May 1, 2014

B.A.A. 5K Race Recap and Boston Marathon Expo Fun


Well I looked up my official scores for the Nike Women's DC Half again last night and it's back to saying that I was one second slower than my PR at 1:39:50. Psssh whatever Nike-make up your mind. Close enough but supposedly not a tie anymore. Oh well! I finally unpacked the race shirt we got so here's a quick peek! I love the finisher's necklace more than last year's-I will totally be wearing it all summer!

UPDATE 5/6/2014: Nike + saying I did tie my PR again! Hurrah!
I'm still catching up on getting my feelings about Boston out here so we'll start with a race recap of the B.A.A. 5K. It's the first race of the B.A.A Distance Medley and was held on the Saturday before the marathon this year. I was in the middle of switching where my boyfriend and I were crashing so we woke up bright and early Saturday morning and drove about an hour into the city to get to a close T station which I took to the start.  I was anxious to get there on time since Scott and I got lost getting into the city but was relieved when I got to the race area. 

Luckily the weather was sunny and slightly cool. I was going to wear a short sleeve shirt but am glad I brought extra layers. There was lots of people trying to cram into the corrals(there were over 8,000 participants!) which were slightly unorganized. I just managed to squeeze my way in not too far back! 


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at the start
I had no expectations going into the 5K and was running it just for fun! I had heard it was a great race and very popular. Apparently this year they had changed the course to start and finish at Boston Common instead of Copley Square Park to accommodate more runners. Many marathoners use this as their shakeout run before Marathon Monday so there was a really nice vibe amongst the crowd.  


They had a touching national anthem before the race, and everything got started on time which is always a plus. There are wheelchair and elite runners who run for prize money at this 5K so it was definitely exciting!  I started running a little slower than I usually go out for a 5K, but I was enjoying the weather.  In the first mile a man recognized my Baltimore Marathon shirt, and we  briefly talked about how he had run that race and how I'm running the Chicago Marathon this year (he was from Chicago!). It was nice to have a little connection with a fellow runner!

This 5K really flew by. Before I knew it mile 2 had come and go, and I was in the last mile. I don't remember it being a particularly hilly course. In the last mile I was getting a little competitive and wanted to push a little faster. Before you get to the finish the course had you coming down Boylston and going across the marathon finish line. I had a huge smile on my face and crossing the marathon finish line felt amazing. It was one of those "I'll be back" moments! There was a lot of crowd support since the course stayed pretty much near the Common which was awesome for a 5K. 

 Finally I finished and heard that the a male runner from Ethiopia won with an event record time 13:26 and a female runner from Rhode Island won in 15:12. What?! I'm always amazed at that kind of speed! I finished in a respectably 21:54 and came in 732/8640 overall, 149/5109 out of females, and 42/969 in my division! Not bad for a race that I truly enjoyed and had no expectations for!

Post-race tents were organized. I immediately got some water, food, a clear bag, and went over to pickup my race shirt. It was a nice Adidas blue and gold shirt which I'll represent with pride! We also got simple finishers' medals which was a nice touch for a 5K. 

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I liked wearing my blindingly orange Baltimore Marathon shirt to represent Charm City with pride. There was plenty of space on the grass at the Common, and I liked being able to sit down and be spread out from the crowd as I recovered.  

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It was definitely a great race, and I recommend it if you are in the Boston area around the time of the marathon!

As another little recap, Sunday I visited the Boston Marathon expo which is open to the public at the convention center. It is the largest race expo I've ever been to, taking up most of the floor of the convention center.  It was crazy packed with people on Sunday, which surprised me since I figured most people had picked up their bibs earlier.  

All the brand and companies brought their A game such as Brooks with their massive display!

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It was all the usual running brands and products and was so hard to not buy everything. My boyfriend was smart to just give me as much time as I needed to walk around by myself.  I had to walk away from buying more running clothes and shoes multiple times!  I did pick up a blue and gold reversible skinny Bondiband as a gift for my friend who was running the marathon, plus one for me too! 

