Harvest Festival 5K Race



On Saturday my sister and I both ran the annual Harvest Festival 5K.  This race is somewhat of a big deal in our area as it is in conjunction with a two week harvest festival. The first weekend is the bike race (which we’ve never participated in) and the second weekend is the 5K race, which we've run several times.

Our dad usually runs this race with us but because he had shoulder surgery this year, we thought it best that he set this year out.  You don’t realize how much you use your shoulders in running until you start to do it!



As soon as we got our bibs, we headed towards the start line and immediately saw our Pap.

My Pap knows I am not as fast as Lacey, so real seriously he says to me before the start of the race “I know she is faster, so I brought you something.”  At that time he pulls an inhaler out of his pocket.  “When you start to get short of breath, just take a poof of this” he says.   I know he meant to be helpful and at 85 years old I guess you can say whatever you want, but I had to tell him that I couldn’t use his inhaler.  I don’t have asthma, I’m just slower!

In all the years I have run this race, this is the first time the National Anthem did not play. It was a 1,2,3, and we were off.   

Here is how our individual races went.


Before the start I eye up my competition (don’t judge, you know you do it too at local races) We started promptly at 9:30. We had a new race director this year and he put on a great race!  

The first mile I was running way too fast like I normally do (6.38) (6.55) (6.59) average 6.49. I knew I needed to slow down but I was feeling good. So far no one had passed me. After seeing my time I thought well someone will be creeping up behind me soon like they usually do. But that was not the case. Instead I passed a few other runners. I was still feeling good at mile two when my watch clocked in at (6.55) I was wondering if I had enough gas in my tank to keep my last mile under 7 mins. 


About this time I saw my parents cheering for me along with other spectators and that must have gave me an extra boost of energy.  Still no one had passed me and I wanted to look behind me so bad to make sure no one was going to sneak up behind me but I didn’t.  Usually I sprint that last couple feet because I am trying to pass someone, but this time there was no reason to because there was no one behind me. I finished first female overall with an average pace of 6.49 per mile. I received a nice plaque and a gift card to a local shoe store.  My sister has a very different experience with her race.  -L



While Lacey finished her first mile in 6.38, I finished in 8:50. I didn’t feel like it was too fast for me, but it must have been because the next two miles were much slower.  My only goal for this race was to finish in the same time that I’ve been practicing. I pretty much ran my own race, passing a few, and people passing me here and there.  I had passed the 3 mile mark and I was about 200 feet from the finish line when out of the corner of my eye I saw someone in an orange shirt coming up on me. 



I had not seen this person the entire race and I don’t know what got into me but I just put it into high gear and started sprinting to the finish line. I heard the crowd all screaming and cheering and I didn’t know if they were cheering for me to “go” or cheering for the other runner to “pass me”.  My legs were moving so fast that I seriously thought I was going to trip and fall.  I made it across the finish line before the other runner and earned 3rd place in my age group.  I wondered if me speeding up at the end was sort of a jerk move.  We congratulated each other at the end and I found out that we were in the same age group. -M




It was a great race for each of us! If our dad was running, I'm sure he would have kept up his streak and placed in his age group as well.


The race got a new director this year and he really stepped it up with the awards. Aren't they awesome?  




                                                      We will be linking up with the gals from TOTR.


18 comments:

  1. Lacey -- congrats on your win! I'm kind of impressed you didn't speed up at the end even though there was no one to pass.

    Meranda -- of course you're not a jerk for trying to beat someone else! It's a RACE. But I never size anyone up . . . cause I'm just chugging away in the MOTP -- if I'm having a good day!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks! Not to the extent I normally would if there was someone I needed to pass...haha.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow congrats to both of you! Meranda I think speeding up and racing it in is totally natural and expected. It's a race after all. Way to hold your ground!
    So funny about the inhaler!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are right, it is a race! Too bad I couldn't have been that speedy throughout the entire race!

      Delete
  4. Congrats to both of you! Meranda, I did the same thing one year at a local race--sped up to pass a woman at the finish. I won 2d in my AG, but it turned out she wasn't even in my AG. LOL!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had no idea if she was in my age group or not but I am glad I did speed up!

      Delete
  5. OHHHH do I ever know how running effects the shoulder. It always flares up my bicep tendinitis where the arms swings so much. I have had to run in a sling before to try & keep the swinging to a minimum.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congrats both! It's not a jerk move to speed up at the end. I think every runner does because it's the finish line and yes, we get competitive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There were times were I didn't care enough to speed up but I guess this wasn't one of those times...haha

      Delete
  7. Congrats to both of you! And I agree, not a jerk move to speed up when you see another runner there, that's part of the run. The awards are really cute.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lacey, it is really awesome to see you get an overall award - huge congrats on that!

    Meranda, I am dying at your pap bringing you an inhaler. OMG that is so sweet and kind of WTF at the same time! You had a great race and heck yes, trying to outsprint someone at the finish is what you should do! Glad you beat her and snagged the award. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My pap is SO sweet and I love that he takes an interest in our running! I love the colorful medals this year and would have been bummed to miss out on it by 1 second!

      Delete
  9. Great job both of you! :) Your Pap sounds like a fun guy! I could totally see my Grandpa doing something like that when he was alive. :) I wonder why they didn't play the National Anthem? I just did a whole lesson with the 3rd and 4th graders about the National Anthem! I hope you are both recovering well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our pap really is a fun guy! He comes out to this race every year!

      Delete
  10. Congrats to both of you! I don't think it's at all a jerk move to race someone to the finish. She was doing the same, after all ;)

    ReplyDelete

Fairytales and Fitness is a personal blog authored and edited by us, Meranda and Lacey. The thoughts expressed here represent only our own and are not meant to be taken as professional advice. Please note that our thoughts and opinions change from time to time. We consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind in an ever changing society. Any thoughts and opinions expressed within our out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those we may express today. Some links may contain affiliate links. Some links are just to pages we'd like to share.