Barlowe 5K Bolt

The 2022 Boston Marathon is almost here, and I PR’d the 10 miler — twice!

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And suddenly, the 2022 Boston Marathon is a little more than a week away and I’m in taper mode. How did that happen? 

I think my training has gone pretty close to perfectly and the weeks have flown by. I really like the 12-week plan from Advanced Marathoning that I followed last fall and then again this winter. First, I think 12 weeks is my sweet spot for marathon training – it’s long enough to get me in shape, yet short enough that I don’t get bored with it. Second, the plan is easily the most effective one I’ve ever followed. I’m running times I never thought would be possible for me, and I think I have that plan to thank for it. 

I ran three races in March – two 10 milers and a 5K. All of them went really well! Here’s a recap of each of them. 

The Tim Kennard River Run 10 Miler

My training plan advised that I race either an 8K or a 15K the weekend of March 20-21, so I was excited to see the Tim Kennard River Run 10 Miler was happening in Salisbury on March 20. (15K = 9.3 miles, so that’s close enough.) The race is named after Tim Kennard, a local runner who passed away in 2004 of renal cancer, and the proceeds fund organizations that help children and animals. I love 10 milers – I think that’s my favorite distance. I had also read good things about it from Vanessa with She Runs By the Seashore. Salisbury is about two hours from where I live in Anne Arundel County, so my husband and I decided to make a weekend out of it and stay in an Airbnb on the Eastern Shore, in a small town called Snow Hill about 20 minutes away from the race’s start/finish line. The race was on a Sunday, so I did my 17-mile long run on Saturday and then we hit the road. I wasn’t too worried about running a long run and then racing 10 miles the next day – I did that when I ran Cherry Blossom last fall and had a great race. We stopped in Berlin, which has tons of antique shops and bills itself as America’s coolest small town. We ate dinner at an excellent restaurant called Blacksmith and then relaxed in the adorable Airbnb, which was a two-story apartment that was part of an old house. It was so charming that I wish we could have stayed for longer – I’d love to go back sometime. 

Easy logistics are the best thing about a small town race! The race began and ended at a local church in Salisbury, and packet pickup and a full on breakfast spread was set up inside. There was plenty of parking and we had time to hang out inside the church hall while we waited for the start of the race. Thank you to all the church members who came out to help! Everyone was so nice. 

I really didn’t know what to expect as far as my time here. I ran a 1:11 last fall in the rescheduled Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run, which was a two-minute PR, and I thought that was pretty solid. But I also knew I was in good shape, maybe better shape, and the weather was good and the course was flat. So I thought maybe 1:10ish was possible. I also thought I could possibly win the Masters female race and come home with an extra $50 in my pocket. 

I ended up finishing in 1:09:12 (6:55 average pace) and was third overall female (which came with a $100 check!) I was pretty shocked – and thrilled – that I broke 1:10 by that much. I saw that I was averaging a sub-7 pace in the first three miles, and thought I was maybe going too fast, but I felt good so I just went with it. I really liked running around Salisbury, a town I had never been to before. We ran through some very pretty neighborhoods along the river! My only real complaint, which obviously no one can control, was the aggressive wind. OMG. During the part of the race where we ran through downtown Salisbury, the headwind was insane. (Why is it never a tailwind?) There weren’t a ton of people out on the course spectating, but the ones that were there were enthusiastic and encouraging. Around mile 7, I caught up to the woman who ended up finishing second, Maria. Pretty much everyone we passed yelled out “Go Maria!” I told her she obviously has lots of fans in the area and she said she lives in Salisbury and runs a lot of local races. She and I were neck and neck with each other until about mile 9, when she passed me for good and I was never able to catch her (though I was close behind.) As we were nearing the finish, I saw the vehicle that was leading the front runners was right in front of us and so I knew we were among the top female finishers. But I had no idea what place I was in – and when I crossed the finish line, stopped my Garmin, and saw my time, I didn’t really care! 1:09:12! It wasn’t that long ago when I had a hard time running a sub-7 minute place in a 5K, so that was extremely exciting.

I initially was told that I finished in fourth place, and was first Masters female, but then learned that the woman who they thought was second place accidentally took a wrong turn and was disqualified. That really sucks! So Maria came in second and I came in third. Again, that was great, and so was the $100 in prize money, but I was happiest about my finish time.  

