Port to Park 5K Recap

Port to Park 5K Series

Location: Port Richey Waterfront Park, Florida

Date: Friday, May 11^th, 2012

Participants: 61

The Port to Park 5K Series is a little different than 5Ks I’ve done in the past. It’s a small, family-friendly, local event that is run in the evening at 7pm over the course of three evenings. Also happening just before the 5K is a diaper dash and kids 1-miler.

A series like this is a great example of why it’s fantastic to goLocal. While probably one of the cheaper sports to get into, running can start to get expensive the more events you sign up for. Event fees and travel costs add up. By staying local, you cut out most of the travel cost. And many smaller events are very affordable. Port to Park for instance was $25 per race, but only $35 ($45 late registration) if you sign up for the full series of 3 races, each a month apart. It doesn’t get much better than that!

For the most part, you give up all the bells and whistles for the lower entry fee – no overflowing goodie bags, no blinged out finisher medals, no expos or vendor tents, etc. However, I was pleasantly surprised that my $45 entry fee included a pretty nice tech shirt! The winners and category winners got medals (the rest of us got leis), as well as some odd categories like mid-packer, fastest stroller jogger, an dead last!

The course was mostly bike trail and road, but at the start and finish there was some running around the park in the gravel and grass. But it was an average course with police support at the crossing and two passes through a water station. The park is easy to get to, has ample parking, and real bathrooms (bonus!). Upon returning, there was music, fruit, beans and rice, a hula contest and limbo contest for the kids. The only snag was that they ran out of water afterwards.

Participating in a low key 5K keeps you tuned up and motivated without any pressure. The Friday evening timing was perfect for my husband and I so that we could still do our longer Saturday workouts.

So one down, two to go! Next time you’re searching for a race, goLocal!

A Little Appreciation Found After Going A Long Way

A dull hum is in the air from the nearby highway. The rest of the sound track is provided by Mother Nature – wind blowing through the trees, a patterned bird call, the faint rustle of leaves underfoot of a squirrel. With a deep breath, I begin to reach down to my colorful Brooks. With an exhale, my head falls, my tension falls, my legs appreciate the stretch. And behind me, upside down, I see the squirrel running across the trail through sun rays that twinkle down through the leaves. It’s a peaceful way to wrap up a long run with a different perspective.

Lately, I’ve been frustrated and near angry. My injury has me running slowly, with less frequency and it’s more laborious than before. While trying to do the right thing and take it easy, I’m impatient by nature. I feel weak. I feel like I’m losing ground when I should be progressing. But I know it must be done. Continuing to aggravate an injury is a sure way to have a major setback. My head understands, my determined spirit does not.

Enter the long run, where I’m supposed to run slowly, where just getting through the distance is an accomplishment. There’s so much time to think that eventually, I come back to an empty mind - To a place where nature and its subtleties can be appreciated. It reminds me of why I love to goRun.

As I view the world from a point where trees appear to push down into the sky, the data from my run disappears. I don’t feel frustrated anymore. What I feel is air, inhaled and exhaled. I feel the blood surging through my veins. I feel my muscles, they feel powerful. I appreciate that I can run. I appreciate that I can stand, that I have a place to enjoy the earth, that I have changed my life by changing my health and have more changes ahead.

Get out and goAppreciate your life in whatever way speaks to you.