Verdi 5k: You've Gotta Be Crazy to Run

We had a bit of a last minute scramble getting this race on our schedules. My friend Dave, whom I used to work with at the NW Reno Library and who is now the Verdi Library branch manager, cued the rest of Team Library Dork into a race that he was participating in this weekend- the You've Gotta Be Crazy to Run 5k & 10k race put on by the Silver State Striders that started and finished at the Verdi Elementary School, which is right next door to the library. We got there a little early for registration, and then did our pre-race rituals (you know, stretching and Yoga! Or, at least I did anyway.) in the nice warm library, which was closed for the day, but luckily, I know a guy. :)

About 10 minutes before the start, we headed out, and of course it started snowing (hence the crazy part-that's what happens when you run in Reno in February. Or sometimes it's a balmy 70 and sunny. Who knows. It's Nevada-if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes.) Chris and Turi started up at the front, and Dave and I took up position closer to the middle. It was a good start, and the pack quickly thinned out. Dave and I ran together for about the first half mile or so. It was snowing pretty good at this point, so of course I had to stick out my tongue while I was running to catch some flakes. I'm sure I made quite the picture chasing down those bigger snowflakes instead of concentrating on the run. Ha ha! Anyway, there was a decent hill that I did just as Coach Jenny said and didn't go out to conquer, but made friends with it instead. In one of her posts she said to go slow (I didn't stop running!) and don't use up all your energy only to have to walk the runnable part at the top. It's funny- I did see several people speed by me, only to stop and walk at the apex while I kept going right on past. (On side note, I also saw someone sprinting and then walking, sprinting and then walking. We had a discussion about it after the race, and while yes, that is a training technique, you don't do that in a race! I played leap frog with that guy for a while, but he wore himself out after a while, and then I didn't see him again.) After that hill, there was a nice flat section, then we turned around for a fun not-too-steep part where I picked up the pace and just let myself go. I was really enjoying the beauty of the snow covered mountains, and the camaraderie of running with others in love with this sport. After one last surprisingly short but energy zapping hill, I saw Chris jogging toward me to cheer me on (who ran with me and give me a little speed boost), and I finished with 27:08 on my watch. Not a great time, but okay considering the hill in the first third of the race. Chris finished in the 18 minute range, an Turi in 23:30ish. Dave came in just a minute behind me. I felt really good, and it was nice to do a short race after last weekend's half marathon in Davis. Turns out, both Chris and Dave won third place in their age groups, and I got second in mine! We won water bottles. I've said it (once) before, and I'll say it again: winning stuff totally rocks! Here we are posing with our loot:

Yes, Chris is wearing my $2 shorts I found on the sales rack- I scored like $150 of running gear for 30 bucks! How awesome it that?! The post-race shot of Team Library Dork~

Thanks guys! I had a lot of fun today, both running and hiding things randomly around Dave's library...

Update: And the results are in! I came in 37th overall, and second in my age group- listed at 27:09. Only 50 seconds behind the girl who beat me- I totally could have taken her on if I'd known... :) Ha ha!