Overall, I loved this flat, fast race and would like to do it again some day – and the Eastern Shore is such a pretty part of my wonderful state. Very glad I did it. 

Cruising to the finish!

Barlowe Bolt 5K

I love to hate 5Ks! 

Seriously, when you really push yourself, there is nothing more painful than a 5K! I signed up to run the Barlowe Bolt with my 5 Peaks kickboxing friends the week after the Tim Kennard 10 Miler. I’ve run this race three times before, in 2018, 2019, and 2020. I won the race in 2020 and set my 5K PR of 20:29 then. I did not run in 2021 because the race happened the same day as the Tidewater Striders BQ Marathon. This year, I thought maybe I could win again and even beat my PR. Maybe I could even break 20 minutes? It didn’t seem out of the question with my recent 10 mile time!

Well, I did win the race – first female and first finisher, period! – but I did not break 20 minutes or even PR. My time was 20:39, so 10 seconds off my 20:29 PR. I wasn’t disappointed by it – as I said, 5Ks are not my thing.

The whole thing was kind of a blur, as 5Ks are. It was about 48 degrees on race morning and I was wearing a singlet, shorts, and arm warmers, which everyone thought was hilarious. “Where are your clothes?” multiple people asked me. I get really warm when I run and what I was wearing ended up being ideal! I lined up at the front and took off with two men, a younger kid and an older man who ended up coming in first place male. They were a few feet ahead of me for the first mile, and when I saw my friend Cindy on one of the turnarounds, she yelled out to me, “They’re the only two in front of you! You can catch them!” I ended up passing the younger guy about halfway through the race and the other guy some time in mile two. It hurt. I think that’s my problem with 5Ks– I have a hard time really making myself HURT for 3.1 miles. I prefer the slow burn of a longer distance race. The Barlowe Bolt is also pretty hilly. I don’t know if I’ll ever break 20 minutes, or even if I really care that much about it, but I probably need a flatter course to do so. 

All in all, it was a fun morning with friends. And I won $40 in gift cards to Giant! Groceries are awfully expensive these days, so I was pretty happy with that. 

Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run

Once again, my plan recommended a race this weekend – either a 10K or a 15K, and the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run was once again being held in the spring with things inching back to normal as COVID starts to fade into the background a little bit. I am honestly surprised at how well this race went. I thought I’d set a really strong PR at Tim Kennard and wasn’t expecting to beat that so soon. I figured I’d finish in the 1:10-1:12 range and be totally happy with that. Just like last fall, I also had a 16-mile run to do that weekend, so I did that the day before the race.  

I ended up PRing again, this time running a 1:08:03, a 6:49/mile pace – WOW! (My Garmin actually clocked just over 10 miles, 10.07 miles to be exact, which was a 6:46 pace. It doesn’t really matter either way.) Given how competitive this race is – a lot of pros and elite athletes come out for it – I did not get any kind of award, but I didn’t expect to. I came in 13th in my age group. Interestingly, last fall my 1:11 also got me 13th, but I know that the rescheduled race was much less popular with runners (I mean, the whole point is the cherry blossoms, which are not there in the fall!) 

I admit that I cursed myself a little bit for signing up for this on race morning. As logistically easy as Tim Kennard was, Cherry Blossom – and really, any race or event in DC – was pretty much the opposite. Back in the fall, the Metro opened early and I was able to take the orange line right to the start at the National Mall. But this time, the Metro didn’t open early enough. So I had to drive. With no traffic early in the morning, it only took me about a half hour, and I had booked a parking spot ahead of time through a parking app. But of course Google Maps got confused, because DC is confusing, and took me to the wrong garage. Luckily, I figured it out. The garage was about a mile from the start, so I was glad I allowed myself plenty of time to get there. Then I decided to check a bag with a jacket to wear after the race. I never do this and I may not make a habit of it. UPS was handling the baggage check and the trucks were late – they didn’t start accepting the bags until around 7, and I still had to pee and make it to my corral in time for the 7:30 start! It was so stressful, because I hate rushing around, but I did make it with time to spare. I decided to line up with the 7 minute/mile group and see how I felt. 

