Frigid 5k Race Recap

After a restful and relaxing Saturday night, I got up early for a busy Sunday.  I started things off by driving to Lemont for their 3rd annual Frigid 5k. I met up with a few Yankee Runners that were there and got warmed up. The race only cost $20 if you registered in advance, and that included a hooded sweatshirt, race entry, and breakfast with Santa afterwards.

First, the hooded sweatshirt. I have a problem with shirts being too short in the arms after I wash them once, so I went with the size medium. The sweatshirt is really warm, so that is a plus. The "swag bag" didn't include any other goodies or coupons, just info on 2 other local races and an evaluation form. Kind of disappointing but for $20, I can't complain.

Next, the race itself. The course (map below) included 2 loops around the same area. This was a run/walk so the path got a bit confusing at times.

 The volunteers didn't really know what they were doing. I ended up going the wrong way on part of the course, and I had to ask several times where I should go. The volunteers were only announcing things once every 6 or 7 runners. There could have been better signage or more vocal volunteers! This race wasn't chip timed and it appears that some folks finished the race after the 1st loop and messed with the scoring and ranking of others. Also, one guy was registered as a female so that also messed things up. It took over an hour after the last runner crossed the finish line to have the official results. Most of the gym had cleared so the only folks there to accept awards were those that thought they had won. Before I finish talking about the results, I want to talk about how the race went for me.

Sweet action shot

 The clock started when the gun went off so we tried to get spots near the front. In a sea of high school cross country boys, I started off too fast (7:16). My next mile, I was still with the group and had some sharp turns (7:38).

The last mile I was all by myself with no one to compete against, and I went the wrong way for part of the way (7:42). I sprinted the end (6:42) and finished in 23:03 according to my Garmin. That is an average of 7:26 per mile and a new PR!!! My previous PR was 23:44, an estimated time from the Hot Chocolate 5k. This is a new PR and official! There are so many things I could have done better, and I'm still really happy with my time. Next goal is to break into the 22 min category (obvi).

Waiting with friends for the race results. Photo Credit: Wendy Jay

The age groups in this race were groups of ten-ish, therefore my age group was 19-29. I placed 2nd and received my 2nd age group award ever!

Photo Credit: Wendy Jay

2nd place!

Now that awards were over, it was time to have breakfast with Santa! We headed over to the recreation center across the parking lot. Upon arrival, there was still a good amount of food left and things were pretty delicious!

Apparently I don't know how to evenly pour syrup.

However, the runners were banished to a side room that did not include Santa! What is the point of having breakfast with Santa if we can't see him? Kind of dumb if you ask me. We did end up walking over to the next room and got our picture taken with Santa.

The real deal! Photo credit: Joe Werner

All things said and done, I do not plan on running this race next year. It was fun, but there are other events that are organized better. What was your worst race experience? How did you do in spite of things?

After the race, it was time to head to Soldier Field for the Bears game. The first half was really fun to watch, but the second half was beyond miserable to watch. I did have fun regardless, but games are always more fun when your team wins!