Running for My Life: Runners on Parade 5k Recap

I hate to say it, but I think I am burning out on racing this year. I have done quite a few races and I feel like my life is starting to revolve around them. I love doing races, I just wish they didn't interfere in my regular life so much.

For instance, in prep for a 5k I have to cut out all meat, dairy, and fats from my diet on the Friday before the race. For longer distances, those restrictions start on Thursday. To do this, I typically eat spaghetti - I really don't LIKE spaghetti, its just something I deal with because I enjoy racing that much. That's just the start. I have a WONDERFUL husband who goes with me to all my races and watches my kids as well as being my race photographer. The problem there is that this typically requires waking the kids up early and then they are crabby all day. Ah well, all this to say... I wasn't really excited about Runners On Parade, but I decided since I had paid for it and it was a "points race" for the local running club I needed to do it.

That being said, I am really glad I "made" myself do it because it ended up being a pretty good race.

GOOD:
- seemed relatively well organized
- lots of crowd support as part of the race was along the parade route for a local festival
- great volunteers
- I ran much better than I thought I was going to. Not as good as two weeks ago, but I was happy
- lots of runners, so I never felt "alone" on the course and it was easier for me to focus on my pace not trying to pass the "one" runner in front of me
- nice "gathering area" post race
- lots of awards for runners plus door prizes!

BAD:
- gun start, chip finish - I knew this, but still didn't want to start with all the elites so I started towards the back which means my official time was at least 10 seconds slower than my garmin time
- because I started too far back, I was weaving and dodging for at least the first half mile (probably more)
- the water station - they had kids running it which was nice to see, but they weren't ready for runners it seemed so I had to grab my water off the table versus getting it from a volunteer. Not a huge deal, but took a bit of time.
- post race fare: they had cookies, bananas, apples and water. While not "bad" per say I can't eat bananas and I was spoiled at my last race. I wish they would offer something like granola bars that have some nutrition to them, not just sugar. That's just me being picky with my diet though.
- the race shirt - the design is "okay" but the color is just not my favorite shade of grey. It's almost like a greenish-blueish grey, definitely not a race shirt I will wear.
- the time clock at mile 1 was off - it said around 7:20, my first mile was 7:55!

Official time: 24:34.4

Age Group Place: 5th out of 34

Overall Place: 328 out of 756

And, just so this isn't so boring - some pictures. I don't have any finish line photos because Tommy was almost a quarter mile from the finish...