I ended up staying with the pacer for the first two miles, then pulled ahead. As in Tim Kennard, I was feeling good and just decided to see how long I could roll with the pace. And it paid off. This race is also fast and flat, and I do think 10 milers are where I shine. It’s kind of funny to think I can run a 10 miler at a 6:49/pace, yet my current 5K pace isn’t much faster than that. When my Garmin beeped at every mile marker, I would look down and see a pace in the high 6:30s or 6:40s and think, “Really? OK!” I felt like I was working hard, but that the pace was sustainable. The weather was absolutely perfect – high 40s, no wind, not too sunny, no precip – and there were tons of spectators cheering us on. And yes, it sure was nice to see cherry blossoms this time! 

 I didn’t start to really feel the pain until probably mile 8. At that point, I heard some other runners talking about Boston and I told them I was running, too. The one guy said how nice it would be to see the marathon happening in April again. Due to COVID, the Boston Marathon hasn’t happened on Patriots Day for three years, since the last and only other time I ran the race! We hit mile 9 and he said, “OK, one mile to go until the taper!” I told him I was ready! 

I actually had no idea I was PRing until I stopped my Garmin after crossing the finish, as I didn’t have it set to elapsed time. When I saw 1:08, I was pretty shocked. More than a minute faster than Tim Kennard! 

Photo credit: Charlie Ban of RunWashington

I even ordered one of the official race photos, which I never do because they are always so expensive, with my time overlaid on it. I can’t wait to get it! 

Is This My Peak? 

I’m really excited about my recent string of PRs, both last fall and this spring, and it definitely has me wondering how much longer I’ll be able to run like this. I turn 42 in July, and it’s inevitable that I’ll slow down eventually. I also know that running “success” ebbs and flows. I was on fire in the fall of 2017, PRing in several distances and running my first BQ. In 2018, I was running slower than I had in years – probably due to a combination of training mistakes and life stressors. Then over the next few years, I started to get faster again, and then in the fall of 2021 I had some major breakthroughs. I don’t know what’s around the corner for me, running-wise, but I’m determined to keep having fun with it. Bring on Boston 2022! 

Also – this is my 100th blog post!

A big and unexpected PR at the Barlowe Bolt 5K

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Yesterday, I ran my first LIVE race in seven months, the Barlowe Bolt 5K in Millersville. And I had a PR that I truly never saw coming, running a 20:29 (6:36 pace!) I was also the first female finisher. To say I was thrilled is an understatement.

I had set my previous PR, a 20:49, almost exactly four years earlier on Oct. 2, 2016, as part of a relay team at the Waterman’s sprint triathlon on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. That was the only time I’d ever managed to sneak in under 21 minutes, and it wasn’t even at a stand-alone 5K. I figured it was a fluke and that I’d never beat it. I often struggle in 5Ks and have a hard time breaking 22 minutes consistently.

But then 2020 happened. All of the races after early March were canceled and many were replaced by virtual races. I kept on running and training, with hopes of running a fall marathon (as of today, that hope is still alive!) This past summer was the hottest, most humid and most disgusting summer I can recall in recent years. But I kept grinding and I think it all paid off on a crisp fall morning when the temperature was only in the mid-40s.

This annual race, which raises money to build a natural play space at Barlowe Field in Millersville, Maryland, always happens in March. The organizers postponed it until October this year, and I am so glad they were able to have a live event! Everyone was required to wear masks when not running and asked to keep social distance. The race size was also limited to 50 people. I think they handled the COVID restrictions well, and I felt safe.

Team 5 Peaks!

A bunch of my friends from 5 Peaks came out to race, and several won age group awards! We were all just so pumped for a real, in-person race. I’m grateful for all the virtual opportunities we had in this bizarro year, but nothing beats an in-person race.

The morning of the race actually got off to a terrible start. After not sleeping so great anyway, I awoke at 4:30 and my cat immediately started whining to go outside. She’s an indoor cat, but we let her outside often because she knows not to leave our yard. Well, that morning she decided to wander into our neighbor’s yard (I think she may have climbed into a small tree) and I couldn’t find her. She wouldn’t come when I called her, and it was dark. I frantically woke my husband up and finally, she came running in our direction. But I really thought I would be missing the race to look for my lost cat. Maybe all that early morning adrenaline helped me?!

The race started right on time at 7 am, and I started off running with a group of young kids (high school age) and an older gentleman in a Howard County Racing Team singlet. He ended up pulling ahead of me at the end of the first mile, and I was never able to catch up. He ended up winning the race, finishing 10 seconds ahead of me. We chatted for a little bit after the race, and I learned he is 63 years old. Talk about goals!

