Candlelight 5K

File this one under the category "better late than never." That certainly applies here since it is now Friday afternoon and the race took place on Saturday night. This was a race I wasn't even sure I would run because of the bad migraine I had suffered on Friday night (see previous blog) and the fact that I was still feeling the day after migraine symptoms.

After lounging around most of the day, Gerri kicked us into gear about 2:00. We had to get moving because laying around and watching television wasn't helping. We showered, dressed and headed into Greenville for lunch at The Mellow Mushroom. We both settled on personal pizza's and unsweet tea. Mine was pepperoni of course, the pizza not the tea. Lunch was good and just getting moving had improved how I felt and my overall mind frame.

We had plenty of time to kill, so we headed over to Woodruff Rd and hung out at Barnes & Noble. This was close to the race, which was being held on the new ICARS campus just a short distance away. It felt good to be out and about and time went by fast while I read through a Running Times magazine. About 6:00 pm we headed over to Hubbell Lighting and parked.

Now the race is called the Candlelight 5K because they line the streets with thousands of luminaries. Luminaries of course look best when it is dark, so the race was scheduled for 9:00 pm. We don't normally show up at a race three hours early but we wanted to park at Hubbell before they blocked off the street (7:30ish) and were also meeting some family and friends there.

We got our race packets, met up with Marian and Francis, and then the Warren Clan. We saw a few of the No Boundaries group that Gerri and I had volunteered to work with through Fleet Feet. This was the first time that most of them would be running in a race, having just started running about three months ago. It was nice to see them so excited.

The 1 mile fun run/walk started about 8:00 pm and eventually we started lining up for the 5K. It was not excessively warm or humid, but it is South Carolina on a late June evening. I was feeling better than I expected, so figured I would push as hard as I could. The 5K is my least favorite distance and this loop course has plenty of hills.

I either started to far back in the pack or the slower runners/walkers were way to far ahead, because the first mile which was mostly downhill was spent doing nothing other than avoiding collisions. It was somewhat stressful and prevented me from getting into a nice, steady groove. I also realized during this time frame that I should have used the port-a-potties before the race began.

The 1st mile was run in a reasonable 8:43 pace, but not what I would need for a PR. We had made the turn and were now headed back up hill towards the start. The hill was not steep, but steady. In addition to the hills, my bladder needed relief. As the hill crested, I used a port-a-potty for only the 2nd time during a race. The 1st time was the halfway point of my marathon, but a 5K? Are you kidding me? I thought I was fast, but my Garmin proved otherwise. There goes 51 seconds down the drain. Mile 2 including break in 10:18

As I re-joined the race, I knew any chance of a PR was now over. Mentally I was defeated and physically I was quickly approaching that point. The events of the past 24 hours had begun to take their toll and now the goal was to survive and finish the last 1.1 miles. Some more hills, both up and down, another 180% turn and back towards the finish. Mile 3 was done in 10:05 and the last portion (0.15 on my Garmin) was at an 8:29 pace. Garmin timed at 30:21, (Chip time 30:20) well off of my 5K PR of 27:58. 395/568 male finishers using Gun time of 30:40.




Video quality is not great but I can be seen in a white Fleet Feet shirt, red shorts at approx 33 seconds. Marion (white V-neck, black shorts) can be seen along with Tracy and the girls around 1:23 and for a number of seconds after as the camera turns to follow. You can see Marian almost get run over by a stroller.

Although I didn't set a new PR, or even break 30:00, I still had a good time. It's always fun getting back to the finish line to cheer on Gerri, although with her recent "speedy workouts", it may just be a matter of time before she is cheering for me at the finish.