Last night was Exciting!!! 

Yesterday morning I ran 6.2 miles in nasty humid shit weather.

Last night I went ahead to the first of the Friday Night Fever Trail 5k, they had to cancel last month because their old insurance company dropped them out of fear. So they got a new one, paying 3x as much and have to jump thru hoops and shit to hold on to it. They moved the July race to November. One of those hoops is that they won't be sending at awards until after the final series race (November).

The RD stated that .25-.35 miles of trail was not runnable so the usual 5k course was probably just under 3 miles.

Yesterday was a torrential downpour most of the afternoon, luckily it slowed to a drizzle by 6 pm (the race was at 7). I ran a.7 mile warm-up on the beginning section and the end section, yep it was flooded with puddles and mud in some sections so I knew what I had to do at the start to avoid getting stuck around and behind people who would be slipping and sliding. I started right behind the fastest 3 guys.

Back in June I won 2nd place Female at the Howl at the Moon 5k, beaten by a 12-13 year old girl who is obviously on her school track and cross-country team, she beat me by like 3 minutes. Last night I knew she was there, and I was determined to either stay with her or beat her.

It was chaotic at the start, 3 guys got ahead of us and one boy (probably 10-12 years old) stayed with me for a few minutes before speeding ahead. Maybe 2 or 3 other guys got past me, I can't remember that part. I slipped a little but could hear someone behind me so I just kept pushing it, something told me it was the girl. Once we reached the levee and got up on it, she managed to pass me which was frustrating, I won't lie but 5k's are not my specialty... speed is not my specialty and I've come to terms with that.

I stayed just behind her and even closed the gap once we got on the single-track again and had to maneuver around a fallen tree, I stayed with her. There was a guy just ahead of her and I was just behind her, we came to a fork and she followed the guy to the right before they both realized they were supposed to turn left. The guy managed to get back on track quick and ahead of me but I got in front of her and stayed on his feet. At one point I managed to move past him, I think we were half-way or less than that but I freaking gave what kick I had and should have saved for the finish to put more distance between me and them (especially the girl). I just kept pushing it until I could no longer hear them splashing through puddles, I caught up to another guy and stayed behind him. We came out onto the levee again and followed the markers, but he slowed down and I pushed ahead. I wasn't about to look behind me to see where the girl was, but I assumed she would no doubt pass me on the levee (for some reason fields and levees are a weak point for me, mentally.... and it slows me down). I just kept pushing and trying to hold a steady pace. I was by myself, nobody ahead of me and nobody immediately behind me.

I reached the single track trail that leads back to the start/finish, I only had about .4-.5 miles left and held onto a steady pace, expecting that girl to show up out of nowhere. The final.1 is through a field and I expected her to catch me there just as the finish was in sight, as I came out of the woods and onto the field I pushed harder.

I came to the finish and realized I won 1st Place Female, I looked back and still didn't see her or anybody. About a minute later she popped out of the woods along with 4 or 5 other people. My Instinct said 2.6 miles, it is typically .2 miles behind by the time I finish this course, my finish time was 24:50.

I think there were 4 or 5 guys that finished before me, including that 10-12 year old boy. First time I've ever finished 1st Female overall, and it kind of sucks that I have to wait until November to receive my award/s..... or see the results online and I'm beginning to think they weren't even tracking or keeping tabs on the finishers which to say would be a bit of a let-down since it was my first overall F win but I am not going to give the RD any shit over it.

Edit: Just talked to the RD and was pointed in the right direction, I not only won 1st Place Female Overall but I actually won 2nd Place Overall.... 

“1st Place Female Overall ... 2nd Place Overall.”

👏👏👏👏👏

 

Definitely exciting.  I wonder if the RD had to disqualify some of the runners for not following the correct course.  That would explain thinking there were more runners ahead that there actually were.

Possibly, or they turned wrong and went further and were still out on the course as I was headed back? I looked the age of the 1st Place, 22 years old so it wasn't the boy. There were a couple wrong turns that could've been made and could have led them off on an extra 2-3 miles. I mean if some cut it shorter but were honest when they got to the finish.... possible.

There were a total of 35 finishers, I'm pretty sure I saw like 40-50 people but I suck at figuring up how many people just by looking lol.

Thanks all! 

Congrats on beating the girl the win. How is it that two of you ran a shorter distance than the rest of the pack yet won?

Congrats on beating the girl the win. How is it that two of you ran a shorter distance than the rest of the pack yet won?

What are you talking about? We ran the marked course, exactly as the RD directed us. Not my fault if some took wrong turns and got lost and stuff.

 

 

Talk about in yo head, next time just tie her shoelaces together at the start like we used do in the olden days ffs.

I couldn't help it, I knew she was the only female I needed to think about and she beat me last time by only 2 minutes... I've been feeling competitive this summer, dropping lbs and getting faster so yeah I had a lot of conversations going on in my head 

WOO HOO!  Congrats on the win!  Bummer you've got to wait so long for the award.  As someone who loves his race shit, I'd hate to have to wait that long.  And yes, 5K's suck.

And I'm a seriously impatient person so waiting is so much worse  But I am understanding for the RD  The cool thing is that if you win 1st, 2nd or 3rd Place consistently in all 4 races, you get a separate award/trophy/medal just for that alone, along with the award for each race. So now I feel the pressure to hold onto 1st place for the next 3 races lol