At the end of the first mile, my watch beeped and told me I ran a 6:20. Yikes. This is usually the time in a 5K where I realize I went out wayyyy too fast and then I’m ready to die. But this never really happened for me in the race. I felt really good. I did slow down in miles 2 and 3 (to 6:53 and 6:57, respectively), but kept my pace under 7 minutes! The Barlowe Bolt course isn’t pancake flat, either— it’s a lot of rolling hills. But none of them are particularly long or steep, and my neighborhood has similar terrain. So I had an advantage, since I run around my neighborhood so much. I’ve also run this race twice before, and I knew what to expect.

At about the halfway mark, I saw my friend Matt, who had provided all of the finisher medals and trophies for the winners. I also passed him again just before the final right turn to the finish, and he yelled out, “You’re going to be under 20:30!” I hadn’t really been looking at my watch for most of the race, instead just concentrating on running as fast as I could, so while I knew I was having a strong race …. I didn’t think I was going to PR. But when I looked at the clock and saw the time began with a 20, I started sprinting as fast as I could. When I crossed the line, I yelled out, “Holy shit, I PRed!” right in front of a bunch of kids, so that was nice. My apologies to their parents.

In addition to a nice little trophy, I won a $50 gift card to Giant — always appreciated! But I think I’m most excited about the fact that I PR’d my first official race as a 40-year-old, and in a distance I always say I love to hate!

How did I manage to do it? I think there are a couple of reasons why I ran so well. I’ve always heard the joke that humidity is the poor runner’s altitude training. Well, I think there is something to that. Again, this summer was absolutely brutal and running felt so. damn. hard. Lately, it’s felt a lot easier … and I know my body loves the fall weather.

But more importantly, I think, I’ve also just been running more. As far as marathon runners go, I’ve always been a relatively low mileage runner, often peaking with mileage in the high 30s. I did bump up my weekly mileage back in 2017, the last time I trained for a Boston qualifier … but I’m running even more now. Two weeks ago I ran 53 miles. This week, a cutback week, I ran 41 miles. This coming week will be around 53 again. I’ve been adding a Wednesday medium-long run (8-10 miles) into my schedule, and running before kickboxing class twice a week. So for the last few weeks, I’ve been running six days a week. Again, nothing for a lot of marathoners. But still more than I usually run. I’ve been feeling great and my body has responded well to the increased mileage, so I’m going to keep rolling with it and hope that my rescheduled marathon is able to occur in 27 days!

Other races on my calendar

I completed a few more virtual races over the last few weeks. At the end of August, I did the virtual Quantico Duathlon, which was a 5K run, a 20.4K bike ride and a 5K run. It took me around an hour and 48 minutes, and I ran the first 5K in 21:37 (which I was excited about, and about what I was expecting for the Barlowe Bolt!) Ran the second 5K in 23:32, which I thought was pretty decent after one 5K and a 12.67 mile bike ride. It was lot of fun. I would still like to race more duathlons in the future, when I am not busy marathon training.

Then, in September, I raced the virtual Market Street Mile and ran a 6:11 — exactly what I ran last year, when the race happened in person. I ran it on my lunch break — yay for working from home for the foreseeable future — and was hoping to squeak under six minutes, since I somehow ran a 5:56 mile earlier this year. This run burned like hell and I have no idea how I could have run it 15 seconds faster. But I’m happy with that effort. According to the online results, I was the second female overall. The first place female was a 46-year-old who ran a 5:46! Fast!!

In two weeks, I am also running the virtual Baltimore Running Festival half marathon. I am probably not going to race it, since it’s two weeks out from my marathon. That said, I did race a half marathon two weeks before my BQ race in 2017. (And raced a 10K the day after that. This was a stupid decision — don’t do it.) That half marathon went badly, but then I crushed my marathon. So, who knows?

I also registered for Rip It Events’ Day of the Dead 5K, back when I thought I was running a marathon on Sept. 13, not Halloween. I am supposed to run that between Oct. 30 and Nov. 2. I certainly am not going to race a 5K right before a goal marathon …. nor do I want to race one after having just run 26.2 miles! I may just run it as an easy shakeout run the day before the marathon.

