On the Run: Corktown Race 2015

On Sunday, March 15th I ran the Corktown 5k, my first race in over 4 months.  This was a race of firsts for me.  First pain-free race since injuring myself by running the Novi 1/2 Marathon last May.  First time racing with Brian (we ran side by side from start to finish). First team event with my gym, Detroit Tough.  Most importantly, this was the first time in years I raced completely happy and carefree, not trying to push myself too hard or worrying about what place I finished.  

For those of you not from the Detroit area, the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day basically IS St. Patrick's Day.  That's when Corktown celebrates with the race at 10am, followed by the parade at noon (drinking and shenanigans all day).  I ran the race for the first time last year but have never been to the parade.  Honestly, I'm not up to dealing with all the craziness!  

Brian and I parked at Mudgie's to stay warm and have some pre-race coffee.  I've never had coffee before a 5k but hey, there's a first for everything!  From there we could walk the few blocks to the gym to meet everyone, take a group photo, and head to the start as a team.  I loved that Brian got to meet a lot of my Detroit Tough family for the first time!

We had just enough time to get in a warm up run, do some run drills (high knees, butt kicks, walking lunges), and squeeze into our corral with a few minutes to spare before the start.  This race is huge so they have several corrals based on your finish time.  We were in the first one but toward the back.  Brian's goal was to finish in 25:00, which would be a PR for him.  My goal was to make sure he did just that.

Because of the rush at the beginning, we started out faster than planned.  Brian was doing great so we just kept it up.  I chatted the whole time, waved to people, thanked volunteers.  The people-watching was great - lots of costumes and crazy get-ups.  We paced a guy in lime-green spandex and an orange mullet for most of the race.  It was awesome.  He beat us - but not by a lot!  We ended up finishing under 25:00.  Brian beat his Mustache Dache time by over a minute and he also beat me by 1 second!  He was NOT letting me win this race.  haha.  

We got our medals and saw a whole group of Detroit Tough friends waiting for us.  
Like Megan - my amazing new friend!  We also saw several fellow RUNdetroit Flight Club friends too!



After the race we headed back to the gym for a potluck brunch - and a little monkeying around!

Running a race with my friends and family - after so many months of injury - filled me with such joy and happiness.  No nerves, no stress, no worries.  Among the (many) things I've learned from my injury, one lesson is this: not every race has to be your own.  Race with and for someone you love.

Time

24:44

Pace

7:58/mile

Fuel

banana

Tunes

none (first race without music!)