BRATS Frozen 5k - 1/4/2015

The #runningduricks decided to run the BRATS 5k again, however this year, the course moved from the Freedom Center in Manassas, VA to the Gainesville Sport & Health Fitness Center.  This meant instead of a flat fast course, we could be going up and down for 3 miles.  Definitely not a PR course however it was all for fun anyway.  After the race on News Year's Day, my right hip flexor had been bugging me, and I was a tad concerned given I have done no speed work and all of a sudden, I was jumping into sprint type races.  Ok, so we arrived at the Gainesville Sport & Health Fitness Center around 7:45, the race was at 8:30am.  I hit the dumper and it was packed with all the dudes working out at the fitness center and of course the runners starting to warm up.  After a couple trips to the can, I went out and ran for about .75 miles to get my legs warmed up.  Coming into this race, I am in horrible 5k shape.  First, I weigh 167, about 7lbs heavier than I want to be during the racing season.  Half the problem was that after the marathons ended, I kept up with the same type of eating schedule and thus I put on a good 5-7 pounds.  Second, I have done no real running given I have been trying to heal various aches and pains in the right leg/hamstring.  Lastly, motivation.  With no training and being a tad heavier, I just didn't feel like I could run well.

Before the race started, we all waited for the National Anthem to start but realized it had already started and the sound was all screwed up.  Oh well, they might want to work on that for next year.  That said, the RD gave us a few instructions and we were off.  The first mile was downhill a tad and I ran a 6:39 which felt decent and felt like I could have gone harder.  Then, I followed that up with a 7:23 - it was a small uphill followed up by a downhill.  Additionally, some kid passed out in front of us, so some other guy and I stopped to see if he was ok but some other runner was tending to him.  So both us kept going and I yelled out to the cop to notify him that some kid had passed out from running.  Never figured out what happened or if he just ran too hard or what.  The last mile was all uphill and ran a sluggish 7:40 - I might as well havebeen walking... that is just pitiful.  I finally make it to the top of the hill, bang a right and pass a few women on the way to the finish for a 22:08 - just horrible.  I am definitely to fat and out of shape to run 5ks and need to get them back down to the lower 20's and upper 19's.  However, that said, I got first in my AG (40-44):

5K Run results:

Miles:  3.10

Time:  22:08 (my watch)

Pace:  7:12/mile - out of shape!

Overall place:  37th out of 369

Age Group place:  1st out of 12 

Here is a few shots of me with the boys who also placed during the race.

Dad got 1st in AG, Nic got 2nd in AG, and Zach got 3rd in AG.

Pic of me getting my award!

Notes about the race:  First, don't think I will ever join Gainesville Sport and Health, too packed and crowed for my likes.  Second, BRATS gave us the clock time, not the chip time which if you actually cared would be anywhere from 2-10 seconds off.  I don't know why they did this but I noticed that my time was a few seconds off.  Third, not that competitive - even with my slow time, I managed to do well however it builds your confidence up but we know that if I entered a Potomac River Running race, I would come in 100th or worse!  All that said, it was a fun race for the family and would do it again next year.

Next:  Might do the MLK 10k in Wakefield, don't know yet.  It's in about 2 weeks or so.

Final stats from BRATS Frozen 5k:

 

Rank	Athlete	Bib	Time
1	James Durick	796	00:22:11
2	Paul Chaney	749	00:23:03
3	Troy Eldredge	804	00:23:07