Red White and PINK! July 5K Double Feature….
I figure with Red White & Brew + the July installment of Watermelon days apart from one another it made the most sense to group my recaps on the same posting as it’s not like a Disney or Gasparilla Event so there aren't too many bells and whistles….
First on the docket is Red White & Brew, a local event which I ran in 2017,18, & 21 that takes place weaving around the parking lot of a local strip mall.
Bib pick up was in/out the day beforehand at the running store in said strip mall with the race to take place July Fourth at 7:04 (get it?)
Phew that was a long description.
I arrived at 6:32 am and lingered a bit before walking toward the stage area at 6:42
It was self seeding and when I arrived people were lining the sidewalk but not in the actual shoot aside from posing for pictures. I took a few of random groups when asked and even had my picture taken
About five minutes after this the start arch collapsed
Apparently the power went out on one of the blowers so they said it would be about a five minute delay. Meanwhile the weather was stating that it was 75 feels like 81 with a 30-40% chance of thunderstorms between 7am & 10am (as I type this up race day at noon it hasn’t stormed yet gotta love Florida LOL)
I crossed the start about four mins after the race was scheduled to start so not too bad with the delay
Just over a half mile out I opened my personal water
I reached mile one in roughly 17 mins despite my fitbit saying my average pace was 16’39
The next 15 mins was pretty much a blur as soon I was reaching the turn around & water table
About 3 mins after that the end of the line passed from the opposite side of the road so I needed to put a spring in my step to get to mile two a few seconds later… It was 18 mins 35 min cumulatively which is on par with my 2023 average
About 5 mins after this I finished my personal water with roughly ¾ of a mile to go.
I carried the bottle for about 10 mins before I was able to take a nine second detour off course onto the sidewalk to trash it
There was no official 3 mile marker at least none that I saw but my finish time was 54:33 which was less than my past two events
It’s time for Round 2 of what’s becoming a summer staple.
This time as I went to pick up my bib I was back in wave 10/10 (remember this is with a 42 min projected finish which remains my PR) and up until five mins before the start it was just me and maybe 20 other participants and another dozen with strollers.
Going in my initial goal was to try to beat Tuesday’s race time however with a mild case of acid reflux I figured so long as I’m fast enough that medals didn’t run out I’d be fine.
For this months theme I went with another patriotic red white and blue color schemed look with a Marika tank, Livi skort & red bondi
I started my walk out at 636 and arrived in my starting spot at 646
I took my one and only wildlife photo en route to said start
Weather was 76 feels like 82 (4-7 degrees warmer than June) I had a wristband to combat the bugs however here were a few flies still swirling around my legs and face.
I got a random 14/52 songs on my 15k playlist and I wish I listed what songs played in June so I could compare them…but alas.
I don’t know when I crossed the start but it was roughly the same four minutes to get to the “false” finish.
16:47 I reached mile one (two seconds slower than June)
It was uneventful as I reached the merge though I’m making a mental note to wear a visor when I run in August.
Passing the water table I was soon at mile two in 34:56 (10 seconds slower than June)
It was pretty uneventful still as this time there were no unaccompanied minors zooming about and it also felt like there weren’t as many people to keep pace with so I was just going with my flow until I merged back onto the roadway and hit mile three in 53:31 (three minutes slower than June)
Even though my mile splits were slower than June my finish at 55:12 was two seconds better than June and three better than mayfair (though the above recapped red white and brew was better than both and none of them are close to were I was speed wise pre pandemic)
This time there was no shortage of medals (though there were almost double the amount of finishers behind me from than)
Anyway can’t wait to beat the heat on August 12th when I complete the series and then it’s off to these following races:
Nov 3rd wine and dine 5k
Nov 4th wine and dine 10k
Feb 24th Gasparilla 15k
Feb 25th Gasparilla 8k
1092.98 miles /2023 moved
1M {15:26} 3K {30:59} 5K {42:46} 8K {1:13:59} 10K {1:42:52} 15K {2:19:09} 10M {3:01:51} HALF {3:54:55} FULL {7:08:15*} *virtual full run in increments
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