Race: Rotary Honors Veterans
Distance: 5K
Location: Alum Creek Park, Westerville
Overall Time: 42:39
Average Pace: 13:46
Overall Place: 180 / 320
I woke up ready to run – I kept thinking how much I needed a goodrace. My sister, Mollie and I got to the race early to pick up our packets and it was cold while we were waiting for the start of the race.
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| Mollie & Me |
Before the start, we met up with some more of my favorite Lucky 13’s.
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| Nita, Mollie, Me & Kelley |
This inaugural event will continue to service current projects of the Westerville Rotary Club and create support for Honor Flight of Columbus, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to safely transporting America’s Veterans to Washington DC to visit those memorials dedicated to honor their sacrifices. This event hopes to honor, celebrate and recognize those Veterans that have provided the ultimate “Service Above Self” commitment by serving and giving of themselves to our country. The race started off with a procession by the Honor Guard.
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| Honor Guard |
And, we posed for one more picture with Snowville Creamery.
Snowville Creamery is a local farm that believes milk is perfect when it comes from the cow so we process it as little as necessary. They do not homogenize so the cream naturally rises to the top and they also pasteurize at the lowest legal temperature, resulting in milk that tastes sweet, clean and delicious. The milk is a little pricy due to because of higher costs in production but in my opinion, it is totally worth it. I can’t afford it all the time, but it is a special treat from time to time (and at a lot of local races!). Their Chocolate Milk is the absolute BEST!
The gun sounded and we were off! It took a few minutes to maneuver through the walkers on a narrow course, but once we got through, we were off! I took off too fast, as usual, I really need to work on that.
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| Start and Finish of the 5K course. |
I was feeling great, in fact, until about Mile 2 when I had to slow down and walk for about a quarter of a mile to get my heart rate back under control.
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| My Splits! |
It was hard to recover from my slow-down, but I did with the encouragement and enthusiasm of Mollie, who really helped me get going again. We talked a lot about Mom and how she was a huge source of inspiration for us both. I told Mollie how I was feeling about being burned out and a lot of my runs were a struggle for me. She told me I need to “get back to my roots.” Back to running for why I did when I started – because I wanted to get healthy and have fun. PR’s didn’t matter and “faster” didn’t matter. I ran because it made me feel better. My sister is a wise woman.
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| Mollie & Me at the Finish Line. |
I was really hoping to PR this race, but I came in a few minutes short. And you know what? I am okay with that. I worked hard at this race and I am really happy with my time. I got to run to support a wonderful cause on a beautiful day. The Honor Flight is meaningful for me because my Uncle, who is in his 90’s just got to go to DC to see the WWII memorial, and I think that is really important. He doesn’t talk much about it and I don’t get to see him very often, but I know he enjoyed his time there.
This race had great rewards too! A long-sleeve tee, medal and headband, which I love because I really needed one!
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| Race Swag! |
The Finish Line was full of bagels, homemade cookies, bananas, oranges, bottled water and of course, Snowville’s Chocolate Milk. My dad was there to cheer us on too, which was wonderful for me. It means a lot to me when he comes to my races. I had a pumpkin cookie with butter-cream frosting and it was Heavenly. It was well organized too and the course was marked clearly with signs, police and volunteers through a local nature preserve. It was a gorgeous, crisp November day. A perfect day to race!
What’s your favorite racing weather? Any fall races that you are particularily proud of?
Until the next mile maker,
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Great job, Sara!!
this race sounds incredible! i love how the start/finish was lined with flags. plus all the food, shirt, headband, medal, etc…it just sounds super well organized. your sister is a VERY wise woman. love her words. and that you all got to run together! congrats on a great race!
So happy for you and Mollie to have been able to run together, and with your Dad there to cheer you on. Love the theme of the race and the finish line fare sounds wonderful. Great day for you all.
Good for Mollie for reminding you of your roots!
Sounded like a beautiful day.. When I lived in Huntsville, Alabama with my boyfriend we participated in the Fallen Officers 5K & The Liz Hurley 10K & 5K — both were organized really well, too, with beautiful (Southern) Fall weather:)
OMG, that cookie sounds divine! Good for you – getting back to your roots sounds FUN and wise. 😉
Favorite racing weather??? 40’s-50’s, clear and sunny. It was like that for the Columbus Half last year – perfect. I really loved the Flying Feather last year – but it could also be because I ran that when I was my most fit and fastest. LOL.
hmmmm perfect racing weather would be slightly overcast with lots of tradewinds to keep us from feeling too muggy.
No rain, no harsh sun, but something in between.
I haven’t raced this fall but I plan on picking it back up in 2012.
I love the advice your sister gave you- get back to your roots! I started running to gain athleticism and a healthy lifestyle. But I find myself setting up time goals and increasing my distance. I need to remember that too much too soon is a recipe for disaster.
What a great race and nice swag for a 5K! I’m sure you have a new PR coming up really soon but it’s nice sometimes just to run and have a good time and not worry about a PR.
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A race to honor veterans and cookies and chocolate milk alone would have been great, but then to top it off by knowing that you pushed yourself and crossed the finish line well is the frosting on that pumpkin cookie!
Grea race, Sara! That PR is yours next time.