This was my first GA road race and I opted to go with the 5K since I just did the Reedy River Run 10K the previous Saturday.
I also chose this race because it's close to where my parent's live. We arrived at the race location around 7:20am and it was much chiller than I had prepared for. I did my warmup jogs and stretches and at 7:55am, we all lined up at the start. They had 5Kers and 10Kers start together which I found odd because this race was not chipped time so middle of the pack runners such as myself had no idea where the starting line actually was.
This course was advertised as flat and fast so I expected it to be just that, flat. Because it was an out-of-state race, I didn't get to drive the course ahead a time. So expecting it to be fairly flat, I went out a little faster than I normally do on hilly courses. I was doing great until we hit that hill around 2 miles and factor in a strong headwind and it took a lot out of me. So much that I had to take frequent walk breaks. It's a bummer too because I was right on pace with a 5K PR until I hit that darn hill and headwind.
I finished (officially) in 34:06. But my Garmin measured it as a 3.24 course and my GPS 5K time was 33:33 so it wasn't a bad run at all. It's my 3rd fastest 5K time so I can't really complain. I will complain about the lack of explanation about what to do with the card they gave you at the finish line. It took me about 10 mins to realize I was suppose to fill it out and put it in the appropriate gender and age basket at the score table. Like I said, the race should be chipped time. Relying on runners to remember and fairly write their own time on a card seems crazy. Especially since the 10K was a peachtree qualifier.
Post-race, they had a nice selection of food but no water (at least I didn't see any), just powerade which was okay with me. But with the wind picking up and the sun hiding behind clouds, it felt like the temperature was dropping.
Weather: Mid 40s, mostly cloudy and windy.
Course Conditions: Wet
I ran it, too. But I did the 10k. The wind was brutal, but the smell of bacon at the Waffle House was even more distracting! Congrats on your time.
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