Hair of the Dog 5K - Run5k


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East Windsor, New Jersey
United States
Silver Decoy Winery & Tri State Weimaraner Rescue
67F / 19C
Sunny
Total Time = 24m 18s
Overall Rank = 78/443
Age Group = 40-49
Age Group Rank = 7/57
Pre-race routine:

This is a really cool race. It is run from the winery to the vineyard for wine tasting and kegs. It raises money for dog rescues, and is done in conjunction with a festival. There were a lot of dog groups there, and a hot air balloon for rides. There were a lot of dogs running. I got up and made the girls breakfast, and had a bowl of cereal; headed out to the race site and ate a granola bar on the way. Should have taken something to drink besides coffee. My throat was bothering me by the time I got to the race site.
Event warmup:

Had to park out in the vineyard, so I ran to registration as a warm up. Of course I had to go the bathroom and get rid of the coffee that I had, and the line to the porta potty was enormous. Finally decided to wait in line, got almost to the front when they began to call runners to the start line....we need to get rid of the luxury prota potties, people spend way too much time in them. Decided I didn't need to go that bad and I can just pee in the water ~ Oops it's not a triathlon. Really, I didn't need to go that bad.
Run
  • 24m 18s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 07m 49s  min/mile
Comments:

I started up near the front, I was hoping to bring this in at a flat 8 min pace. When the gun sounded I ran with the pack, at a half mile I realized I was clocking a 6:32 pace, yikes! I needed to slow down or this 5k was going to last all of a mile. I find that if I start at the front it is hard for me to rate my pace, I just keep up with all the jackrabbits. I slowed down and let people pass knowing I would catch some of them eventually. After a huge crowd passed me, I was sure once again that there was no one behind me, but I felt good at a 7 something pace so I held it there. I ran with a guy and his weimeraner for awhile. He kept telling his dog to slow down that the heat was going to kill him, I joked with him that the dog had no desire to slow down, and he was actually slowing the dog down. They took off and I wished then well, wishing I could be a dog with four legs. I came to the water stop and got bunched up trying to get a cup...the garmin actually shows the pace at that point at 11:55, wow I gotta work on the water thing.

Passed the weimeraner again; he had taken refuge on someones front lawn rolling around on the green grass in the shade, and I once again thought "I really wish I could be a dog".

The race ended in the Vineyard and it was really cool coming through the rows of grapes, though the grass was a little slippery. A guy and his dog passed me right before the shoot, and he didn't realize that he needed to keep going and I got tangled up with him and his dog, dog was as happy as a clam and ready to run it all over again.
What would you do differently?:

Have a few glasses of wine, we are at the vineyard!
Post race
Warm down:

Got a banana and some water, hung out and checked out the dog groups that were there, checked out the wine tasting.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I need to work on the longer distances, and do some speed training. My HR normally is very sensitive to my pace, but in a race it continues to climb and when it hits in the 180's it is less sensitive to a pace change. I think the long distance will help improve that.

Event comments:

Great race, I will do it again next year. Beth you have got to do this race with me next year.




Last updated: 2008-04-25 12:00 AM
Running
00:24:18 | 03.11 miles | 07m 49s  min/mile
Age Group: 7/57
Overall: 78/443
Performance: Good
First mile: 7:34 second mile: 7:50 Third mile: 8:02
Course: Closed course. Flat with some shade, ran through a construction area (building new homes) no shade, and sand,dirt and rock in the road, yuck.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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] 5