Speaking of Rip It Events, we have the Greenbrier Trail 5 & 10 Miler coming up on Oct. 25. I’m not a great trail runner and definitely would not want to risk running a trail race the week before a marathon — but it sounds fun and the race organizers have done everything they can to make it a safe event in this era of COVID-19! If you are interested, use SAUNTRY2020 for 10 percent off.

A near-PR in the Barlowe 5K Bolt +week 8 of Boston Marathon training complete!

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“Almost only counts in horseshoes” may be an old and tired cliche, but I couldn’t be more excited about my almost-PR in last weekend’s Barlowe 5K Bolt, when I ran a 21:35 and won my age group!

Even though I’ve run a bunch of 5Ks in the last year and a half, I believe this was the first time I went under 22 minutes since I was training hard to BQ in the fall of 2017 (I ran a 21:55 in the 5K at the Baltimore Running Festival that year for a 2nd place AG award.) Yes, technically I did run a 21:08 in the Reindeer Run in December, but that course was short, so I don’t count it. Fall 2017 was also the last time I was doing serious speedwork, so I think there has to be a connection there. Hope it bodes well for my time in Boston!

My 5K PR is a fluke 20:49 that I ran when I relayed in the 2016 Waterman’s Sprint Triathlon, and I really don’t know if I will ever beat that. For all I know, the whole thing is a figment of my imagination, because I’ve tried to find proof of those results online and I can’t. *shrug* But that’s what I remember running that day. And so, to the best of my knowledge, last Saturday’s run was my second-fastest 5K time!

The annual race, held in Millersville, Maryland, raises money for a natural playground in the area. I ran with a huge group of friends from 5 Peaks, and because it was the day before St. Patrick’s Day, I got decked out my holiday best:

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It was the Lucky Hat that did it.

It was cold the morning of the race, but nowhere near as bad as last year. But it was VERY windy, to the point where I wasn’t sure my ridiculous hat was going to stay on my head! I got to the race, which started at 7 am, by about 6:15 to pick up my packet and do a quick warm up. I never warm up before 5Ks, but I had five miles on my training plan for the day, so I figured I would do a 1-mile warm up and a 1-mile cool down.  (Maybe the warm up helped, who knows!)

At the start of the 5K I told myself, “Don’t go out balls to the wall in the first mile. Pace yourself!” But…. I wasn’t successful. The first mile is largely flat, with maybe a small, small incline or two, and my watch beeped 6:47 at me when I finished it. Well, shit, I thought. At that point, I was keeping up pretty well with Tammi’s husband, Drew. I told myself I would try to run with him or very close to him for as much of the race as I could.

Somewhere during the second mile, which is more up and down, I passed him. I *definitely* slowed down in mile 2, to a 7:15, but that was better than the Valentine’s 5K when my second mile was in the 7:30s following a sub-7 first mile. And I was feeling pretty good and like I could still finish strong.

I ended up staying ahead of Drew until the very end when, no joke, he passed me on the exact same little hill that Tammi passed me on last year. I would have laughed out loud if I hadn’t been extremely gassed at that point. I ran another 7:15 mile and he ended up finishing three seconds ahead of me! Tammi didn’t do the 5K this year because she ran the 1 mile fun run with their son, who won that race! Fast family!

I won a car care package with a free car wash to a local place and a goodie bag of other prizes, including a nice water bottle and some gift cards to Ledo Pizza.

Honestly, I am MOST excited that my average race pace was 6:58. I’ve only ever seen my race pace begin with a 6 one other time — that freak 5K I mentioned above — so that was huge for me!

If you’re looking for a local and low-key race that raises money for a good cause, I highly recommend the Bolt!

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5 Peaks life! 

An update on Boston training 

The day after the 5K, I ran the first of two 20-milers on my training plan. The weather was great — it got into the 50s with no wind — and I headed to Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis to run. An entire loop around the park is five miles, so I planned to do that four times. That may seem a little boring, but I love Quiet Waters and find running there so peaceful.

The run went fine except for the fact that I tripped and fell a mile and a half into it. There are a lot of hills in the park — which makes it a good place to do a long run if you are training for a hilly marathon like Boston. Well, I was running down one of the steeper inclines and I tripped over a root and fell. I wasn’t seriously hurt, fortunately. My knee got scraped up and I snagged one of my favorite pairs of Under Armour leggings, which really made me mad. (On the bright side, I almost wore a brand new pair of leggings and decided at the last minute not to, so at least there is that.)

