This is my first of three 4th of July weekend races! Uberthons Freedomthon!
Race name: Freedomthon
Date/time: Friday, July 4th, 2014 @ 8:30 am
Registration/price: $30; free for kids races
Location: Beaverton Library Park; Beaverton, Oregon
Events offered: 5k run/walk; 1mi and 1/4mi kids races
Number of runners: capped at 300
Beneficiary: Beaverton Police Department Police Activities League
Date/time: Friday, July 4th, 2014 @ 8:30 am
Registration/price: $30; free for kids races
Location: Beaverton Library Park; Beaverton, Oregon
Events offered: 5k run/walk; 1mi and 1/4mi kids races
Number of runners: capped at 300
Beneficiary: Beaverton Police Department Police Activities League
Packet pickup: "Packet" pickup (actually just bib pickup) was on Wednesday from 4pm-7pm, and also the morning of the race. I appreciate that their weekday packet pickup went until 7pm because traffic from Vancouver to Road Runner in Tualatin via I5 southbound was AWFUL.
Swag: As with all Uberthons events, there was an UBER-SWEET medal (nice and hefty and gorgeous, with a coordinating ribbon, and detachable pin), and post-race breakfast that included sausage, pancakes, syrup, bananas and oranges.
Parking: There was parking at the library/park, but mostly street parking for the event. Since the event was capped at 300, it wasn't too crowded. I parked on the street about two blocks away.
Bag check: As with most Uberthons events, there wasn't bag check due to the close proximity of parking to the start/finish area.
Course: The 5k course was a fairly flat out and back course through the streets of Beaverton. The roads were entirely closed to traffic. There was one water station at the turnaround.
The race: It's been about a month since the Vancouver USA Marathon, and this has been my first road race since then. I've run a few times but I've felt really tired and worn out--recovering from VUM, staying up late, getting used to my new place, long days at work, etc. I really wasn't sure what sort of pace to aim for. I decided that since my 10k PR pace is 8:04, I should aim for a sub-8:00 pace. It's been a while since I've run a 5k race! I lined up in the corral near the front (which I usually do for Uberthons races, since they're smaller and slower than some other events), and ended up starting out a little too fast. I felt pretty good at that pace for the first 1/2 mile but knew sustaining it would be hard. I got passed by a few people... I pushed for as close to 7:30 as I could maintain, started to feel a little fatigued at mile 1, but reminded myself I was only running 5k, that I'd reevaluate how I felt at the turnaround. At the turnaround, l counted how many ladies were in front of me and used that to help me push a little harder ("come on, Marilyn, just stay in the top ten..."). Then I told myself to push to mile 2. From then, I just tried hard to maintain. I was feeling a little nauseous and tired, but knew how close I was to the finish. As I approached the last portion of the course, volunteers were handing out flags for participants to carry as they crossed the finish line. I sprinted the last little bit, waving my flag up high!
Post-race: After the race, race participants could get a free chiropractic mini session/massage--I did it and it was one of the best post-race treatments I've ever had! My back is still pretty tight and messed up, but the chiropractor did a lot of stuff that really helped. There was also a pancake bar. It was a gorgeous morning, and lots of people hung out and kids played in the park.
Photos: There were supposed to be photographers on the course, I think? I didn't see any... but there was a videographer for one of the local news stations and I was on TV! (In the wave of runners crossing the staring line).
Results: I finished in 23:38, 7:37 pace. I was first out of 19 in my age division (making it my third age division finish, qualifying me for an Uberthons running jacket [unfortunately, these are not yet ready--I gave my info card to the race director, who said he would notify runners when they were ready]). I was pretty happy to finish 6th female overall, and 25th out of 261 overall. Mostly, I was happy to finish under 25 minutes, and happy to finish sub 8:00 pace by quite a bit :)
Swag: As with all Uberthons events, there was an UBER-SWEET medal (nice and hefty and gorgeous, with a coordinating ribbon, and detachable pin), and post-race breakfast that included sausage, pancakes, syrup, bananas and oranges.
Parking: There was parking at the library/park, but mostly street parking for the event. Since the event was capped at 300, it wasn't too crowded. I parked on the street about two blocks away.
Bag check: As with most Uberthons events, there wasn't bag check due to the close proximity of parking to the start/finish area.
Course: The 5k course was a fairly flat out and back course through the streets of Beaverton. The roads were entirely closed to traffic. There was one water station at the turnaround.
The race: It's been about a month since the Vancouver USA Marathon, and this has been my first road race since then. I've run a few times but I've felt really tired and worn out--recovering from VUM, staying up late, getting used to my new place, long days at work, etc. I really wasn't sure what sort of pace to aim for. I decided that since my 10k PR pace is 8:04, I should aim for a sub-8:00 pace. It's been a while since I've run a 5k race! I lined up in the corral near the front (which I usually do for Uberthons races, since they're smaller and slower than some other events), and ended up starting out a little too fast. I felt pretty good at that pace for the first 1/2 mile but knew sustaining it would be hard. I got passed by a few people... I pushed for as close to 7:30 as I could maintain, started to feel a little fatigued at mile 1, but reminded myself I was only running 5k, that I'd reevaluate how I felt at the turnaround. At the turnaround, l counted how many ladies were in front of me and used that to help me push a little harder ("come on, Marilyn, just stay in the top ten..."). Then I told myself to push to mile 2. From then, I just tried hard to maintain. I was feeling a little nauseous and tired, but knew how close I was to the finish. As I approached the last portion of the course, volunteers were handing out flags for participants to carry as they crossed the finish line. I sprinted the last little bit, waving my flag up high!
Post-race: After the race, race participants could get a free chiropractic mini session/massage--I did it and it was one of the best post-race treatments I've ever had! My back is still pretty tight and messed up, but the chiropractor did a lot of stuff that really helped. There was also a pancake bar. It was a gorgeous morning, and lots of people hung out and kids played in the park.
Photos: There were supposed to be photographers on the course, I think? I didn't see any... but there was a videographer for one of the local news stations and I was on TV! (In the wave of runners crossing the staring line).
Results: I finished in 23:38, 7:37 pace. I was first out of 19 in my age division (making it my third age division finish, qualifying me for an Uberthons running jacket [unfortunately, these are not yet ready--I gave my info card to the race director, who said he would notify runners when they were ready]). I was pretty happy to finish 6th female overall, and 25th out of 261 overall. Mostly, I was happy to finish under 25 minutes, and happy to finish sub 8:00 pace by quite a bit :)
