Run For The Art Of It 5K Recap

In the past 13 days The Husband and I ran 15 miles…3.2 of which were in my very first 5K race!

yes, this is attractive.

We’ve really been working on the running lately, so when I found out the Run For The Art of It 5K was going to be held on the boardwalk in Ocean City New Jersey the same weekend my family was going to be there, I signed us both up!

I’ve actually wanted to run in a 5K for a while, but we just never got around to do it. (Procrastinate much?) This one ended up being perfect – it was run entirely on the boardwalk so I knew it would be flat, and since I’ve been to OCNJ countless times I was familiar with the area and the run. Plus, I figured it couldn’t be that big of a race – Ocean City isn’t that big of a place, and it’s off-season right now. Not to mention that the race started at 0800 and packet pick-up was at 0700 that same day – The Husband informed me that’s a sign of a small race. No complaints here!

We showed up right at 7 to pick up our t-shirts and check-in, and then we waited on the boardwalk for an hour. It was a gorgeous morning although it was pretty chilly – about 56 degrees, and with the wind coming in off the ocean it made me glad I was wearing long sleeves! (Although I still may have complained about being cold. Often.)

beautiful, right?

The Husband was a little concerned when at 0750 we still hadn’t lined up – he was sure we wouldn’t start on time. But sure enough, at 0755 a man on a bullhorn told us to line up…runners set…GO!

I wasn’t really paying attention to how many runners there were, although all the people I noticed waiting around on the boardwalk for the race to begin were ahead of me, so when they all pulled away from us I was seriously worried that we were the last runners in the race. But I know myself, and instead of shooting out the gate to pass as many people as possible, we kept a steady pace – it usually takes at least a mile for me to find my groove and I figured some people would slow down near the halfway point and I’d pass some people.

As it turns out, I am very competitive.

We passed one woman about a quarter mile in – but she had stopped to walk so that doesn’t really count. There was another woman in a purple running skirt about fifty yards ahead of us – I had seen her when we were waiting around for the race to begin – and for whatever reason, I decided that my goal for the race (made when we started and I saw her ahead of me) was to pass her.

We hit the halfway point feeling good – and we were slowly closing the distance on purple running skirt and some other runners. At this point I was trying not to notice how far away the Music Pier (our finish line) was, because I was starting to slow. The Husband kept pace and pulled ahead, and I was determined to keep up.

Not only did I pass purple skirt, but I passed three other runners – including another woman in pink that I totally hadn’t expected to pass! Win!

(that woman in pink is me. I passed a different woman in pink. obviously.)

We passed my family cheering us on about 200 yards from the finish line, which gave me an extra boost and I sprinted the final stretch. Unfortunately I wasn’t paying close enough attention to the clock and race results aren’t yet online (I suspect, due to the small number of runners, that they may never be posted), but The Husband thinks we came in about 28:38. Nice!

Overall I was really happy with the race – I finished strong (and as it turns out there were at least 65 runners, and The Husband and I came in at 28th and 29th) and I’m glad we did a small race for my first one. I do believe I’ve caught the race bug!

Not to mention we spent a fabulous weekend with family at the beach. It doesn’t get much better than that!