Naperville St. Paddy's Day 5K - Race Report

First, all photos in this blog post were taken by others.  Thank you Abe Garza, Gladys Najar and Chuck Koch for your wonderful photography.

Skipping!!  I love it.

This past Saturday was the 4^th annual Naperville St. Paddy’s Day 5K organized by the Naperville Sunrise Rotary club.  In 2011, the first year for this event, I ran my first ever 5K.   I was training for the 2011 Chicago Ride for AIDS and was doing a little running as cross training for all the bike riding.  I had never run in an organized event and was scared out of my mind.  I remember following an older man, like in his 70’s and staying on his pace and guess what, that was my 5K PR!  I’ve never beaten that pace on subsequent races.

On Saturday morning, I woke up at 5:30 AM before the alarm clock and had my usual 5K breakfast of tea and a granola bar.  The temperature was just below freezing, the sky was clear and there was essentially no wind.  I get quite warm when I run and have kept notes on what I am most comfortable in at all sorts of temperatures.  Using these notes, I dressed in a pair of compression tights (not really necessary for a 5K but I like them), last year’s short sleeved St. Paddy’s day 5K shirt and a very light, half zip, green fleece.  I also wore a pair of kids’ knit  gloves that  I purchased  for $1.50/pair at the local Menard’s.  These are great for running as they are not super warm and if you have to toss a pair, they are only $1.50.   On my head, I wore a St. Paddy’s Day baseball cap with ugly green hair.  It was my nod to the holiday and it made me really easy to be seen. 

Stylin' in my Glad Bag

A  lot of Bolingbrook Fun Run Club (BFRC) members were planning on running so we had a photo shoot organized at the Carillon Tower at 7:30 AM.  I drove into town and parked near the Naper Settlement, as I do every year.  As I was getting out of the car, a man asked me if there was closer parking  and all I could think is “you’re going to run 3 miles and you’re worried about parking closer?”  Anyway, I got a good parking spot and walked over the top of Rotary Hill to meet Gladys (the BFRC leader) to give her her race packet.   Because it was still early (I’m ALWAYS early) we sat in the car a little while and chatted about Zombies….yes, we chatted about Zombies.  At 7:20 we headed down to the Carillon so we could be there to greet people as they showed up and Gladys set up her camera tri-pod.   Taking a lesson from marathon morning, I brought a garbage bag and wore it as we were standing around.  It was the perfect thing for a chilly morning.  I stayed nice and toasty as we took pictures and then walked over to the port-a-potties and the race start at Centennial Beach.

Gladys was wearing a turtle cape and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shirt and looked fabulous.  Her spirit makes us all better people. 

Happy Turtle Running!

I love mid-westerners.  There was a long line for the port-a-potties but it was totally organized and moved quickly.  No separate clusters around certain port-a-pots, just one long, organized line.   Not sure you would see this anywhere but in the mid-west. 

There I am #57

The race was almost ready to start when I got to the starting area.  I always love that the pace signs go up to 10:00 and then walkers.  I think the majority of the runners are over 10 mins  but less than 15 mins, so these pace signs become almost meaningless.  My goal was just to get ahead of the runner baby strollers (more on that later.)  Within a minute or two of 8:00 AM we were off.  I decided before the run that I was going to stick to a strict 1:30 run/ 1:00 walk interval schedule and I did.  Could I have run further and faster, absolutely but I know doing this works for me.    That first minute and a half took me from the start line to just about up the first hill at the corner of Mill and Jackson.  As I eased into my first walk interval, I noted that others around me were also walking.   Run/walk is clearly becoming a method that a lot of us use.  Would I like to run the whole thing, sure but my beta blocker doesn’t really accommodate that and my overall time is probably better with the walk intervals.  I use to be a little embarrassed by the walking but not anymore, now I’m just happy to be out there.  So many people won’t or can’t, I will and I can!

As I ran up Mill St., I took note of some of the costumes.  The St. Paddy’s Day run is always so joyous and there were costumes galore.  I love seeing parents running with their children and groups of friends running together.  Since the run turns around and runs back down Mill St., us BFRCers started to see each other and call out names as we ran by.  I thought back to my first 5K where I didn’t know anyone and felt so alone through the whole thing.  Not anymore!

Me and Gladys at the Pancake Breakfast. 

At about 1.5 miles, I saw that a man had fallen on the icy sidewalks and runners had already gone off the course to assist him.  I really struggled about stopping but realized I didn’t have any skills to assist and so many people were already there.    As we ran past the next visible volunteer, the woman beside me let her know there was a man down that needed assistance.  

Just about mile 2, at the corner of Main and Jefferson, the Naperville Running Company had a cheer section and it was great to hear them yelling as we approached.  My friend, Megan, was there in her very St. Patricky fleece pants.  I called her name but she was busy talking to someone.  She was still busy talking when I came back around about 4 minutes later.  So she missed me.

The rest of the race was uneventful but fun.  At the end, the run club members gathered and walked to the High School for the Kiwana’s cub  pancake breakfast.  I’m pretty sure we ate more calories than we burned off but we had a great time!

Oh, I came in 17 out of 42 woman in my age group with an overall pace of 11:25.  Keeping true to form as a middle of the packer.