And life being the way it is, of course I had an audience for my spill. A man was walking with his son and I fell as I ran past them. If an Allison trips and falls in the park and no one witnesses her complete lack of gracefulness, did it really happen?! Ironically, I was just talking with my friends at brunch after the 5K about the time I fell off a treadmill at my old gym (someone left the machine on, I stepped on it to run and flew ass-backwards off of it … you can visualize the rest) and how it had been a while since I’d fallen. Totally jinxed myself there!

But it could have been worse. I got my 20 miles in, though it wasn’t as fast as I would have liked. I was trying for three hours, and it took me three hours and 10 minutes. I was trying to be very conscious of where I was running after my fall, so that slowed me down a little. It happens.

The next day, I came down with a mild cold that has messed up this week’s training a little bit. Ran my easy 5 on Monday after work, but felt like crap on Tuesday and skipped kickboxing. I felt MUCH better yesterday, but the plan called for 7 hill repeats and I wasn’t sure I wanted to risk a relapse by pushing through that workout, so I just ran another easy 5.

I’ll do the hill workout tomorrow. I mean, who doesn’t love spending Friday night running up and down the Naval Academy Bridge? 😉

 

Barlowe 5K Bolt: A 2nd place finish and a whole lotta swag!

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Damn you, margaritas!

That’s what I was thinking as I was running the Barlowe Bolt, an annual 5K that raises money to build a natural playground in Anne Arundel County, on Saturday morning. OK, so I drank just one margarita on Friday night — but it was a big enough that it really was like drinking two margs. It was good. Freaking delicious, actually. But I didn’t even come close to a PR Saturday and lost the race to my friend Tammi by seven seconds — so I’m going to blame it on the alcohol, in the immortal words of T-Pain. 😉

Jokes aside, I had a blast at this 5K, which I ran with a whole crew of friends from 5 Peaks Martial Arts Academy. The race took place in Millersville, Maryland, a small town between Annapolis and Baltimore. The course wove through some residential neighborhoods, and featured plenty of rolling hills. My only real complaint about the course is that it wasn’t marked all that well. There were arrows written on the street in chalk, but at one point, I almost made a wrong turn and went off course. There also weren’t a ton of volunteers out there to direct the runners, but it is a small race, so that’s to be expected.

Allison

Having lots of fun! (Kree Killian photo)

I’ve long said that I don’t feel I am a strong 5K runner. I really struggle to pace myself and go out way too fast, which is exactly what happened during this race. It was pretty cold, around 30 degrees, so I was anxious to get moving. And my miles splits show that. I ran the first mile in 6:54, second mile in 7:27, third mile in 7:22 and the last 0.1 in 42 seconds. I was actually in the lead, with Tammi close behind, until she passed me around the 2.9-mile mark. She finished in 22:15, with me crossing the finish line in 22:22. She actually felt bad about it! She definitely had no reason to feel anything but proud of herself — she ran an awesome race and left enough gas in the tank to finish strong — exactly how you should run a 5K!

AllisonandTammi

Tammi and I! (Kree Killian photo)

Tammi was the first female finisher, and fifth finisher overall, and I was second female finisher and sixth overall. I also won my age group. 5 Peaks Master Matt (who had been sick and yet still managed to finish under 22 minutes) was the fourth overall finisher and got first in his age group, as well. So it was a real good day for the 5 Peaks crew!

I was really surprised and excited by the quality of the swag and prizes for this race, too. When they called my name to pick up my award, my friends all laughed at me because I took SO long to choose a prize. They had a lot to pick from! I ended up taking home a $25 gift card to Carrabbas Italian Grill, plus a certificate and a medal. I also got a bunch of coupons for freebies at restaurants — one for a free cheese pizza from Ledo Pizza, another for a free dessert or small order of fries at McDonald’s, and another for a free appetizer at Texas Roadhouse. So much for runners being healthy. Haha!

All runners also received $10 gift cards to Road ID, which makes ID bracelets with your personal information on them for runners and other athletes to wear during activities. I already have a Road ID, but I will definitely be using my gift card to get some new badges!

After the race, a bunch of us then went to kickboxing. And then I was ready for lunch by 10:30 a.m. It was an excellent way to spend a Saturday morning!

And maybe someday I’ll beat my 5K PR of 20:49 … which is a year and a half old at this point!