My [aborted] 4th 5k

We were scheduled to run another 5K today. Heather and I signed up for the 16th Annual Breakaway 5K in Old Orchard Beach, Maine... but we came about 2 minutes late. Urgggg.

I was kinda sad because I really want to run again. So we just decided to watch the runners and cheer them on at the finish line.

Then, we made the best out of it by running our own two-person race on the same route that the runners went.

And the best part... we spent the rest of the day lying on the beach and enjoying the sun.

Pre-5K Blues

It's 3 days to my next 5k. It has been raining since Sunday afternoon and I have not ran since Friday. I planned to run on the trail where we camp but Hubby and I were busy gold panning down the river for 2 days. Hay.

We have been camping up the mountain all weekends this summer. And I had to admit I am enjoying it not because I love it but because it is the only time I bond with Hubby. He is always busy at work and the only time we have for ourselves is the weekend.

So when I am not helping him sorting rocks out in the sluice or preparing our meal or chasing butterflies... I am running on the trail. So on the weekends, my running track is anything that is accessible by foot...

 

and it is marked so I know how far I already ran.

And guess what... I sometimes get the opportunity to meet deer and moose on the track too. How cool is that? Too bad I don't bring my camera when I run so no pictures. Hayyy.

 And yes, I ran on my aqua shoes too. hahaha

Well, I have only 3 more days to train and worse come to worse. I will just walk all the way to the finish line. hehehe

Everybody's a Winner

It was huge. It was spectacular. It was epic. That is how I describe the 14th TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race held at Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

I car pooled with another volunteer I met during the Volunteer Appreciation Party last Tuesday. We left Standish early to avoid traffic. We reached Fort William around 6:30am and the parking lots were already piling up with cars. Well, we don't expect to see a lot of people there because the race will start 10 kilometers away from the Portland Head Light. This is where the Finish Line is. So the huge crown was somewhere in Cape Elizabeth near Crescent Beach State Park on Route 77 where the race starts.

I volunteered for the Water Finish. It may seem an easy job but boy, the task did give my "biceps" a hardcore work out. We laid out 6000+ water bottles. Transferring boxes after boxes of those water bottles from the delivery truck to the tables was like doing hundreds of repetitions of biceps curl with 30-pound dumbbells.

Volunteering has it's perks and benefits. We have free t-shirts. Yey.

 Excellent spot to greet and meet the runners.

 Easy access to the porta-potties. hahaha

 And yes, a great vista of the famous landmark - the Portland Head Light.

Needless to say, the event is a 'runner's dream race', if you live in Maine. It is an important race if runners from 49 states participated in.I believe it is a very significant event when there are 6000 plus runners who signed up.

 [Photo Credit: TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race]

And it is indeed a highly-recognized event  if there are 11 countries represented in the event.

At the end of the race, we did recognize and acknowledge the winners - the oldest at 86...

the "wheel-chair bound" athletes,

the Elite runners,
the resident runners,

the just-for-fun runners,

the families,

 the supporters,

 the spectators...

 and of course, the volunteers.

At the end of the race - everybody's tired...

and yes, - everybody's a winner too!

If you can't join them... volunteer!

Right after I crossed the finish line during my very first 5k, I vowed that I will join another race. Yeah, right!

So I went straight home and searched the internet for another race. And there it was... the most prestigious race in all of Maine - the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10k Road Race. Seriously!

Okay, I may be too overwhelmed. Really! Crazy is more like it. But yeah. I signed up for it. It was a lottery so I was hopeful that I will win. Good thing I didn't! hahaha it was only after two days that I realized that running is not as easy as I imagined it to be. It takes a lot of practice, discipline and determination. And what I only got is just determination. hahaha

Anyway, I didn't get in so I was thinking there is another way to be a part of it. You see, this race is very significant and important to me because of several reasons.

1. It is prestigious. It will be covered by our local television network and it will mean I might be featured in TV. It doesn't matter if it said - One runner crawled all the way to the lighthouse.
2. The event is the biggest in all of Maine. Participants will sum up to about close to 7 thousand-ish. It means that spectators and supporters alike wouldn't even realize how slow I was because they would be too tired cheering and congratulating the first 6,999 finishers. LOL
3. The venue meant so much to me. The Portland Head Light is where I was married 4 years ago and I have never been there again since I said "I do". I want to visit it again in full sweat. LMAO

But, yes... none of those things I mentioned above will gonna happen because I didn't get it. So where did the "determination" part go? I volunteered!

Yes, I am part of the race... not a runner but a volunteer. This is my first time to volunteer so I am excited and nervous at the same time. And yesterday... I attended our Volunteer Appreciation Day and met some of the volunteers. Yes, I partied last night. There were lots of food, drink and music. It was an awesome event.

The race will be on Saturday, the 6th of August and I will be right there in the finish line handing cold water bottles to finishers. And yes... I will be there at the Portland Head Light - in full sweat.

 

 [That's the Portland Head Light from the distant. That's where the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10k Road Race will end. This was taken where we were having the Volunteer Party.]