Gloucester Township 5K Recap

On Saturday I ran my second race of the year, a small 5K in my town called the Gloucester Township 5K. If you remember from my post back in December, I had said I would only run 1 race this spring. Well, since I didn't sign up for any "big" races {half or full marathon} I decided a few small 5Ks would be nice! I heard about this race through my town's newsletter and figured it would cool to run a super local 5K that didn't cost much. I knew John would be away for the weekend so I recruited my little brother to run it with me! It was an interesting race for me so read on if you want to hear about it.

This race morning started unlike many race mornings for me because I didn't have to be up at the crack of dawn {WIN!}. Being less than 5 minutes from the race location meant that we could sleep later and take our time getting there. The start time was 9 am but we still needed to pick up our bibs and shirts so we decided to leave my house around 8:15 to get there with plenty of time to spare. The location of this race was at the senior citizen community center in town that happens to share a parking lot with a park so the parking situation was great. At this point in the morning it was drizzling so we ran into the community center to pick up our stuff. We were amazed at how much thought was put into such a small town 5K. There were handmade signs posted all around the big room everything was in such as the check in and post-race breakfast buffet and they even had a couple of local sponsors handing out freebies. We grabbed our shirts and a few freebies and while heading to my car to stash them away, Dale realized he wasn't sure where his wallet was. Being so close to home, I suggested we drive home real quick to see if it was there. It really worked out because then I was able to use my own bathroom pre-race {there were real flushing bathrooms at the start, as well!} while Dale found his wallet, and we still made it back to the start with time to spare!

The start of the race was a bit odd. The whole race was chip timed but we didn't cross over one of those timing mats in the beginning. It makes me wonder how they figured out the timing then. Anywho, once they let us start, I immediately took off because it was already apparent that there would be a bottleneck ahead where we had to narrow down into a smaller portion of the road. Dale stayed with me at this point. We had agreed beforehand that if I felt like I wanted to push ahead to try and place in my age group, that was fine. I wasn't sure what my plan was because the weather was already so hot and humid, something my body was NOT ready for. I continued to keep pushing and eventually pulled away from Dale after about a half mile because I saw a girl in my age group wasn't too far ahead of me {with this being a smaller race, I was able to easily pick out people in my age group}. I kept pushing but eventually the girl flew past me and I couldn't even try to keep up. 

I didn’t take many pictures but I did manage to  get a picture of Dale crossing the finish line!

My ankle started bugging me around mile 2, which was when another girl in my AG started closing in on me. I had kept turning around to check on Dale and eventually realized how close she really was to me. I had to let myself stop real quick to stretch out my ankle and within that time, the girl passed me. At this point, I assumed I was in 3rd, which felt good. As I neared the end of mile 3, a girl who looked like she was in my AG flew by me without warning. I tried my best to push myself in that last quarter of a mile but the heat was really dragging me down. I crossed the finish line with a time of 28:31 {1 second faster than the Phillies Charities 5K 2 weeks ago!}, just 24 seconds after the 3rd place female in my AG. I was so mad at myself for pushing so hard in the beginning because I believe that was what made my ankle pain flare up later on. I threw myself a quick pity party before letting it go and promising myself to continue working on pace to better myself!

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The post-race breakfast buffet was really nice and I was thankful to have a bagel and some orange slices to fill my stomach. Overall, this was a well put together 5K that I am looking forwarding to running again in the future. It had been awhile since I ran such a small, local 5K and this one made me remember how much I love them! The obvious community pride made me feelgood about the town we chose to move to and call our "home."

Question of the Day: Have you ever done a small town race? If so, what were your thoughts?

My Favorite Winter Gear

With winter in full swing around here, I figured it was about time I shared with everyone my favorite winter weather gear! Does anyone else feel like it takes twice as long to get ready for a run in the winter because you're literally just piling on layers?! Sometimes I'm worn out before even leaving my house, haha. Layering is definitely the best option when it comes to running in the cold because you can slowly peel off each layer as you warm up!

 There are so many different brands and options out there, so feel free to just use this as a guide for finding what is right for you.

The North Face Ear Band

I prefer ear bands over beanies because I don't always keep it on throughout the whole duration of my run. An ear band fits easily into my Flipbelt or a pocket in my hydration vest. This is just a personal preference. I like this specific one because it's not too thick and the material does not let any wind pass through to your ears like knit ones sometimes do. There is also a ponytail hole in the back, which is super convenient! The one I have is branded with my running group, but they sell the same exact one plain on the North Face website!

