They are crazy (and fast) little buggers.)

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  24. Great job running your race! I loved your race report! Very consise:)

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  25. Congrats on a great race!

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  26. I agree, 8am is too early in January!

    LOL @ the chihuahua (sorry).

    Congratulations - sounds like you ran a great race!

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  27. 22 degrees! 8am! You are totally hardcore :)

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  28. A chihuahua? They don't have any hair. Wasn't the dog frozen? This is a breed that shivers in 80 degree weather. Did it have a little sweater on with a Nike Swoosh? This could have been one of Nike's elite chihuahua athletes. They probably had it sleeping in an altitude tent and on a grueling training plan at their Beaverton Oregon campus.

    For what it's worth you're the first person I've ever heard of that has been passed by a chihuahua. Congratulations!

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  29. Good job chica!!!

    You done good!!!

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  30. Wow..that list of cons are much larger than the list of pros. lol...

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  31. Nice job on the race! You'll get that chiuahua next time :)

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  32. Ha, ha, a chihuahua? I would also have been rather miffed at that.

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  33. I've been passed by young children before. that chihuahua just must have had pent up energy to burn!!

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  34. I am late on this (as usual) but 9:55!! AWESOME!

    What a great race! I ma glad that your first race of 2009 was such a great success.

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