The Coaster Run 5K 2015 - Race Recap

I'm back from another extremely short trip to California! About 9 months ago, my siblings and I, along with our spouses, signed up for The Coaster Run 10K. We thought it would be a fun race since the course goes through Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, and Knott's Berry Farm is the home of Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang, whom we love!

At the last minute, we all decided to downgrade to the 5K due to some in our group being sick and for other assorted reasons. I am glad that we did, especially since we did not factor in daylight savings time when we signed up for the race.

This was actually only my fourth 5K since I am not a big fan of paying for 5Ks that don't have something special to offer, like medals or donuts. :)



The race had a reasonable start time of 7 AM, and since we were staying within walking distance of the start line, we did not have to make our way over until 6:30 AM. Sweet!

We were assigned to the fourth corral and there were only 3 minutes between each corral. We crossed the start line at around 7:15.

We all decided to make costumes for this race.  I dressed up as Woodstock and Raisin Bread was Charlie Brown.

My siblings and their spouses also dressed up. 

Bro-in-law as Olaf (Snoopy's brother), Sister as Belle (Snoopy's sister), sis-in-law as Hobbes, Brother as Calvin

The first portion of the course led us towards the entrance to Knott's. As we entered the park and ran through Camp Snoopy, we passed by many familiar rides. As a Southern California kid and teenager, Knott's was a place that we visited numerous times. 

We ran past Montezuma's Revenge, Supreme Scream and the Log Ride. I managed to get a shot of Boomerang while still in motion. 

There was only one character stop on the 5K course, so I stopped to say hi to Lucy and Charlie Brown!

We finished out our run through the park in the Old West area before we exited the park for our last mile.

Mile 1: 11:51

Mile 2: 12:14

Mile 3: 11:20

We made our way through the finish line area, where we were treated to a slice of boysenberry pie! Knott's Berry Farm was the first place to cultivate the boysenberry in Southern California, and it is known for its boysenberry preserves, pies and shortbread cookies, among other things!

We grabbed some post-race photos with our adorable Snoopy medals on.

Overall, the race was a lot of fun! I loved that the majority of the course was through the park and the nice touches such as the medals and pie.

My biggest disappointment was the crowd support. Since the course was mainly in the park, all of the support came in the form of disinterested high school students, who seemed to be getting their community service hours. Granted, there were a few (and I mean a few) who were in good spirits and at least acted enthusiastic, but the large majority were not happy to be there.

Here is a close-up of the medal. I also love that it says "10th Anniversary" on it!

My official chip time was 35:11. Definitely not a PR!

If you are a Snoopy fan, this is a must-do race and if you happen to live in Southern California or have a reason to be in Southern California, I recommend you run The Coaster Run!

12k's of Christmas 2014 - Race Recap

Earlier this month, Raisin Bread and I headed to Phoenix, Arizona for the weekend. Raisin Bread lived in Phoenix for a few years before we met and keeps in touch with quite a few of his old friends there. In addition to spending some time with them, we decided to fit a race into our weekend. 

The 12k's of Christmas race took place in nearby Gilbert, Arizona's Freestone Park. We arrived without much time to do anything besides park, pick up our bibs and goody bags, take the goody bags to the car and then get in the race just as it was starting. There was no time to go to the bathroom or even stretch. Not the way I like to start a race!

The race was pet-friendly and benefited animal-related organizations. Dogs were welcome to run in the race and were heavily represented in the post-race activities! Too bad Gus did not come on this trip with us.

It had rained the night before the race as well as race day morning. We were lucky that it was no longer raining but much of the beginning of the route was along a trail and it was muddy and slippery.

Since we weren't able to use the bathroom before the race, I stopped at the first porta-potty I saw.

Mile 1: 14:53

The second portion of the course was a long a road lined with farms. 

Mile 2: 11:37

Our scenery changed again as we ran along the Riparian Preserve. All along the race course there were groups of carolers cheering us on and singing Christmas songs. This was the first time I ran a Christmas-themed race, and it was so festive and fun.  I also loved how many great Christmas-themed race outfits and Santa hats I saw. 

Mile 3: 12:52

Mile 4: 12:56

Mile 5: 12:05

The course was out and back so the final two miles were the same as before. 

