Steelers Gatorade 5K

I'm starting to try to race again but it's a bit hard without training at all.

This is the 2nd time I've run the Steelers Gatorade 5K. It's a great race because it's big so there is a lot of energy, it's flat, it's cheap, and the raffle prizes are a pack of Steelers goodies including free tickets to a game. Not that I've won that yet. Next year!

They also have a kids race on the field itself so hopefully next year we can get Neil to do that. It's adorable.

Before the game, we took Neil in Heinz Field and let him sit in the seats and things like that. He was looking around a lot; I can't wait to take him to a game.

There was a good crowd (of my friends) at this race, and the race was really big compared to past years. In past years it's been around 3000 registered runners and this year they were announcing that there were over 4000 people. That's insane!

Because of the size, they have waves. This time they lined it up more like the Pittsburgh marathon, along the street. The first time I ran this they tried to funnel people side by side at the start and I didn't really like that too much. This time they just lined everyone up a street and you got in at the pace you wanted to be. Wave 4 was the last wave of runners and it was something like over 30 minutes. We knew that Mandy was the only one in our group who could beat 30 minutes and she usually sticks with a friend (she's good like that- I'm not so much).

Before the finish, waiting for the race to start

We started out together- John and Laura actually were ahead a little but in sight, and Mandy, Tami, and I were together. Mandy and Tami were right next to each other but I was weaving and just slightly ahead. That's how it was for the first mile. We stayed on streets this time instead of running by the river. I definitely missed running by the river but it would have been way too crowded with the number of people.

I forgot to mention above that I forgot my Garmin watch. There is too much to remember with a baby and all of his stuff too and I realized as we were driving there. I was tempted to ask Dave to turn around but finally shrugged and told myself to chill out a little bit and just use this race to relax and just run.

Also, because of the staggered start I don't know how late after the gun went off we started. I considered carrying my phone in my hand but I knew I'd drop it or something. The first mile wasn't marked and nobody was calling out times so I have no idea where exactly it was or how fast I ran it. I would guess around 11-12 minutes or so.  It was out and back for the 2nd mile so I heard a guy yelling out times for mile 2 and when I ran by around mile 1 he was saying about 12:00-13:00.

At the water stop, everyone else stopped but I didn't want to so I kept running and passed everyone. I thought John might catch up but he ended up sticking with Laura- she had walked through the water stop and I saw him after the stop looking for her. I think he either turned around or waited when I told her he was walking. I also left Mandy and Tami behind at that point.

I don't really remember much of the actual race. The first half I was looking at shirts; a lot of people wear Steelers stuff, and some people actually were running in jerseys, which I think is outright crazy. So hot! And I would probably ruin my jersey; they are too expensive for that. I also think cotton is too hot for running in though so maybe a jersey wouldn't be much hotter than that.

The turnaround was kind of tight and I ended up walking around it. Once I walked I decided to take a short break and waved at Tami and Mandy as I passed them from the other direction. They weren't too far behind me at that point. I started running after I saw them, and then saw Laura (but never saw John). I should have yelled good job but I didn't think of it at the time.

When I reached the two mile mark it was around 22:00 so I ran that mile in something like 9 or 10 minutes, I think. It might not have been a full mile. From that point on I did quite a bit of walking. I just don't have the endurance right now and I took that 2nd mile by myself way too fast. If I'd had my Garmin I would have noticed and slowed down. Plus for me it's hard to keep from trying to pass people. I am too too competitive.

So the third mile I spent saying to myself, just get to that lamp post and then you can take a short walking break. It was also starting to thin out but I picked a few people out and tried to keep run/walk pace with them. And I was able to beat them at the end.

I rounded the corner and started running through Heinz Field. That's the best part- they show the finish on the jumbotron and there's an announcer and everything. As I was running I saw that the official time was almost 43:00 so I pushed it and stepped up my pace, and ran right over the mat at 43:00. As I write this I have no clue what my actual race time was. I waited on the field at the end (last time they made us walk off the field right away). I didn't see Dave- he didn't see me finish but saw Mandy and Tami behind me, and then realized I was already done. And we waited for John and Laura, who weren't that much further behind us.

Dave took this picture of the jumbotron. Tami is in the pink shirt, I'm to the right in the blue shirt, and Mandy is turned around to the right of me. We were still waiting for John and Laura at that point.

My official finish time was 35:10. SO close to less than 35 minutes. The bad part is that I was sore for a few days afterwards; in my hamstrings mostly. This proves I really need to start training so I can run the relay at the Hershey Half. That's going to be 6.7 miles and I'm the first leg so if I don't finish or run it quickly enough (they sweep if you can't maintain at least a 14:00 pace) then Laura, my partner, won't even be able to run.