Race Report - Gobble Gallop 5k!

Whoa. It's been awhile. I have not had a ton of excitement to share in the off season, and that's probably fine, as it's the OFF season. And it's winter. And it's COLD out. And it's the holidays. And it's time to shop! And oh boy, have I gotten some shopping done this fall/winter. I think I made up for not being able to step foot in a mall the last 9 months... I have done enough damage the last month to have made up for 9 months and then some. But I digress...

I realized I didn't want to drop off the face of the (blog) earth and not post a race report about my last race. A 5k people! I completed a 5k on Thanksgiving Day! It felt funny when I "toed the line" to head off on my 25 minute journey to look back to two months prior and think that the last race I had lined up at a starting line for was an Ironman. I was home in Duluth for Thanksgiving so of course had to run this race. I have done it the last 3 years and it always feels good to get in some exercise before getting lots of delicious food in the belly!

The day before had snowed quite a bit so the conditions were definitely not ideal. The race course is an out and back on Superior St. in downtown Duluth, so for those who are familiar know that means running on some cobblestone. Cobblestone seems to get extra slippery with fresh snow/slop on it. It was also COLD! Like wind chills below zero, freeze your toes, freeze your fingers within a minute or two if not covered COLD.

I started the first mile running like a bat out of hell. I do this EVERY time I do a running race, you'd think I would learn one of these days. The second mile I hung on, then the third mile I felt like I was barely moving. I didn't wear my Garmin, so I don't know how exactly I paced any of it, but my overall time was 25:06, which is a 8:05 per mile pace. I would have liked for it to be under 24 and under 8, but I also haven't been training for a 5k. For 7 weeks of XP2 we worked on a LOT of stairs, a LOT of standing on our bikes, and just overall strength. (That also included running with medicine balls, in downtown St. Paul. I can imagine how funny we all looked to passersby.) I have another 5k on New Year's Day so I better start training for that one. :)

I love being home in Duluth as I always get to see a bunch of friends and family. I was also able to cheer on one of my friends from high school who did the the Gobble Gallop 2 mile walk the same morning. He just started doing some 5k's this fall season and now he's hooked! Here he is finishing the 2 mile:

My Mom and I also went to Bentleyville while I was in town. If you are ever in Duluth over the holidays, it's an amazing tour of lights, and it just gets bigger and better every year. YOU HAVE TO GO! Just a little spoiler for you... Here's the Aerial Lift Bridge, a ship, a 120 foot Christmas tree (made of iron) all in lights, with the "real" Aerial Lift Bridge in the background:

Bentleyville. Another reason, on top of the already 8 million, that I LOVE DULUTH.