2 Race Reports in 1

Skirt Chaser 5K Race Report

On Saturday Nicole DeBoom, pro triathlete and founder of SkirtSports held the inaugural Austin Skirt Chaser 5K. The first race in this series was in Boulder, where the DeBooms now live, but Austin holds a special place in Nicole's heart, where at age 16 she swam Olympic Trials and years later raced her first triathlon as a pro. Oh, and she also sold the very first TRIKS skirt here. Next year, the Skirt Chaser series will hit 6 cities.

The premise was simple: women start in the 1st wave of runners wearing either pink t-shirt & black TRIKS skirt, or black t-shirt & pink TRIKS skirt (included in the race packet). 3 minutes later the 2nd wave of men starts. For some reason, the race seemed to draw out the inner drag queen in a few men who donned skirts, wigs, and even feather boas. The race started with someone merely shouting "Ready Set Go" and while we all were given timing chips, the only timing mat I saw was at the end. Even though this themed race was small by Austin race standards, it brought out some big names. Desiree Ficker won overall, no surprise there. I also saw Cassandra Henkiel and Kristin Armstrong. Rogue was well-represented, as well as Austin Fit, Texas Iron, and the Gazelles. The race was on a short winding course through the IBM campus, some parking lots, and ending smack dab in the middle of The Domain with a band, beer, pizza and a bunch of other booths and cheers.

It had been a long time since I had run a 5K that wasn't preceded by some swimming & biking, so this felt a bit abnormal. I had looked up my best 5K-only time and it was from 2005 (yes, it's been that long since I've run a 5K) so I knew the time I wanted to beat. I'm certainly not out there breaking any age-group records, but I'm happy to say that I did set a new 5K PR by 28.1 seconds. Then met my parents for dinner, and my sister Jaye was in town from Houston, so it was extra special. Went home, watched the tube for a few, then promptly fell asleep and completely forgot about the Tri Finisher's party at Jack & Adam's. Whoops!

This leads into Sunday when I ran the EAS 10-Miler...

EAS 10-Miler Race Report

I wouldn't normally complete 2 races in 2 days, but I would've done a 3ish mile run Saturday anyway, so what does it really matter that I threw on a timing chip for that 3 mile run? I mean REALLY? Plus, I didn't want to push either race very hard (I'm barely into running at all, so I'm honestly not that into running hard).

I saw Wiley, Katie and Glenda along the course. I actually saw Glenda 3 times - she was like David Copperfield. I'd run past her and then suddenly I'd run past her again. I really enjoy seeing friends along the way. Anyway, the last 10-mile race I ran was the River City 2 years ago on a flat course. Sunday's race however was all through west Austin, UP Pecos and UP Scenic, so hills, hills, and more hills. I'm not very good at keeping my pace. Add hills and I'm like a yo-yo. I always start off too fast, even when I concentrate on trying to slow down. And just when I need to try to keep my pace, I end up much slower than I intended. Oh well. Just to see what I'm talking about look at this:

Mile 1 8:40
Mile 2 8:51
Mile 3 9:31
Mile 4 9:11
Mile 5 9:42
Mile 6 9:54
Mile 7 9:22
Mile 8 10:11 (quad spasm, stopped a few to work it out)
Mile 9 9:05
Mile 10 9:43

ALL OVER THE PLACE. I read Wiley's blog and I just cannot fathom hitting paces as consistently as he does. It's mind-boggling to me.

Even with the hills, and even with my pace all over the place I managed a 10-mile PR by 4 mins. 15 secs. All in all, a very good weekend.

Now I desperately need a nap.