Mile 6: 12:08

Mile 7: 12:13

Official time:  1:35:21

I did not have a goal time for this race. I actually wasn't even sure what I should be aiming for since this was also my first 12K. Since I haven't really run since Wine & Dine, I was just happy to get in some good mileage and run with the hubby!

As we crossed the finish line, we got medals, which I was not expecting at all. So cool, and they had a doggie on them. 

After we finished, Raisin Bread and I walked around a bit, picked up some refreshments and visited some of the dogs and rats that were up for adoption. So many sweet furry friends!

In addition to our medal, we got a pair of Christmas socks. I thought this was a fantastic idea since I get/have way too many race t-shirts that I never wear.

This race was lots of fun, Now, I want to run a race with Gus. We'll probably have to start with a 5K since he's still a baby.

Carson's Crusaders Foundation Trek or Treat 5K 2014 - Race Recap

I have now officially run in seven states! Last week, I was in DC for work for a couple of days and then visited my sister in Dallas for the weekend (more on that later).

My sister, brother-in-law and I are all in the midst of Wine & Dine training, so we decided at the last minute to do a run together while I was I town. We chose the Carson's Crusaders Foundation Trek or Treat 5K, which was held at Watters Creek at Montgomery Farm in Allen, Texas. Despite what its name might suggest, Watters Creek is actually an outdoor shopping mall. That's one setting I have definitely not run in before!

As races go, this one had a fairly late start time at 8:30 am, which meant the sun was up. 

Obligatory pre-race photo

The start and finish lines were both in the middle of the shopping mall. Too bad none of the shops were open yet though! The race started right on time and we were off.

The first part of the race made a loop around the shopping mall. 

I was surprised that behind the mall were beautiful tree lined paths. Most of the distance wound up being in this setting. The course was pretty much an out and back which meant we had to share the paths with runners coming back in the other direction. At times, this made the course very narrow and confusing.

The trail led to a gorgeous lake that we did a loop around. As you can see, the weather was just perfect for a 5K. It was sunny, slight breeze and no humidity. 

I have not run a timed 5K in quite some time, so before I knew it, I had reached the finish line! 

I grabbed a banana and some water and joined up with my brother-in-law who was right behind me. I rarely, if ever, drink milk, but there is just something about chocolate milk after a race that I love! Sister came through a short time later. 

Besides wanting to run with my sissy, I also really wanted to find out if I have really become super slow or if it is the altitude in Albuquerque that is doing me in. 

Turns out, I was able to PR in this race, so it is not me. Hooray! What a difference 5,000 feet makes!

I have been running about 12-13 minute miles in New Mexico, but check out my split times on this day:

Mile 1: 10:03

Mile 2: 10:45

Mile 3: 10:16

Official finish time: 32:19

I also placed 99th overall. Not a great feat but I love the number. It was a fun race and I am happy that I not only get to cross another state off the list but that I PR-ed! Thank you, Texas!

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Susan G. Komen Central New Mexico Race for the Cure 10K 2014 - Race Recap

Let me start off by saying - THE ELEVATION IS KILLING ME! If you have never gone from running in a low elevation region to a high elevation region, consider yourself lucky because it is tough!

To be honest, I was not even sure what the elevation difference between DC and Albuquerque was until I looked it up this weekend after this race. The mean elevation in DC is 150 ft while the mean elevation in Albuquerque is a whopping 5,800 ft! No wonder I can't breathe!

As I mentioned last post, I only signed up for the Susan G. Komen Central New Mexico Race for the Cure 10K four days before this race because I really needed to get some good mileage in for my Wine & Dine training. I am so glad that I did this race because I think I would still be in the three mile range if I hadn't.

For this event, there was a 5K option as well as the 10K. Additionally, there was an untimed option. I signed up for the chip-timed option.

On Friday, I picked up my bib and race shirt and prepared my race day outfit. I decided to stick with the theme and went with a hot pink top and KT Tape.

The race shirt was a long-sleeved cotton t-shirt. The design is cute and I am in need of more long-sleeved shirts, so this was perfect. 

Race for the Cure long-sleeved race shirt

The race started at Wilson Stadium at Manzano High School. The 10K started at 7:00 am and there were probably less than 30 people signed up for this distance. 

I predicted that it would be fairly small so I arrived with about 10 or 15 minutes to go to the bathroom, stretch and walk to the start line.

The race started promptly at 7 am and we were off to a slow and painful start. 

