Glow Back to School 5k

Yesterday was the day. Yesterday I woke up and tweeted this.

I wore a race t-shirt to hype myself up, went to classes, ate in the dining hall, took care of business in general. But then. Then! I met my friend and we got into my car and drove about 45 minutes (even though google maps told us 34 minutes) to a small town for our 5k. We ran, and went home.

Some background: FRCCF and I decided we wanted to run a 5k together before we got back to school. I found this one using Racing in the USA and we signed up simultaneously to make sure we had consecutive numbers. As it turned out, this was not a problem. There were only 28 runners. FRCCF was 2 and I was 3. The schtick of this race was that it was at night and we would start at dusk and finish when it was dark. For each school supply we brought we would get a glow bracelet or necklace. We changed into the race thirst, but only because they had glow-in-the-dark-ink. I felt pretty gross after having a not-so-nutritious lunch yesterday. I was tired and If it wasn’t a race and I hadn’t made this commitment, I probably would have skipped my run. I’m really glad I couldn’t bail though.

Once we got to the race and realized how small it was both of us were super relaxed and not worried. But then I realized that placing at this race might not even be that hard. We were both stoked.

Quickly, before the race started, everyone gathered around the starting line and took a picture for the paper. and then everyone got onto the starting line, because we all fit.

The race started and according to FRCCF, I was sprinting. I tend to star off too fast at the beginning thanks to the fact that I just get really excited. I found our ace pretty soon though. But that was because suddenly it felt like someone had injected lead into my veins. Now, I know how I feel after I stop running and that feels like someone had poured lead into my joints. But This was different. The pain was pinching and in very specific points and it HURT. But I ignored it. Maybe it was stupid, but I didn’t tell FRCCF about it until after the race. I didn’t want to stop or slow down. I wanted to go.

The sunset was pretty gorgeous.

And so we went. There were some women who I realized were probably the only two women ahead of me in my age group (green and pink fleece in above photo). I was a little annoyed because they kept stopping to walk and FRCCF and I were pretty determined to keep running. I looked back and asked, no told, my friend, “We’re going to pass them, OK?” and she said, “sure.” Things were just dandy.

 Ok, the sunset was REALLY gorgeous. And the river was pretty too.

And then we picked up the pace a little more. And suddenly before we knew it at the end, and I heard FRCCF sprinting behind me. And I sprinted. Hard. We might be close, but we’re both super competitive. Both with ourselves and especially when it comes to athletics. There was no way I was letting her win. Sorry FRCCF. I love you, but can’t let that happen. Our times were the same, but I came across the finish before her. I have a feeling this sprint at the end is going to become a recurring event. And I am more than ok with that. In fact I welcome it. LET’S GO.

As it turns out even with our (relative to lots of other runners’) slow times of 30:11, we both got first for our age groups. And then we ate pizza. In multiple forms. In multiple place. And it was glorious. The End.

Glow Back to School 5k: 30:11