This past weekend I did another 5k race. Unlike the one I did in July, this was a small scale race, but every bit as fun, and honestly even more so! There’s a local organization that started doing races last year, and they’ve just gotten better with time. If you remember me writing about the running group I joined last summer, the person who organized that group organizes the 5ks. What I love about the small races is that they’re so much more intimate (60-ish runners vs the large ones in the area that can have thousands). A lot of the people who came out for last weekend’s race are people I’ve met in running group or at other races hosted by the group. You can chat and really get to know the people who come. It’s nice doing a race with a lot of familiar faces, and some new ones mixed in.

I arrived at the race an hour before check-in started. I had asked the organizer if he needed any extra help and he told me I could swing by early to help with any last minute things that needed to be finished. Everything was done when I came, so I chatted a little and waited for the check-in process to start. As runners started to arrive, I directed them to fill out their event waivers and showed them the registration table where they could pick their packets up. It was a small job, but I enjoy being able to greet everyone as they arrive. I did the same thing at a previous race last October and really had fun with it, so I was happy to do it.

Of course, it wouldn’t be an event for me if some weird sort of mishap didn’t occur. I wear glasses because I can’t stand contacts, and one of the lenses fell right out of the frames! I was worried I would have to go home and get my spare pair, but the screw had just come loose. It was still in the frames, luckily, and between a small safety pin and my thumb nail, I was able to get the lens back in and tighten the frame. I’ve since put an eyeglass repair kit in my bag so I don’t have to worry about it again.

Eventually my running buddies arrived and I chatted with them as I continued to direct the new arrivals. I did this race with two of the girls I meet semi-regularly at the park and one who used to train with me before she moved (it was her very first race). I always feel a little anxious before a race, even though I don’t really have a reason to, so it’s nice to have people there I can talk to. What made our group even more fun was the fact that we wore tutus for this race. I was a little self-conscious at first, even though I was really looking forward to wearing my tutu, but everyone loved it! I got so many compliments! I kind of want to run every race with extra flair like that now!

Since one of my friends was still near the beginning of her training program, I told her I would do whatever she was able to do and that we would finish together. She was doing 3 minute run/ 3 minute walk intervals, so that was what we planned to do at the race. I say planned because by the halfway point, I was done. I was so exhausted, I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and we walked a lot of the last half. We ran again at the end, but I feel like I held her back. She would easily have finished ahead of me, but she kept my pace. I have never finished a 5k slower than I did last week. It was 13 minutes slower than my best. I didn’t understand why it was so hard in that moment, but a few hours later, I ended up having a full blown asthma attack, which hasn’t happened to me in quite some time. I guess me feeling so exhausted so early at the race was the early warning sign, even though I didn’t have chest tightness or anything earlier in the day.

The race was held at a local zoo, which is very small because it’s a small town, but there’s more to see than you would think. The first almost mile of the race looped through the zoo before taking us down the street to the park, and then the course looped back and we finished just inside the zoo entrance. The zoo usually closes at 5pm, but for this race, they stayed open until 7:30. There was a local charity group that does kids characters from movies there doing performances, so we heard songs from Frozen and Moana. Batman was there too, but he didn’t do any singing. There was a grilled cheese food truck inside where we could grab some dinner after we ran. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything super delicious either. They did have a lot of different options, and I ended up trying a grilled cheese with pesto and tomato. I think I would have liked it more if the bread was all the way crispy and not just the outside. Two of my running friends left after they ate, but my other friend and I stayed the entire time the zoo was open and slowly walked around visiting all the animals. It was a beautiful evening, only about 79 degrees and a bit of a breeze—much better than the 90+ degree days we had earlier that week.

What makes this race so special to me is a couple of different things. First, it’s turning into an annual race that benefits a local children’s hospital (this was the second annual race), so being able to go and have such a fun time while supporting a great cause is a double positive. I know three different families who have had their kids treated at that hospital, and I had been there a few times as a kid myself. The other reason this race was special to me was because it was my first ever race last year, and the fact that it is now turning into something that will be held every year makes it feel like a milestone I will achieve each year I can run it. I wrote about it forever ago, but it was actually my primary care doctor that told me about this race last year and asked me if I’d be interested. He told me it was a way to help raise awareness for the hospital because his daughter gets treated there. He wrote a very touching book about some of his family’s experiences, and I feel like after reading that, the very least I could do is to sign up for this run every year. He was there again this year with a cape with his daughter’s picture on it, which I thought was amazing.

My next race is in October, and it’s Halloween themed, so I’m trying to figure out a costume to put together. Right now I want to do something related to Legend of Zelda, which is my favorite game series. I don’t know if it will really end up being a full-out costume or if it will be more like a shirt with the Hylian crest and a tutu. I can kind of sew, but I honestly don’t know if I want to go through all that trouble to make a custom-made costume. I used to cosplay a bit at anime conventions, but I only have about 6 weeks to put something together. The weather will also be a little unpredictable. Sometimes it’s warmer here in the beginning of October, and sometimes it’s not. I want something that can be versatile for the conditions. That’s why more of a tribute to Zelda rather than an actual character would be easier. I have some ideas in mind of a sort of cross between Link’s classic green tunic outfit and Linkle’s cloak, so stay tuned!