July 3rd, Sunshine Festival

So a month later...

This race and I have a history.

It was my first real 5k in 2007. I did it in 29:59 and was thrilled. And horrified. I'd signed up for the Goofy- 39.3 miles in one weekend. That was suddenly seeming a lot harder...

In 2008, my mom and I "ran" it when I was 7 or 8 months pregnant. It marked pretty much the end of my running until the baby was born in September. It wasn't really the running that was a problem. It was the heat and the look of concern on the volunteers' faces- "Is she going to have that baby right here? I'm just handing out water and pointing the right way- I did not sign up for baby duty!" We finished in something like 43 minutes.

In 2009, I ran it in about 25:16. I had higher expectations and it basically left me utterly deflated for the rest of the summer. I didn't run again until realizing I could sign up for a tri for our Labor Day Disney trip.

So, that's the Sunshine Festival 5k- I always think I'm going to like it, but it's usually a morale-crushing, willpower-destroying disaster. I don't know why I forget that every year.

Anyway...

July 3rd comes along- my mom kindly picked up my packet the night before. I got all my stuff together that night and prepared to get up early. Worked out fine. Made it to the course with plenty of time to spare. Ran slowly a bit and did a few strides. Talked to some people I knew, and tried to ignore the creeping heat/humidity and my sudden revelation that I hate this race.

And we start- this year I lined up closer to the front. Not right by the teenage boys and the hard-core old guys without shirts, but not next to the guys in the khaki shorts. As usual, I found myself next to a stinky guy. What's up with that?! It's early in the morning and you're going to get sweaty, so I understand not taking a shower before, but if you are that stinky before the race, cut the crowd some slack. Way too early for that kind of sensory overload...

It's a flat course around parks and neighborhoods. I never can remember the course, which is crazy since I run there a lot, but I'm just following people. I go out with my new strategy of starting as fast as I can and trying to hold on. It's not sophisticated or particularly smart, but it is easy to remember. Mile 1 is under 8 minutes, mile 2 about the same. By mile 3 I'm questioning why I keep running 5ks, but I know if I blow this I'll have a complete meltdown- so I push through. Final time: 23:3x. I can't remember exactly, but it was my second fastest 5k and much hotter than the one I set my PR in. So I'm reasonably pleased. My mom met me at the finish. She said I looked pretty good and wasn't as stinky as usual. (Uh, thanks? So like, I wonder if pre-race stinky guy had peaked in his stinkiness or if he got worse?! I left him in my tracks at the start- no way I was sticking around to see what happened on the stinky scale of 1-10. Looking back on Mr. Stinky, I'm wondering if I should have told him to get to a doctor. I mean, I'm a runner who's been in a lot of stinky races and I have three children so I am no stranger to stink, but I'm still gagging a little just thinking about him. As a matter of fact, I have to end this topic now. Right now.)

We went back to get the rest of the peeps back for the awards ceremony. Not surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of action at home in terms of dressing/waking/etc. We finally headed down long after the ceremony. People were cleaning up. I found someone in charge and claimed my age group prize-- 3rd out of 39! It was a nice ocean scene print- kind of fun.

So that was it. Another year, another Sunshine Festival.