The Ice Cream 5K was one of my favorite races last year for a couple reasons... first of all, it was one of my first races after hitting my goal weight for the first time, and I was finally running on maintenance calories instead of a deficit. I was getting faster, and finally got a sub-30 5K for the first time on this course, which is run by a local race timing company, so I trust their measurements pretty well. The organizers do something a little unique - they have someone operating a drone during and after the race, and also provide the slightly more common finish line video as well. All uploaded to YouTube within a day of the race itself, which is pretty awesome if you ask me.
Oh, and did I mention the ice cream buffet!? After the race, everyone is invited to come onto their property (across the street from the hospital where everyone parks) and partake in a massive ice cream buffet, complete with several dozen 5-gallon buckets of chocolate, strawberry, mint chocolate chip, and more, plus enough toppings to make your eyes cross. Then, you can sit down beside a beautiful lake at sunset and enjoy your sweet reward. And instead of medals (and in addition to a t-shirt), you get a commemorative spoon to eat your ice cream with! Needless to say, it's a good time, and last year's race made an especially great impression, so I was determined to do this one again this year.
 |
| This year's shirt |
I decided a while back to buy the tank that matches the Brooks Launch 4s I was coveting at the time (and finally bought!) so this was a perfect opportunity to wear a colorful outfit that matched the festive atmosphere. I forgot my hat in this shot but you'll see it later on, and it was, of course, the pink one! I felt a little odd not repping SCRR at all, but the matching opportunity was too good to resist.
This race takes place a ways out of town, so we had a bit of a drive to get there, then needed to check in, tie on racing chips, go to the bathroom, and warm up in not a lot of time. We ended up running to the start and joined the very back of the pack that was lined up right as they began the national anthem! Since we were being chip timed (and since it's their race, they pull out all the stops and give us mile splits!) I didn't mind starting in the back.
Even going in to the race I suspected it wasn't going to be another PR effort this year. I'm heavier than last year and have been working to get back to where I was, so between the calorie deficit and some pretty serious heat, I had pretty low expectations and figured I'd go out and give it whatever I had, enjoy a modest bowl of ice cream, and try to enjoy myself as much as possible. The amount of incredibly fast people who come to this race on a random weeknight evening is kind of astonishing, and it's sort of fun to watch all the cross country kids and incredibly spry masters men and women kick your ass. Last year I was passing people on the rolling hills of this course, but this year I was definitely the one getting passed.
Splits: Mile 1 @ 9:46 / Mile 2 @ 20:03 / Mile 3 @ 31:32 / Finish @ 32:27
My first mile actually went reasonably well, but I pretty much felt the point where my body kind of shrugged and cut off the gas. Expected, but annoying. The sun was blazing and this race is pretty much constantly up and down hills and in and out of the shade, so all I could do was push on.
It's an out and back course, and I crossed paths with the drone camera a bit after the turnaround. It's noisy enough that it's easy to spot, and even gives you a nice little downdraft if you run directly under it! I gave a little wave then carried on:
The last mile was pretty much just holding on for whatever I could. This year I knew I would have a sharp left turn at the finish, as opposed to last year when it caught me off guard, and as it's downhill I was able to build up a little bit of a kick, but nothing too exciting. I'll take the 32 and change, especially given the conditions!
They use recyclable chips at this race, so right after you cross the line there's someone waiting for you to take your chip back. I had mine laced in so it took me a minute, and then I ambled off to find Mike and catch my breath. Then it was time for the most important part of the evening... ice cream for dinner! I wanted to quickly go back to the car and change my shoes and grab a jacket, as I knew once I stopped moving I was going to get cold. There were still quite a few people watching the finishers as we headed over towards the ice cream party.
We made ourselves a couple lovely bowls of ice cream, topped with syrup, mini M&Ms, chocolate sprinkles, and chocolate syrup, and were incredibly pleased to discover that our favorite spot wasn't taken yet - the view from under this tree is unbelievably pretty. We sat for a little while but didn't want to linger too long since we had a long drive back. But it was a fun race and we'll probably do it again sometime, just maybe not next year.
Seriously, though - that view is almost worth it all by itself!
Comments
Post a Comment