Festival of Lights 5K: Dashing through the Darkness to “See the Light” of Competitive Running Inspiration

Alek (Mr. Ethiopia) patiently awaits the start of the race.

Merely two weeks after the “Phiasco in Philly” (see my previous entry on my disappointing outing at the Philadelphia Half Marathon), I crawled out from under the rock of competitive running despair and toed the line of my next race, the Festival of Lights 5K in Jacksonville.  My battered and bruised male ego wasn’t willing to wait until January to restore some competitive running confidence. All things considered, this undertaking paid off.  I turned in a respectable performance in this race and now feel optimistic about seeing big progress in my upcoming “prime” racing season in January-March.

I ran a 22:16, which is 20 seconds faster than my only other outing in this race in 2006.  I placed 122^nd  of 2538 overall (top 5%) and 9^th  of 89 runners in my 45-49 age group.  Alek ran an 18:54 (4^th in his age group and 32^nd overall), which was 3 seconds faster than his time last year in this race.

This race featured a large field of runners, narrow streets, multiple turns, and PITCH DARK conditions – oh my!  Not exactly a recipe for the fastest 5K of your life, but at least the weather was pleasantly cool.  I only stumbled and nearly ran over other runners maybe five or six times during the race – not bad under these circus-like conditions.  I also endured the misfortune of being crammed like a sardine near the front of the field at the start, closely sandwiched between weekend warriors dressed as Santa; Dasher, Donner, and Blitzen; and some perky elves with candy striped running socks in front of me, and some guy behind me with a baby jogger lodged in my butt (he was apparently unfazed by the race director’s announcement that all walkers and baby joggers should assemble at the BACK of the starting area).  But rules are made to be broken, right?   Hopefully, Mr. Baby Jogger will find some coal in his stocking this year.

After dodging, bobbing, weaving, stumbling, and bumbling through the first mile at a 6:48 pace, I was struggling more than I expected.  With every turn on the course, I found myself slamming on the brakes to avoid yet another runner who didn’t know how to accelerate and maintain position through turns.  My quads were failing me by mile 3, just in time for several more turns within the last half mile of the course.  I was almost dizzy from all the turns.  I’m not known for my sprinter speed, so trying to regain what little momentum I had after all of those turns in the dark on this course really drained me mentally and physically.

Nigara faithfully supported us near the finish on this damp and drizzly night and tried to take photos, which is hard when you can’t see your loved ones approaching more than three seconds in advance in the pitch dark conditions.  She managed to get a shot just before the start of the race (included in this entry) and a nice shot of Alek’s back as he approached the finish.

Perhaps the highlight of the evening was stopping on the drive home to devour a Taco Bell meal in the car.  I don’t recommend eating Cheesy Rice and Bean burritos while driving, but I was eager to get home for a hot shower.  I also couldn’t bear the thought of subjecting innocent diners at Taco Bell to the post-race stench that engulfed Alek and me like the dust cloud that follows the character, Pig Pen, from the Charlie Brown comic strip.  Within hours after that delightful post-race feeding frenzy on the go, it was “Yo quiero Pepto Bismol” for the rest of the evening.

The Winter/Spring race calendar is filling up fast.  True to my word, I will take a pass on the Gate River Run 15K in March after my unsavory experience last year (see my blog entry from last year’s race).  But there are still plenty of races on tap for me in the coming months in Northeast Florida, so stay tuned for many more blog entries soon.

Jan. 15:  Palm Coast Half Marathon

Feb. 4:  Winter Beach 5 Miler  (Jax Beach)

Feb. 18:  Pirates on the Run 5K  (Fernandina Beach)

March 24:  Nocatee 5K  (just 5 miles from our home)

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