DCFA Form Follows Fitness 5k
This was in downtown Dallas the Saturday after Austin. Kevin, Daniel and I did this race together as a family, so the focus was on fun, not speed. I was a week removed from Austin and pushing D in the stroller, but poor Kevin's shoes didn't fit well (turned out, as I suspected, they were the wrong width), so I was not the one slowing our party down. Even given the ill-fitting shoes though, Kevin had a solid outing in his first foot race and we finished in 31 minutes and change. It was a fun morning. Usually I go to my races solo and only meet my boys at the end, or at home later, so it was fun to share the experience with them. And Daniel's running career is off to a much earlier than mine or Kevin's: a good 32 years earlier. It's fun to think that someday we'll do races together...and then, someday, we'll start races together, then he'll lope ahead of me and be waiting at the finish to cheer me on.
LALA Esparanza 5k
This race was on the same morning as another race that featured the newly-opened Margaret Hunt Hill bridge near downtown Dallas. The chance to be one of the first pedestrians to step foot on the new bridge was tempting, but I ultimately opted for Esparanza instead even though it was a further drive. I liked the fact that the race was put on by a church and that all the proceeds went toward a charity in Mexico that helps the disadvantaged, and that finishers would receive a ceramic finisher medal handmade by one of the people the group-a nice way to make the charity personal. So, that morning I headed northeast to Plano. The day was nice, as good a weather as any race I've run. I started strong and felt good throughout the race, even though I forgot my handheld water bottle and had to stop for water halfway through, and finished with a PR of 24:10. Most races do their ave divisions in 5-year increments but this one did 10-year increments. I knew awards were only 3-deep in each division, so with such a large division I didn't expect to place, but I was pleased to discover I had finished 3rd out of 85 women in my division. I got a nice trophy for my efforts, which joins my Cupid's Chase trophy. Overall this was as well-organized a short race as I've done, and the family carnival afterwards was fun for Kevin and Daniel.
Here I am with Daniel and my trophy:
Dash Down Greenville 5k
I've lived in the Dallas area for more than 10 years now, and have learned that Dallas does St. Patrick's Day in a big way, specifically on Greenville Ave. This year I learned that the St. Paddy's Day festivities also include the Dash Down Greenville 5k. I debated whether I ought to do a 5k for speed just a week before the Rock 'n' Roll half that I had set my whole spring training schedule up to peak for, but in the end I talked myself into it. It was the biggest 5k I've done so far: 8,000 runners, with hundreds more spectators lined up along the sides getting an early start to the festivities. I started solid and, despite oppressive humidity, managed to finish with a PR by 4 seconds. While I didn't medal, I did finish #8 out of 500+ women in my age group, so I was pretty happy with that.
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