CASA Superhero 5K

Soooo I recently ran the 3rd race in the MCPARC race series I had mentioned in a previous post, the CASA superhero 5K, in Fairmont, WV.  This is a race I had heard about in previous years but had never been able to run!  If you’ve never heard of CASA, it’s an organization that helps abused children, and the theme of the race is that these children don’t just need a hero, they need a superhero!  So it is encouraged that runners and walkers dress up as a superhero.

Naturally, I chose Michaelangelo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!  My foot was sore beginning the race and I wasn’t sure if I was even going to run it when I got there, but I decided to go for it anyway!

The course started on top of a pretty long hill and we ran downward for close to a half mile and my foot hurt pretty bad during this part of the race, but I didn’t push it, my goal wasn’t to PR or place in my age group, just to run and enjoy it and hope my foot didn’t hurt too bad.  Once we got onto the flat part of the race the pain in my foot actually went away, maybe it was that fantastic runner’s high, I don’t know but I actually ended up forgetting that my foot hurt!  Don’t worry though, I didn’t push it, I still kept a conservative pace and focused on finishing the race.

The race ended with an uphill finish and I felt really strong due to the training that I had been doing for the half marathon at Harper’s Ferry, so I was happy that I finished strong and didn’t have to walk during the race!

I didn’t stick around, but there was a pretty nice party afterward with food from Dos Hermanos where the awards were given out.  Hopefully next year I’ll be in full racing form, it will be warmer, and I won’t have anywhere to be afterward so I can truly partake in all of the festivities of the day!  This was a fun race, and I highly recommend that you run it if you can; in your superhero costume of course!

Thanks for reading!!

Parent’s Place 5K

Sooooo this past Saturday I ran the Parent’s Place 5K in Star City, WV.  The weather was GORGEOUS for the race, and there were about 150 runners and walkers total for the event, which took place on the local rail trail and started and finished in Star City.  It’s not a major theme of the race, but runners were encouraged to dress as a super hero for the race (I dressed as myself for this one, I do however have a super hero outfit in mind for another race coming up this month).  I was happy that I had a couple of days off before this race so I wasn’t tired from work since I’ve been working a lot of night shifts lately and I kept my running schedule pretty regular this week.

As the race started, I felt like I was running SO slowly, when my watch alarmed at mile 1 however, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was an almost 9 minute flat mile, the second was about the same.  To some, running 9 minute flat miles may not seem like much of an accomplishment, but I am very happy since even a year ago I wouldn’t have been running this well, it’s also validation that my half marathon training is working.  I ended up running the third mile in 8:44 and passed 2 more runners on my way to the finish (if you haven’t noticed yet I really like to pass people right close to the finish).  I couldn’t decide if the 2 girls in front of me were in my age group so to make it easier on myself I decided I would just pass them!

I ended up with a PR and 4th in my age group, just missed getting a medal, but I can’t be upset with that run one bit!  I felt good and I’ve got plenty more 5K’s coming up to keep running better and better!

 

Pierpont Veteran’s 5K & Cooper’s Rock 10K

Sooooo that time of year has come!  It’s a magical time, a time when I begin to have a race just about every week!  After a snowy and cold winter, I’m more than ready to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather and races make it that much more fun!

My first race of the springtime was the Pierpont Veteran’s 5K located in Fairmont, WV at the “Tech Park” located just off I-79.  I was SO excited for this race but… I had just finished working my last night shift of a stretch of nights that morning sooooo I was literally running on a couple of hours of sleep.  It was a cold and rainy/drizzly evening for this race, but I don’t mind running in the rain.  There was a really good turnout for the race despite the weather.  I was optimistic that the race wouldn’t be too hilly (there are some hills on either end of the park) but I was wrong.  The majority of the course was flat-ish/rolling but then there was this really steep part close to a mile in, and then after climbing that I thought I’d be going down the hill soon after WRONG.  I had to climb another small hill, run around a tower, and then I got to run down a hill, and then do the first part of the course again!  Overall, the course wasn’t the worst I’ve run, but after working a couple of nights in a row and not being my most rested it was very tough!  I’d recommend this race definitely!  The t-shirt that we got was a pretty cool design (it’s in the other room where my husband is sleeping, so I’ll try to remember to edit these posts later with pictures of the shirts when it’s daylight or when he’s not sleeping).

The race I ran about a week after Pierpont was at Cooper’s Rock just outside of Morgantown, WV.  If you’ve never been to Cooper’s Rock I highly recommend you go!  The overlook is beautiful and so scenic!  (I would suggest sometime when there’s more foliage, the fall is definitely gorgeous!  And I didn’t get to make it out there to take a pic to put on here… sorry!!)  This race was a 10K which is pretty hard to come by in this area and it was run mainly on the main road that runs from the entrance of the park to the overlook, the race is usually run on the last weekend in March since it’s the last weekend that the park is closed to traffic.  The weather wasn’t terrible that day, just really cold, especially up on a mountain top, so there was a really good turnout for the race.  Josh had just run (and placed 3rd overall) in a marathon the day before and had thought it would be a good idea to run this race.  Since he wasn’t totally feeling it that day he decided to run the race with little ol’ me!  It was so nice to run with him since we rarely run together anymore, it was also nice for me mentally to have someone to push me through.  I was optimistic about this race… until I started running it!

The course was rolling and hilly, 2 of the hills were SO steep it was crazy!!  I couldn’t have been happier to outsprint 2 girls in front of me (and my husband 😉 ) and be done with that race!!  I still recommend this race because it provides beautiful scenery and a challenging course, you can bet I’ll be back there next year!