Granbury Road Race 5k Recap

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Mine went by far too fast. I was so looking forward to this weekend not because it was St Patricks day, but because I was going to run a 5k! I have been training for the GO! STL Half Marathon since the end of January, so actually getting to run a race is a fun way to shake up the training. Plus, I love Texas and wanted to see what their running community was like.

One of my not-so-favorite things about this race was that the pre-race packet pick-up was about an hour drive from the actual race location. They were doing the pre-race pick up at The Ft Worth Running Company in the Downtown Ft Worth area, and I just happened to be heading to dinner out there anyway so I was able to do the pre-race pick up… Not that it was a huge race but you would think if it was a local race they would have a more local packet pick up area, right? Good news was I got to scout out the running store and picked up a lucky green pair of my favorite running socks!

On Race morning I was up around 6:30 or so and started the day off with a peanut butter smothered banana, a favorite pre-run snack of mine.

I was up and got ready before the hubs and kiddo were awake, making sure to put on my previously mentioned new (hopefully) lucky green socks. Have you tried Feetures Elite socks? I love them!

After the hubs and kiddo were ready to go we set off to Downtown Granbury. The Start/Finish line was at Hewlett Park.

I warmed up by jogging around the park a bit. I found a little “lookout” area where you could see a little bit of the sunrise by the lake, so pretty!

Even though I had already picked up my packet I still had to pick up my timing chip. It was the kind that you zip tie to your shoe, not one of the disposable ones on the bibs like I’ve previously used. The packet pick up/timing chip pick up area was under a shelter at the pack and was really organized. The race organizers did great keeping us on schedule too. They had us lining up at the start line about 10 minutes out from the scheduled start time. It seemed like there was about 200 or so people there, for both the 10k and the 5k. I found my spot in the “middle” between the competitive runners and the walkers/strollers. I was feeling pretty good.

As we headed out of the park they route took us into the downtown square, one of my favorite things about this area! I started to find my groove and was doing my 3 minutes of running with my 30 second-1 minute walking, which seems to be working pretty good for me lately.

I was having a great time just running along and then I came up to the 1 mile marker… There was a lady standing out in the end of her driveway holding a boy, probably 8-10 years old, who had both legs in plastic braces. She kept telling us “Thank You” and “Great Job” then said “You’re running for him!” which, of course, brought me to tears. It made me realize that although I might not be the fastest, I am still able to run when so many people can’t.

There was a water stop just before mile 2 with some adorable young gentleman helping out, I gladly took a cup of water and continued on my way. The next part of the run was along the trail I ran last week. I was glad I went on that run since it helped me become more familiar with the area. As the trail ended the run picked up back in the square and I knew I had a little more than half mile to go.