Eve on the Ave 5k Race Recap

Eve on the Ave 5k Race Recap

Pre-Race: Because it was New Years Eve we first had a delicious sushi dinner with friends in Lansing around 6pm. (Do not, I repeat, DO NOT consume massive amounts of sushi three hours before an evening race. Oy!) After dinner we headed down to Jackson, arriving just over an hour before the start. Sun Runner and The Engineer arrived shortly thereafter and after Spike and I changed out of our fancy dinner duds into our race gear we all milled about chatting up the other runners and goofing around taking pictures of ourselves.

Start Corral: This was a very small race, as in 82 participants. Apparently people in Jackson have better things to do at 10 pm on NYE than to run a 5k... to that I ask, what?!?! LOL! Anyway, because it was such a small race there were no timing chips or any kind of a start area to really speak of so we racers merely grouped together just outside of the church hosting the event and waited to hear the shout to "GO!" It was a joyous moment, toeing my first start line since coming back, our foursome hugged and cheered to celebrate.

The Race: Moments before the shout to "GO!" Spike decided to line up at the front to "lead" the race for the first 100 meters and so for the first few minutes all you could hear over the sound of foot falls was him yelling like a lunatic. (Yes, I still plain to marry him.) After he got that out of his system he slowed to a trot so I could catch up and we did the rest of the race together. We had decided ahead of time our plan of action for the race would be: .5 M run, 1 M walk, .5 M run, 1 M walk, .1 run. I could've ran an entire mile but I really wanted to break up the walking. That first half mile went so fast but felt so good! (Minus all the sushi burps, oy!) Over the course of the next two miles somehow my hair tie managed to break, I dropped a glove, and my shoe came untied. Spike dubbed me a bit of a disaster but we had a blast together, thanking all the cops and volunteers and the few spectators that were actually out, cheering on the runners who lapped us, and yelling at the drunks downtown. Before we knew it we were in the home stretch. I had wanted to sprint the last .1 but Spike reminded me that I hadn't exactly sprinted in recent months so I settled for picking up the run pace just a hair and we were done!

I decided to break out the sparkle pants again for the race, I wanted to be festive and all the volunteers and drunks sure appreciated them! LOL!

Garmin Time: 37:26

66/82 Overall - 2nd in AG 30-34

Post Race: After finishing we checked the results as they had recorded us old school style coming through the finish, Sun Runner and I were happy to find out we both took 2nd in our respective AG's! (It should be noted there were only two people in my AG so while I did take second, I was also last. Whomp, whomp.)

Post Race Thoughts: I have to say, although the race itself was small, the course was still really well marked and organized. It was a fun run/walk but the majority of the field ran with only a few of us bringing up the rear walking. (Or mostly walking in our case) There were no aid stations but considering it was a fun run and a chilly night, I think everyone was just fine. That said, after the year I had with my injury, getting to end it on a high note like this was a great way to remind myself just how far I've come. While it was only a collective mile, it was also the start of so many more to come. Spike and I agreed that this race might just become our NYE tradition.