Moonlight Madness 5K

Team Library Dork gathered for a 5K run around Rancho San Rafel on Friday night last week, one of our favorite team training warm-up, jog, warm-down places. The Moonlight Madness 5K is sponsored by Castle Rock Multisports, and this particular race was put on in an effort to raise money and help local residents with eating disorders. I think it is a worthy cause- a healthy running event to help others take care of their bodies. There seemed to be a lot of people who showed up despite the cold temperatures for a stealthy dark run, so hopefully they were able to raise a healthy amount funds.

The race started at 7:00 p.m., so Chris and I met at Turi's house since he lives so close to Rancho. We jogged over for a warm-up, and met Dave at packet pick-up (he had to work until 6). Here I am picking up my packet. (Notice the sign? :)
We got there about a half hour early and our warm up mile quickly turned cold again as we waited for the start. We hopped around, picked up our sweatshirts, found Dave, stashed our sweatshirts, and then gathered for the start. It was a slow cautious start, and I stuck with Dave while Turi and Chris took off at the very front. I brought an LED headlamp that I strapped over my Nike skullcap hat (which I LOVE because it is warm, covers my ears, and has a slot in the back for my ponytail), and I am SOOO glad I had it! Some people were running out there in complete darkness with no light whatsoever. Dave and I ran nice and easy for the first half. He slowed at the half-way point, but I pushed ahead after a quick sip of water. I passed as many people in the second half as passed me in the first half, steadily climbing small hills that dropped many others to a walk. I raced faster on the downhill sections than I probably should have in the dark, and the guy who was keeping pace with me (with NO headlamp) totally ate it. I turned my head so he could see where he was falling, but I kept going. I hope he was okay... I had a nice strong finish, thanks to my easy start, and had a good sprint (on sidewalk) to the finish. They clocked me about a minute slower than I clocked myself, but my official time was 31:18. I could easily have dropped several minutes if it was daylight. Chris remarked that probably everyone could have dropped 10% of their time if the sun was shining (or the just-past full moon had graced us from behind the clouds). Chris, of course, won the 5k with a time of 19 minutes something, and Turi and I both placed 4th in our age groups. But since I have moved up into the most competitive age bracket (yes, I'm old now- it's the 30-39 group that is stinkin' fast!), the first 2 men in Turi's age group came in 1st and 2nd and received plaques, so Turi got a 2nd place medal. The 1st woman in my age group came in 3rd overall and also received a plaque, so I got the 3rd place medal! They are really nice ones- clean and heavy with a silky neck strap. Here is my bib, sweatshirt and medal:

And the team, together again!

After the race, we carpooled back to Turi's house for Chris's annual Winter Beer Tasting, and some fantastic pizza from Brugos Pizza Bistro. It had a nice thick crust and high quality toppings. (Thanks for hosting Turi and Mich!) It's almost as good as the pizza-from-scratch we make... But back to the beer- here is the line-up:

(Isn't it pretty how the lights are reflected off the table top?) I've turned into a little bit of a wine snob this past year (thank you Abby and Chris for my first wine tasting event!), but have never been a huge afficionado for beer. However, there were 4 beers I really enjoyed! Although don't ask me the names of any of them. :) My favorite was a peach and toasted pecan beer. And then there was that heavy-hitting chocolate stout that we saved for last...

A fun event. A wonderful evening with friends~ I feel like the holidays have officially started! Thanks everyone, runners and beer-tasters alike!