A whole week later and I’m just now getting around to writing my St. Patrick’s 5K recap! What can I say? I’ve been a busy bee(yotch).
Last Saturday I ran a St. Patrick’s-themed 5K in Dunedin. I was supposed to run it with a friend, but at the last minute she couldn’t make it, so I went it alone.
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The week leading up to the race was rough, run-wise. Both of my weekday runs didn’t fare so well. My legs felt like lead, and I attributed it to my body still trying to recover from Tampa Bay Beer Week. No regrets, though. Yolo.
I digress.
Anyway, I wasn’t sure how I was going to run the day of the race, so I went in with no expectations, just hoping for the best. The 5K didn’t start until 10:30 that morning, but since I didn’t know what the downtown Dunedin parking situation would be like, I got there hella early–at 8. I had my pick of public parking spots.
I knew this would be a smaller race, but I didn’t know how small. This was the situation when I first got to the race check-in at Bauser’s. I was slightly concerned.
Luckily, things did pick up closer to race time and there was a good turn-out–I’d say at least a couple hundred (not all pictured here):
I have to say, for a smaller race, I was impressed with all the shit my entry fee got: a shirt, a glass beer stein, finisher’s beads, a beer, and a post-race meal. Not too shabby.
And I dressed for the occasion, wearing shamrock socks that cost less than a pot o’ gold (see what I did there?):
The course was an out-and-back along the Pinellas Trail, starting and ending at Bauser’s. It wasn’t my best run, and I attribute it to starting way too fast at the beginning. I somehow got it into my head that there was the very strong possibility that I would be dead last if I ran at my normal speed, so I hauled ass as soon as the horn signaled the race start. And I know that there’s no shame in finishing last as long as you finish and all that motivational crap, but I didn’t want to be last. So I made my poor decision, tired myself out very quickly, and run-walked the rest of the way. I wasn’t dead last, but I was one of the last finishers, coming in at around 47 minutes. C’est la vie.
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My finisher’s beads say I am a race champion, so if they say it, it must be true.
And after consuming my free beer as well as another one purchased at 7venth Sun Brewery, I was feeling too good to care.
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Hope your St. Patrick’s Day was fun! How did you celebrate?
