12 in 12: February

If your are new here, start with The Plan. Then come back to this post.🏃 

I registered for the Cupid’s Chase 5K back in November! Let’s just say I’ve been eagerly awaiting this race. What drew me to this 5K was it was Valentine’s themed. Fresh out of a break up, I thought this would be a fun themed event. I honestly thought there was going to be a Cupid Chasing us. I was a little off in that thought…I’ll explain below.

Are we surprised that I started looking for a shirt and socks to wear to this in December? HA! I didn’t settle on a shirt and socks until January. I found my shirt on Amazon and my socks at Walmart. 

Cupid’s Chase is sponsored by Community Options. Community Options supports individuals with disabilities obtain housing and employment. Cupid’s Chase is being held in 41 cities across the United States on February 11, 2023. How neat is that- thousands of people will be racing on the same day for the same cause. This made me really excited to run, even in cold weather. 

Week of Race

Got out my Valentine’s shirt and socks out; found my red bow and cold weather accessories out. I was excited for this race. I stretched and took it easy. I didn’t want to overdo it like I did before   the Jingle Bell 5K. 

Night before Race

Thought about what time I wanted to have as my goal time, I ended up settling on a realistic goal of 35 minutes. I made a playlist for approximately that time. I figured out what I would need to do the first leg of the race in to get my goal time. 

 I knew I should get a good night’s rest for this race. I double checked my headphones were all charged and I had hand warmers. It was going to be a cold one. I was ready for this. 

Morning of Race

I got up bright and early ready to take on this race. I was so excited. I kept thinking to myself, slow and steady, slow and steady. 

Mama wanted a selfie

I was ready extra early! It was a colder morning and I was nervous- did I dress correctly? Am I able to do this? Did I train enough? I tried to shake these thoughts out of my head. I said to myself ” You will do great, you will have fun and you will be by the water.” 

Keith and I arrived early to the race to pick up my packet. They had a breakfast spread (shoutout to Wawa!) in the hospitality tent where I got my swag bag. We made our way back to the car to hang out before the race. I went through my bag to find my bib (#431) and to my surprise, the shirt I was given was white. I was kind of bummed because I was hoping for a red shirt. I said oh well, maybe the changed it this year. Another thing I thought was weird- it said available on the back of the shirt, in large letters. I thought the sponsorships section has available space and they forgot to remove it. I was so confused!

My parents arrived and we ended up waiting in their truck with them until about 15 minutes before the race. It was the greatest idea-we got the best people watching! We saw people warming up, wandering around and that poor parking attendant had a rough morning parking cars. 

Right Before Race

2/3 of the Cheer Squad

1/3 of the Cheer Squad

#ootd: Race Edition Gosh, I love a good theme!

We made our way to the boardwalk to the starting line. They started announcing that the race would be starting soon so I decided to find my spot in the group. Mom, Dad and Keith wished me good luck with hugs and kisses.  Just like the Jingle Bells 5K,  I positioned myself in the middle and I kept thinking to myself, right now gab, keep moving.  I started moving my legs and looking around.

As I was waiting for the race to start, I started seeing people with their red cupids chase shirts on and then I realized something; I had an AH-HA moment. When I registered for this race at the end of November, they asked if I was single or in a relationship. At that moment in time, I was single, fast forward to race day, I wasn’t single anymore. The shirts were the designator for “Cupid”- red meant they were in a relationship (it said UNAVAILABLE) and white meant they were singled (it said AVAILABLE). Judging from the colors, there were not many singles in this race. I couldn’t stop giggling to myself about this as I remembered my WHITE shirt back in the car. How clever! 

There were so many puppers running in this race! They were even dressed up too! I had a friendly large dog next to me. This made me extra happy. 

Waiting to start

Checking my Fitbit

Strike a pose!

And we are off!

After the announcements and national anthem, the air horn blew and we were off. I started my watch, turned on my Cupid’s Chase 5K playlist and I was off. 

During the Race:

It was beautiful and sunny! I loved running on the boardwalk, seeing the ocean right there. It was also so weird to be on the boardwalk in the winter with nothing open. I loved seeing all the different shops and boardwalk things. 

I kept thinking  in my mind, slow and steady. I knew what was going to be the mid-point in my playlist so I just kept a nice pace. 

This view was SO pretty!

Run Run Run

Gosh! I couldn’t stop staring

Sky Sea Sand

Shadow me running

I ended up walking a bit but at a brisk pace. That seems to really work for me- run then walk and repeat. Once we crosses into Seaside Park, I knew the turn around point was coming soon based on seeing people running back and by my playlist. 

The middle song in my playlist- ‘Till You Can’t by Cody Johnson- started playing as I approached the midpoint. I was really excited. I said to myself okay gab let’s go! You got this!

As I made my way back down the boardwalk, I saw all the landmarks I saw before. I kept thinking, just a little bit more Gab. 

As I approached the end, I spotted Mom, Dad and Keith cheering me on. “YEAH GABBY!” “GREAT JOB!” “GABBBBBBYYYYYY!” That gave me such a boost of energy to finish the race. I kept on going and I crossed the finish line with a huge smile on my face, especially since I saw the time I was crossing. 

The finish line is SO close!

You’re almost there!

Keep going!

Blurry but oh so JOYFUL

After the Race:

I made my way through the spectators to pick up my medal and to find my cheering section. Mom, Dad and Keith gathered around me to congratulate me on a good run. I was beaming ear to ear. I did it! 

My finisher’s medal

Me and my Cheer Squad after the race (I missed the memo about Sunglasses!)

This was such a fun race with a fun concept. I was a little bummed there was no actual Cupid, but I loved the shirts and venue. 

I couldn’t leave the boardwalk without walking the shoreline to collect some seashells. It was a beautiful day! I ended up leaving with a pocket full of pretty seashells. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there is something extra special and magical about going to the beach in the winter. 

Keith and I stopped by the hospitality tent to get coffee and a wawa pretzel and we were on our way home. What a great way to spend the morning!

Results

Chip time: 36:07.18 

This means I was 25 seconds FASTER than I was in December! Whooo! My pace overall was 5 seconds faster too! 

My goal was 35 minutes. My playlist was 35 minutes and 5 seconds. I was really really proud of how close I got to my goal! 

I’m clearly improving with my times. I’m finding what works the best for me and that’s truly inspiring. I am so glad I’m keeping up on this goal of mine. 

I cannot comment officially on how I placed in my age group or overall because I somehow (I must have missed that button registering) was in the male group not the female group. BUT unofficially I was overall 130 out of 256 women and 11 out of 22 in my age group. Middle of the pack, just the way I like it!

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Music

 I listened to this during this race. I highly suggest you make a playlist for the approximate time you want to finish the race in. Then figure out what the half way point of the playlist is and its a great way to pace yourself. 

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Well, that’s #2 of the 12 5K’s I’m running this year. YAY!

Did you miss last month’s 5K? Check out January and the other races I’ve run previously:

August 2017 | August 2022 | December 2022 | 

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[[ your heart knows the way. Run in that direction- Rumi]]