First Day 5K

A while back I got an email about a 5K finishing at a brewery.  What could be more fabulous than that?  Looking at our training schedule, oh Tuesday 1/1 we are supposed to run 6-880s.  I have no clue what they are, so let me sign us up for this 5K. And thus D and I were signed up for the First Day 5K at Red Brick Brewery.

On Tuesday morning, New Year's Day, I laid there listening to the rain.  I wasn't hungover because I am really not about New Year's Eve.  D usually works, and I am left to my own devices during the day.  Monday I drove 80 miles RT to a friend's to watch GT beat USC.  So by the time I got home, we ate and watched Clemson beat LSU.  Then I was like, "eh."  I know, such a partier am I.

So back to Tuesday...it was raining.  I asked D if it was going to be like that all day.  He said it was supposed to rain on and off all day.  At 11:30 we decided to get ready.  We each settled on pants and a light long-sleeve shirt.  I took a hat.  D didn't.  We packed some dry clothes and off to the brewery.

As we pulled into the last street, I sort of noticed the hills.  Well, I will get in sprints and hills in the same race, I thought.  We signed in and went back to the car.  We were guessing there would be about 50 people since it was the first time this race was run, and the weather.  I think there were about 75, in reality.

After waiting in the car for 10 minutes we went to over to the registration adn then walked with everyone to the start.  The RD talked some about how great we all were for coming out in the conditions, and then we were off.

Mile 1 started on a down hill, running into the cul-de-sac and then back up hill.  I looked at my watch a few times and it was 10:48.  No way I could keep that.  The hill was pretty long and when I was in the middle of it, my watch pace read 14:48.  Finally got to the top.  2 people in front of me started running backwards.  They then ran toward me and caught up with a woman (Green Woman) and they then all ran past me.  Down the hill and out onto the main road.  More down hill and then starting up.  Mile 1 was 12:13.

I kind of thought about walking and running but decided to just run. This was more because I had horrible GI issues at this point, and I didn't want to change my pace from walk to run.  I ran with my stomach and lower area firmly clenched.   I finally got to the top of Collier and turned onto Chattahoochee.  It was rather flat.  Then I turned onto Logan Circle.  That made me giggle because there used to be a brewery on that road.  Leave it to me to know what breweries were around the area we are running. The first half of the road was a slight incline.  I ran past the water stop which was right at 1.55 miles.  20 minutes had passed, which was about average for my treadmill time for 3 miles.  I wanted to go faster, but I kept thinking about the hills I knew I had left.  I passed Green Woman.  Then I passed her friends, who were walking.  All 3 of them started running again and passed me.  The 2nd half of Logan Circle was slight downhill and then back onto Chattahoochee.  Woohoo Home Stretch.  Mile 2: 13:31

Oof that was slow.  I realized my GI issue was gone.  I relaxed a little.  Back on Collier was down hill and then up.  I passed Green Woman again.  Passed her friends and they started running.  I really was bugged by that.  Still I just kept going.  Turned onto the Brewery road and more uphill.  Finally got to the top and I knew the rest was downhill or flat.  D said I booked that part.  I still thought I was going slowly.  Green Woman and her friends passed me.  At that point, I just decided to go my own way.  I was doing fine.
Mile 3: 13:16.

The last .11 mile was uneventful:
Final time was 40:11.  I was slightly disappointed with the time, but I honestly can't remember when I ran a course that hilly, or that wet (I'm a hesitant foot planter).  I thought about it for 5 more seconds and said, "Shut up. You just logged 3.11 miles on 1.1.13."

I looked at my HRM.  The screen was crazy looking. I could barely eek out I had burned 602 calories. D and I went to the car and changed clothes.  Let's just say that was laughable.  Also a caterer's security camera might have some nice pics of me (I'm not crazy about Red Brick's bathrooms, plus I figured lots of people were changing in there).  When we walked back to the brewery, the RD was so concerned that we were just crossing the line, because everything had been packed up.  We assured them we were not crossing the line, and went in from out of the rain.

Then we had some beer, and listened to all the awards.  I really liked the race, definitely liked the after party, and thought it was a good way to start off the new year.

(But I ended up ordering a new-to-me HRM off ebay this morning.  Mine is toast).

D and Me Waiting in the Car

Beers and Hat from the First Day 5K