F.A.B. 5k: Race Report

Well, with the week that I had, I was a little nervous about this. It was the first time I'd run in 8 days! But it turns out, I needn't have worried at all.

Originally, I was going to race this. I haven't raced a 5k since last year, so I was excited to see what I could do. I was pretty sure that I could come in under 30 minutes But after convincing a couple of my friends to train and run it, and after having the week with my calf that I did, I figured it'd be much smarter to play pacer, a role I'd never really played before.

I picked up Sarah and Christine, and we got to the race in plenty of time, which was nice because there wasn't much for parking at this school, and they were expecting 500 participants. We got our bibs and goodie bags (with a really nice water bottle and ONE wright sock with a breast cancer logo - you had to go to the local running store to pick up your other sock. Clever marketing.) and had plenty of time to hang out before go time and check out all the awesome raffle prizes they had. The school was unlocked, so we had use of indoor bathrooms. Score!

I heard about this event through the Run Like A Mother facebook page  and since it was local and supporting a cause I believe in (breast cancer research) I signed up right away. The 4 organizers of the F.A.B. 5k have all been touched by breast cancer in some way. When we lined up at the start, the announcer went briefly through their stories and recognized the breast cancer survivors participating and also the people lost to breast cancer recently. It was VERY touching, and I got a little teary before we started.

Then we were off! Sarah and I were running together, and I was to pace her to a sub 35 minute finish. Christine was running her own race, a bit newer to running and a bit slower than we were going to go. Right away, I pshawed Sarah's 35 minute goal - I'd run with her several times, and I knew what she could do. She was underestimating herself a little.

We hit the first mile in 10:49. Sarah was doing great, and I had finally worked out all the kinks (I spent the first mile thinking, stupid knee, stupid calf, why is my hip hurting? stupid ankle. wtf!?!) so I decided to pick up the pace a bit. They had a water stop at 1.8 which we walked, but otherwise we ran it all. We hit 2, and I looked down at my watch and laughed. I asked Sarah if she wanted to know (10:28), and she said, "No - it'll just freak me out!" The course was REALLY flat, but there was 1 little hill in mile 3. I noticed Sarah was breathing really hard, so I checked in with her, but she assured me she was fine. After that, I just pulled her hard. Why not? We were almost done! We hit 3 in 10:09, and I started to kick it for the end. Sarah was just behind me, but she was keeping up. We gave it all we had, and I stopped my watch at 33:13. She killed it!! I was so proud of her!

We walked around a bit and waited for Christine to come in. She had run the whole thing and finished in 38 and change. Again - I felt so proud! I had such a good time worrying more about others' performances than my own, and it felt so good to think I had a part in inspiring others to run. The event was so nice, with a FANTASTIC crew of volunteers - the whole community cam out with Brownies handing out breast cancer pins they'd made and Daisies selling lemonade. The raffle was outstanding, and by the end, we'd all won something (I got a Mizuno tech tee!).

All in all - a GREAT day. I'd definitely do this event again. And I'll post pictures as soon as I get some (I did NOT bring my camera - I suck like that).