This week's race was the Lochrann's Pub Paddy Dash 5K at Frisco Square in Frisco, TX on Saturday March 19, 2011. Each runner was able to choose 1 of 5 organizations for their entry fee to benefit. My choice was the Boys and Girls Club of Collin County. The other choices were C.A.K.E. (who missions to educate motivate and inspire children, trying to eliminate child sexual abuse), Frisco Cares (who provides health and wellness care to the under served in the community), Frisco Family Services Center (who provides social services to individuals and families in need), and Mane Gait (who provides therapeutic horsemanship to children and adults with disabilities). The event also benefited Back On My Feet, a non-profit organization that promotes self sufficiency of those experiencing homelessness, and encourages them to use running as a means of building confidence, strength and self esteem. Run-On! has a team of volunteer runners who train with some of the homeless runners at The Bridge (Dallas), including Candace George and Genevieve Moran. Good job ladies. Before the 5K run, there was a one mile fun run and a kids 50 yard Paddy Dash. Other activities included bounce house, silent auction, face painting, and a dunk tank. They had about 30 sponsors with a lot of volunteers to help out. The announcer said they had over 800 people signed up for this third annual race. This was a chip timed race, which they removed from your ankle after the race so that it could be used again at another race. Some racers must not have used the chip timer since the 5K final total was 352 finishers. I arrived early as usual, and picked up my bib# and chip timer at the registration desk. I took my usual warm up jog around the square, then watched the start of the other fun walk / run races. The 5K started at 8:30 AM. I line up 4 or 5 rows back to start. A fellow member of the Dallas Running Club Scott McKissick said that the award age groups were 56-65 for the race, which made us competitor this time. Usually my age group is 55-59. I arrived at the first mile marker in 7:59. This course was different than other races; we had to run 2 laps to finish the race. I glanced over at the timer on the first lap to see that I ran it in about 12:45. There was a cone turnaround. which meant that we had to slow down to get around it twice in this race. At least the course was flat. The temperature was close to 70 degrees which is a bit warmer than I wanted it to be. I sure do not like it when it warms up like that. The hotter it gets, the harder I breathe. I arrived at the 2 mile in the time of 15:51 (7:52 / mile pace). I tried to pick it up some more so that I could have a great finish. At this point, I could not see Scott any more so I ran behind a lady to pace myself to the finish. She took me all the way end. At the 3 mile marker my time was 23:51 (7:59 / mile pace), and the last .1 mile took me 1:14 according to my Garmin timer. The final results said that I averaged a 8:04 per mile pace for the race, but my Garmin timer said I was under 8:00 for the first 3 miles. Try figuring that one out. Well my final time was 25:05, good enough for second place behind 62 year old Scott. Great running Scott! I thought I would not have to run against you until I reached 60 years old in November. The sad thing is that I would have won my age group if there was a 55-59 age group like most of races. I guess there were not enough old runners to necessitate the extra age groups. After the race, I got to hang out with my son John who came out to see me run. He is my "luck of the Irish" since I always run a good race when he comes to watch me. He took several pictures of me during and after the race, including one after getting a huge green leprechaun hat for second place. He also took a picture with a couple of Texas Legends Basketball Dancers, who are coached by Nancy Leberman. I also got to meet and talk to Laura Nelson, a well respected runner in the community, who was recently voted the top female runner by Clines Running Corner www.clinesrunningcorner.com. There were several people who came up to me and congratulated me, telling me that I ran a good race. Several people, like Genevieve, sent some encouraging words to me while I was running, like "go Teddy go!" All that support makes me feel great! I love encouragement and like to give it out too. Running has changed my life for the better and I hope I can inspire those of you that haven't tried it yet to try it also. Place Bib# Men Overall Chip Time Gun Time Pace 2/9 252 55/182 66/352 25:05:9 25:07:6 8:04 / m | |
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