Frank Kush 5k - Run5k


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Tempe, Arizona
United States
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 31m 45s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Almost didn't go to this race as we will have had three race weekends in a row, but did it for our dog. She is a faithful training partner and we thought it would be funny to have her run in a race!
Event warmup:

Nada...had to go back to the car to drop off the race shirts. Saw Rick and chatted with him for a little bit, that was cool!
Run
  • 31m 45s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 10m 13s  min/mile
Comments:

They started the 1 mile, 5K walk, 5K run and dogs ALL together. It was a decent sized event so it was a little crazy. Caboose (the dog) took off like a rocket, poor thing has no idea how to pace. She usually cruises along at high 10:XX pace when we are training so this is what I figure ('eh this will be easy') but WOW was she moving at first. We were FLYING! I was DYING. About .5 miles in another dog lunged at a dog about 3 people over and ran through the legs of another lady. The lady went down - we were on the gravel part. Josh and Caboose stopped to help her up. The guy with the inappropriate dog (seemed like a few people brought dogs who were not properly socialized around other dogs) just said "OOPS dog hazard" and went off. Two other people stopped to help her. I would have been pretty upset if I was her. She seemed okay and we continued.

Up onto the bridge and it was CROWDED! Lots of people were training for next weekends big SOMA triathlon and there was a marathon training group out running the opposite way. Felt like salmon swimming up stream for them I am sure. So a little more than halfway accross the bridge I see a group of about 4 HOT CHICKS: buff, sexy, ladies. I was like "wow..." then I hear "HI JEN!" ITS SALLY!!! Go figure...they were MOVING! Was cool to see them...then we saw Ken out there training for SOMA too. Was so interesting. I love being a part of BT and ESCKTC, you are definitely NEVER ALONE! Coninued on and realized how DUMB I was to wear long sleeves, it was pretty warm, the sun was strong. I began wondering 'where is the aid station?' It was at abou 2 miles. We stopped for aid and even the dog drank out of the cups...so cute! On we went, I hate that stupid hill by the boat storage. But after that we were home free. Got back to the entrance of the park and the dog thought she was done. She started to almost walk. We really had to convince her to keep going. I think we practically walked across the finish line. Was cool to see Rick cheering for us! The guy handed me a ribbon for the dog and said "did she just RUN the entire 3 miles?" And I said "of course!" But her ribbon says "Pet Walk" on it, you can bet she is NOT happy about that! :)
Post race
Warm down:

Find shade for the pup. Got water bottles, looked for cups for the dog to drink from but couldn't find any. Ate some stuff and found Rick. Met his sister, chatted some more, waited for Ken, chatted with him and then scored like 50 "Stay Put" hair things! THAT made my day! The race entry fee was less than what I would have paid for all those! SCORE!!!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not wear long sleeves - teach my dog to pace! I really think we could have been sub 30 had we not gone out so fast. The course was really packed too so we did a lot of zig zagging for a while, and the two stops. I was pretty surprised to see us close to the low 30's with how much we slowed at the end as well. I was SOOO PROUD of my little girl though (I know I know...lame, its just a dog!)

Event comments:

FUN race! Wish there were more dog races, but unless people are responsible about bringing friendly dogs this one may even go away...which would be sad! :(

Pictures:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/photos/photo-thumbnail...





Last updated: 2007-10-20 12:00 AM
Running
00:31:45 | 03.11 miles | 10m 13s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Course: Typical Tempe Town Lake 5K course. Start at Beach park and head East across Rural Bridge, west to Mill bridge and back to Beach Park.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 3