I thought was done racing for the winter, but I am now registered for the PRC Winter 5k series.

Through a contest with Run Oregon I won an entry to this Run with Paula/Portland Running Company race series.  There are 3 races; one in Dec. one in Jan. and one in Feb. (which unfortunately I will be out-of-town for).

I had not heard of this race prior to the contest so I was really excited when I won.  If you want to participate you can do all three races or however many of them you can.  You do of course save money if you register for all three.  They are all 5ks, around one of the PRC stores, so quick and easy.  The price doesn’t include a shirt (and is inexpensive for a race), however you can buy one.  Which of course I did, and at each race they put a patch on the sleeve to indicate what race you running.

I feel like I have come to a place in my racing experience where I can say ‘it’s just a 5k.’  I don’t say as a bad thing, I love that distance. I say to myself so I don’t get the pre-race jitters. I say it so that I don’t have to go to bed at 8pm the night before or have my kids sleep over at my moms. Because to be honest most weekends I run farther than that for training.

I was feeling the same about this race until the long drive to the race location.  I started to panic about how small the race was. I really like small races, I like the small community feeling, personal aspects of them. But this one might be the smallest I have participated in, there was less than 200 runners.

 

I started to get paranoid about coming in last. Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being last to cross, someone has to finish up the race.  But what I was afraid of is that this race was geared toward elite runners and that I wouldn’t be in the same league as them. So I would finish so far behind everyone else. I started to panic that I shouldn’t be going and participating.

 

I got to the store where the race was being held along with packet pick up and the pre-party.  And I felt ridiculous for doubting that I belonged. This race, just like every race I have been to, had a wide diversity of racers, everyone from elite runners to walkers. So I got my bib, some coffee, a cookie and put my goodies back in my car. Then hung out in the store and mingled until race time.

It had been raining prior to the race, I mean like dumping buckets of water for days. The race director sent out an email warning that there might be some slight course changes due to high water.  Included in the email was a picture of a part of the course that was turned into a pond.

I decided to try out my new Skora Tempo’s on the road.  Luckily the rain held off for the race, but the ground & course was still wet and we did have a couple detours.  The Tempo’s uppers are a thin mesh like fabric and I was a little concerned about water, but the website talks about how great they are through puddles.

And I gotta agree with them! When I went through a puddle (which I mostly tried to avoid) or got water on them some other way, my feet were almost instantly dry again. And while I was afraid of blisters again, that didn’t happen either.  I had a great pace on the most flat course and was complemented on my running outfit.

The after party had bagel breakfast sandwiches, cookies, coffee, raffles and a photo booth.  Not to mention in store discounts. I had to leave because of a prior engagement that day, but I did get my picture taken.

I had a ton of fun and can’t wait for the next race this Sat. but hopefully the course will not have so much water!

 

 

Just. Keep. Running.

*Skora is offering $15 off your order when you click through my site! This link will take you to a coupon code to use towards your purchase.

For my loyal readers RunnerBox is offering 10% your purchase by using the code RUNMSRUN so go start your subscription today, or go buy one for that runner in your life.

Want to find out what is on my race calendar?  Check out my list.

This year my running club and I will be participating in the Hood to Coast Relay Race as a fundraising team. We will be raising money for Providence Cancer Center to help #FINISHCANCER. Click on the picture below (or here) to donate today.