Race Recap - Lady Track Shack 5k

Last weekend I ran one of my favorite races...the Lady Track Shack 5k. This is my 4th year running it and it is always an inspiring race. This year I got to run it with my mom and that made it even more special.

Saturday morning my alarm child went off at about 5 a.m. Since there was no getting her back to sleep and my alarm was going to go off anyway, we all got up. By 6:20 a.m., after a snack and debate with E about eating yogurt before we left the house, we were out the door and on our way. The race started at 7:30 a.m. so I figured we had plenty of time. It only takes about 20 minutes to get from the house to the race location and in past years parking and traffic hadn't been an issue.

We didn't have an issue this year, until approaching the Princeton exit on I-4 where traffic was backed up for a bit. Slowly but surely, we made our way to the parking garage. Time was ticking away, but we still had a good buffer, that was until we go to the top of the deck and there weren't any spots left. Luckily my husband was driving, so he dropped us off. Mom and I headed to the race and he went to look for parking.

After sitting for 20 min

We got to the start line and made our way toward the back of the pack. I am slow and Mom was walking, so I didn't want to be too far front. There was enough time for  a quick selfie and a little complaining about the cold and we were off.

So many people

The first mile was good, but really really crowded. In hindsight, I may have started a little too far back because I had to weave through a number of people. While the course was busy, the scenery was really pretty.

There were a number of views like this in the first mile

I felt good most of the first mile and held a decent pace. Mile 2 wove us thought some fun neighborhoods and included some fun views of downtown Orlando.

Still crowded

The course was still pretty packed at this point. This was surprising, because normally the crowds thin out as you get further into the race. At about 2.5 miles, the course took us onto a running path and across a bridge. Then we headed into the finish in Lock Haven Park. My husband and E were waiting for me because E wanted to finish with me. It turned out that she really wanted me to pick her up and run...that didn't last very long, so we ran to the finish together.

Can I run here everyday?

E grabbed some strawberries and a banana and we waited to see mom finish. She was no too far behind me. We hung out and grabbed some juice until it was time for the kids races. E was really excited to run and did a great job.

She was ready to run!

My time for this race was 40:04 (12:53/mile). Not great, but I haven't been training to gain speed, so I can't really expect much. It was, as always, a fun race to run.

The best thing was seeing E at the finish line and showing her that being active is fun.