I have been trying to hit quite a few local 5Ks as of late.  The primary reason is to keep Aby running and having fun in her off season and secondly to try to keep myself pushing so that I can hopefully get up to speed sooner rather than later.  I almost feel as if racing each weekend is backfiring on me because I seem to be getting slower which in turn just kills my confidence. 

If I’m honest, I also have a few things working against me.  I am carrying almost 10 extra lbs from not being able to run this summer and it doesn’t seem to want to move out now that I’m back at it.  It is very difficult for me to lose weight, I have to be almost perfect with my intake and I’m not even close to perfect.  I’ve been hitting my workouts hard, plus trying to race and I’m not getting results in either area.   I just don’t feel like I can move.  It could be the extra weight.  It could be the lack of fitness and endurance.  It could be a lingering issue in my hamstrings that is literally being hammered out on a weekly basis but the bottom line is I have heavy feet/legs that I can’t lift up to run fast.  I do feel like I’m getting stronger; I’m just not seeing it materialize in the 5K results.  So I raced this weekend, I race next weekend at the Hot Chocolate 5K and then I’ll be stepping back and not racing again until Thanksgiving Day at the Running For Kicks 4 Mile Turkey Trot.  I won’t give up because I know it takes forever a long time to build back up but as always the waiting is the hardest part.

On Saturday, I was out of town and found a 5K somewhat close to my parents, the Spooktacular 5K in Warsaw, IN.  I found the race thru the Run Indiana website.   The race was hosted by the Kosciusko County YMCA.  It was small, cheap and well ran.  I rolled into the parking lot at 8:48 am for an event that started at 9.  I “normally” don’t like to cut it that close but the cross country travels from my parents house to the race site took a “little” longer than I had anticipated.  I easily found parking, ran inside, handed them $20 and my entry form,  and they handed me a bib (with chip timing!) and a shirt.  I was registered by 8:50 am.  I hit the indoor bathroom and was out the door for a very brief warm up by 8:52 am.  The race started on time at 9 am. 

I was a bit nervous standing at the start line because nobody wanted to be near the front.  I’m not familiar with the town at all, and found myself damn near in the front row as everyone kept backing away from the start.  As the race director spent a few minutes discussing the route, I busted out laughing thinking, I’ll never remember all this!  My motto is always to follow the people in front of me and the people in front of me were disappearing before the gun even went off!  So we started the race and I was still laughing, hoping that a few people would take off and of course they did and I just settled into my pathetic pace.    The cool thing about this town is that they must be very bike friendly because each side of the road had a bike lane, so between the random sidewalks and the bike lane, I never felt crowded or unsafe running on the side of an unclosed road.  The course was easy, had plenty of volunteers helping direct runners and it was thru a scenic neighborhood beside Winona Lake and then thru the lakeside parks and artisan area. 

It was a bit of an adventure and I was looking around checking things out probably more than I was focused on the race.  I kept thinking I’d like to go back and check out the area with the family.  I really liked the course and there were some rolling hills but nothing crazy.  And I do feel like using the word “hills” is somewhat of an exaggeration.  There were a few inclines and declines but nothing too intense.

I do not think there was water on course and there were not bathrooms but this is normal for a small 5K.  There were about 60 finishers and several of those were run/walkers. 

The awards ceremony was nice.   They had the normal age group awards and gave awards 3 deep.  This was definitely a race where almost everyone walked away with an age group award.  That always makes me happy for people and I feel like they deserve something for getting up and out on a cold morning!

I took 1st in my age group with a 25:25, photo below.  I was 4th female overall.

“Run”Way Fashion for the Spooktacular:  Athleta Hurdle Top – $69 &  Athleta Relay Capris – $69.  The Hurdle Top is a new favorite of mine and I’ve worn it several times now.  It is long, so don’t order a tall unless you have a much longer torso than me or you’ll have to return it like I did.  I normally wear a tall in the  Athleta tops but not this one!  The top fits great though once I figured out the proper size.  It has a small zip pocket in the front, plus long arms with the thumb hole for these cooler fall days!  I also love the reflective accents and it has tiny stripes that I didn’t notice when I ordered it.  Several color choices.   Cute!   As for the Relay Capris, I have these in 3 colors, the black (above) which I purchased 3 seasons ago, the blue which I purchased last year and the asphalt (below) which I purchased this year.  These capris last and they are the perfect length.  They come in regular and tall (for me!) and are a little longer so they hit below the knee.  Great fit.  Great look.  Very flattering. Plus the waist comes up a bit higher to hold in my mommy tummy.  Total win!

Did you race or just get out an enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend?  Do you have a couple pieces of clothing that are your current fall favorites?  Tell us!

The winner of the Nike+ SportBand is #5 – Julie Belka. 

Julie, please contact  me at amanda@tootallfritz.com to claim your prize!

** Happy Running ** Amanda – TooTallFritz **