Obligatory pre-race selfie

Mile 1: 13:03

The first mile and half took us up Lomas Boulevard towards Tramway and it was all uphill, which is why my first two miles were also my slowest miles. 

Mile 2: 12:46

Mile 3: 11:17

Once we hit Tramway, we ran along a popular running/biking/walking trail and I started to get into my groove. We hit the turnaround point a little past Candelaria Road and made our way back.

  

Mile 4: 12:14

The longest distance I have run in this training cycle prior to this race was three miles. At the four mile mark, I was started to fade a little and started taking some 30 second walk breaks.

Mile 5: 11:11 

Somewhere around mile five an older gentleman who was on his Sunday morning run came up from behind me and gave me a few words of encouragement. Then he said that he was going to run with me for a little. At this point in the race, I knew that I was almost at the end but I really really wanted to walk. Instead, I had a really nice man pace me and gave me my fastest two miles! 

Mile 6: 10:01 *fastest mile*

Once we reached Lomas again, the gentleman shook my hand and told me to, "Keep it up." From that point, it was all downhill.

The finish line was inside the stadium, and I am pretty sure I was one of the last people in the 10K group to cross the finish line.  

Finish time: 1:12:28

After the race, I picked up some refreshments, and visited some of the booths set up around the stadium. The 5Kers seemed to be gathering at this point and it was fairly crowded. There was even a face painter and balloon animal maker. I was tempted to get my face painted but the line was too long. 

After the race, I grabbed a breakfast burrito and coffee from Golden Pride to enjoy at home! I was so hungry!

I am really glad I ran this race. If nothing else, I got in my 6 miles and also am beginning to understand how rough the elevation is on me. I do have one big gripe about this race though. I cannot for the life of me find out how to get my chip time. Every other race I have run had the results posted to their website that day or the following day, and I cannot find it anywhere. 

This is a problem because I paid extra to be chip-timed, and the only way I know what my time was is from my RunKeeper app. Not cool! I would have just gotten the non-timed option, saved the extra $5 and bought another burrito. 

UPDATE: I sent an email to Komen Central New Mexico, and they finally posted the results. My official time was 1:12:32 for an average pace of 11:42.

Rebel Donut Dash 5K (Race Recap)

Over the long Labor Day weekend, I ran my first race in New Mexico! It also happened to be my first obstacle race and my first race since surgery. Raisin Bread and I signed up for the Rebel Donut Dash 5K. Although there was not much information available when we registered, it looked like it would involve running, obstacles and donuts. Not a combination that had crossed our paths previously, but why not?

We arrived at Balloon Fiesta Park around 7:35 am on race day for our 8:00 and 8:15 am start times. We picked up our race shirts and heard an announcement that we would not be starting until 8:30 am. Um...great.

There wasn't much to do but sit around and wait.

Rebel Donut van

So we took selfies and sat in our car to pass the time.

We finally started by around 8:35 am and just ran together since the event was starting so behind schedule.

The course was set up so that we completed most of our mileage first and then did the obstacles. We ran about 1.5 miles out and back and then wound up in the field where all of the obstacles were set up.

At the water stations, water and donuts were available!

Cinnamon sugar donuts at a water stop

The half dozen or so obstacles were all pretty simple and easy to complete, which I liked. They were also optional, so if you wanted to skip something, it was up to you. I don't think I could hack a Spartan Race or Tough Mudder type obstacle run, but this was just the right difficulty level for my clumsy and easily bruised self!

There was a tire...I mean donut run.

A wall climb

I wasn't quite sure what we were supposed to do at this obstacle besides maybe crawl through the tire, but it seemed like a good photo op!

Some strips of bacon we needed to jump over

A teeter totter

A balance beam

The last obstacle was a run through foam, which I skipped.

We crossed the finish line at 39:16! Not bad for taking our time through the course and not having run very much at our new high altitude location!

After crossing the finish line, we each got a donut! Yum! I only got through half of it before I went into sugar overload.
 

Overall, I thought the event was a lot of fun, especially as I start back up on my running and half marathon training. I was also impressed that the race was chip timed. All of the fun runs I have done in the past were not timed at all, and some other races were only clock timed. There were some issues with the organization of the event, such as the late start and not communicating event details until the last minute. It was still a fun start to our long weekend though.

We also went home with donut-themed t-shirts, koozies and keychains.