Brooks Running Vest 

Vests are the perfect winter weather clothing option, especially for layering. I never thought a vest would keep me warm but it really does! I've always been told that once your core is warm, the rest of you can warm up, and I do believe it. Some days I'll just wear a running vest over a long sleeve shirt and it's warm enough without feeling too bulky. I can't find the specific vest I own but here is one similar. I like that the vest is thin so even when layering, you don't feel bulky either.

Saucony Gloves 

My hands are always freezing so gloves are a must for me! Regular knit gloves don't cut it for me so I opt for a tech material pair of gloves that keep my hands warm and wicks away any moisture once my hands warm up. The specific pair I own even has magnets in the wrist so that you can clip them together when storing to prevent separation! I can’t find the pair I have online, probably because they’re old, but here is a pair that looks close to them.

Fleece-Lined Leggings

I've raved about fleece-lined leggings before and I'll do it again! Any type of running tights are great to keep your legs warm and block the wind during a run, but fleece-lined tights just bring it to a whole new level! Personally, I've learned to not wear them until it's really cold or else my legs get super hot. They're that warm! I have both an Asics and Fila Sports pair and both are great! These are definitely something you pick out based on your personal preference.

Question of the Day: What is your favorite winter weather gear?

Friday Five: 5 Things I'm Loving This Week

Happy Friday! I'm actually kind of bummed it's already Friday because that means there is only 2 more Fridays before school starts! I am super excited to start working, though. This weekend I am going away with my family to camp at Knoebel's, an amusement park out in Pennsylvania. It should be a fun weekend as long as the heat calms down! And now onto this week's Friday Five....

1. How I Grocery Shop and Make 5 Dinners for $30 BuzzFeed Article
I stumbled upon this article earlier in the week during one of my BuzzFeed article reading binges. I was instantly hooked because 1. I love making meals for a cheap price and 2. I love new ideas on how to meal prep. This article definitely helped me out with #2 because it gave me the idea to use a rotisserie chicken for multiple meals throughout the week. Typically, I make one meal and eat it all week for my lunches. This article was a major game changer for me because now I want to get a rotisserie chicken and make DIFFERENT meals for my lunches. I sent John the article and he is totally on board. My meal prep has been kind of non-existent lately so I probably won't try this out until school starts back up.

These sandals come in clutch when Tommy wants multiple wagon rides!

2. Being Anti-Flip Flops
Before summer began, I told myself I wasn't going to torture myself this summer by wearing flip flops. While flip flops are super convenient to slip on and off throughout the summer, they end up making my feet hurt by the end of the day. Back in June I found the perfect sandals to wear all summer in place of flip flops. Well, I've been wearing them all summer and my feet are SO much happier! I've been able to walk long distances in them without pain AND my feet don't get hot in them like if I were to wear sneakers all day.

3. Unsweetened Iced Tea
As most of you know, I drink water all the time. Like, seriously. Earlier in the week I had a free beverage coupon from Dunkin that was about to expire. I had completely forgotten about it since I haven't been there in months (#stillcoffeefree). Typically I would get a hot vanilla chai but that was a no-no in this heat. Instead, I opted for a large unsweetened iced tea with lemon. I had forgotten how delicious iced tea was! Since getting this free beverage, I have gotten a few more using the Dunkin gift cards I had and also have been tapping into John's mom's homemade iced tea supply I usually never touch. Thank goodness she makes it so often! Oh, and don't worry, I'm still drinking all my water :)

4. Sidewalk Sales
I had been needing some new running shorts so when my local running store advertised their annual sidewalk sale, I made sure I stopped by! The first day (yes, I went twice...) I went I was overwhelmed with everything they had. It had already been going on for a few days by that point so I was shocked they still had a lot of stuff left. I didn't find any shoes that I wanted but I did walk out with a cute Run856 shirt and Under Armour shorts. When my brother found out about the sale, he asked if I'd go back with him the next day. Ummm... heck yes! He scored deals on his own Run856 shirt and sock while I got 2 more pairs of shorts. I made out like a bandit over a span of two days and now I have new running shorts to start replacing some old ones!

5. Fruit Stands
I'm not a huge fan of summer but there are a few things I do like about the season, one being fruit stands! I live near a lot of farms so you can always find a good fruit stand around me. After shopping my running store's sidewalk sale with my brother, we stumbled upon a pop-up farmer's market in the town. I got delicious peaches for a great price! Another day this week I went to the fruit stand up the street from John's house and walked away with a great variety of fruits and vegetables. Needless to say, I'm one happy girl!

Question of the Day: What are you loving this week?