(Plug: Remember you can use the code BREATHEBLOG to get 10% off any Bondiband order!)

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Marathon Monday spectating.
I also picked up another pair of Yurbuds because they were having a great promotion where if you bought a pair of Yurbuds, which were a special Boston blue & gold edition, you got a free wicking Boston Strong shirt! Since I recently lost one of the covers on my Yurbuds and have been scrounging around for headphones, this was a great purchase! Clearly I also have plenty of Boston shirts to wear now too!

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One of the other big reasons I wanted to go to the expo was because Nuun recently announced that Kara Goucher would have a signing session at their booth for one hour on Sunday morning to celebrate their new partnership with her. I went out to Easter brunch with my boyfriend so we were cutting it really close and I didn't know if I'd make it in time. When I got to the booth they closed down the line.

 I pouted and was upset until I walked back around and tried to coerce the line enforcer with my love of Nuun and Nuun ambassador status (and the Nuun tattoo from the 5K still on my arm!). It didn't work, but he said I could stand in line and if there was time they might take more people. She was only scheduled to be there for 10 more minutes so I figured it was worth a shot. 

I'm glad I waited because they ended up having time to quickly accommodate 5 more people and I was the first of that extra 5 in line! I quickly got some autographs and this awesome photo of us after I nervously gushed how she was so inspiring and how I was a Nuun ambassador too. I'm always so anxious and don't know what to say when I meet people who inspire me and who are just plain awesome.  

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Love having these on my shelf as inspiration!
Yes, I know it's been girl crush central over here with Shalane and Kara but I can't believe I got to briefly meet my two biggest running inspirations in the same week! They are just kickass Olympian marathoner runner ladies. I still can't believe it happened.  Especially right before and after something as awesome as the Boston Marathon. I am so motivated to keep running and creating big dreams for myself now.  

Run happy. Dream big!

Are you nervous and mumbling when you meet a celebrity or inspiring person? Do 5Ks fly by when you're running races?

15 comments:

  1. That is SO awesome you got to meet Kara and Shalane! I share your love for blinding orange. I'd love to get back to Boston someday for that 5k.

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  2. Love that you got to meet Kara!! I ran the 5K with my son and husband so I missed going to the expo this year - probably a good thing for my wallet :)

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    1. Thanks so much! It was definitely a good thing for your wallet, I had to just walk away from so many things I wanted to buy, haha!

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  3. awesome job on both your races - super jealous, looks like an great weekend in boston!

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    1. Thanks so much-it was an amazing little vacation!

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  4. Oh, sounds like a wonderful weekend! I love all your Boston Strong shirts!

    I spent a lot of time working with celebs and athletes at my old job, so I don't get too overwhelmed. However, there are a few people who would probably make me make a complete fool of myself.

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    1. I have a bunch of shirts to rep now ! That's cool that you worked with celebrities I'm sure you definitely get used to it quickly!

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  5. What an awesome experience - congrats! I hope to make it up there one day for a BAA run!

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    1. Thanks so much-you should definitely put a BAA run on your race wishlist!

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  6. Awesome weekend and so cool you were able to meet Kara. Her and Lauren had left the expo by the time I got there on Saturday. I feel like I remember the same amount of 'stuff' from 5ks as I do marathons, I love marathons and I tend to zone out so much that I forget what I am doing and don't notice whats going on around me.

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    1. Thanks so much! I know Kara was on a tight schedule all weekend. I definitely zone out in marathons. I can't even remember what I was thinking about for miles and miles!

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  7. Sounds like a pretty awesome time! :)
    Yurbuds and Nuun are my favorite too. Unfortunately I missed the Nuun Ambassador application time this last time. Maybe next time! Congrats on all you scored! ;)

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    1. Thanks so much! Definitely try to apply next year-they are a great company to work with!

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  8. OMG how cool you got to meet Kara and Shalane!

    Great job on the 5K, by the way - you are speedy! I love chatting with other runner's during races, too!

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