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Freeze Your Cookies Off 5K

Freeze Your Cookies Off after race cookies

I think the Freeze Your Cookies Off 5k was the only race where I have consumed more calories than I burned! Thanks to the awesome cookies offered at the finish line, the calories I burned were almost automatically put back on. And before you ask, yes they were excellent and they let everyone (not just the runners) have cookies.

True to the name, the race was run on a very, very cold morning. I was able to pick up my packet that morning and there was no line at all. Picked up my packet and retreated to the car to get warm again. There was a DJ playing great music for those who were willing to brave the chill.

The course was not too bad after that uphill on mile one. I would rather have a hill on mile one then at the end of the race. They didn’t offer any police to stop traffic, turns out that the course didn’t have a lot of traffic so I don’t think it effected the race at all. There were a lot of volunteers directing runners and one aid station offering water.

Freeze Your Cookies Off 5K

For anyone that has read my reviews, you know of my love for medals. There was no medal at this race and I have thought over and over about what cute medals they could offer. But the cookies and chocolate milk won me over!

The highlight was the guy who did the raffle. I am not sure who it was, but he was funny and quick witted. Unfortunately I didn’t win anything but the girl next to me got a free half marathon!

Now for the bad news, the shirt was not cute. If you aren’t going to give me a cute medal to show off later, at least give me a cute shirt. (Apparently I was not won over by the milk and cookies.)

Overall, I would give this race 3 shoes. This would be a great one if you are running your first 5k or just love running that distance. Did I mention they offered cookies at the finish?

Running Injuries

No one is immune from injuries as a result of running. My nemesis is my IT Band. I injured it while training for my first marathon and didn’t realize it. I had a massage weeks before the race and was told it was not my IT. After limping to the finish line of the marathon and talking with my running friends, it was indeed my IT. 

First tip, don’t forget the strength training when increasing your mileage or working on speed.  Since I wasn’t smart enough to do that, I had to working on rehabbing the injury. I used the foam roller after every run, EVERY RUN! I also did the below rehab workout after each run. A few weeks later the pain was greatly diminished. That is when I added in the other leg exercises and now there is no pain. 

We would love to hear what helped you with your IT Band injury!

Thank you to Jason Fitzgerald and the following article for the help rehabbing my IT band:
http://strengthrunning.com/2011/02/the-itb-rehab-routine-video-demonstration/

You were born to RUN!

SoJo Half Marathon 2013

What can I say, it was a beautiful fall run in my own backyard!

I will start with race packet pickup. You had two options before race day. First at the Run Gr8 store in Riverton. I opted for the Friday pickup at the U of U Health Center in Daybreak. There were no lines when I arrived. The staff was great. The pack consisted of a bib and a wrist band for a sandwich from Chick-fil-A at the end of the race. (You had to show wristband to get a sandwich). The rest of our swag was virtual coupons which we had to log into the internet to get. While cool in technology it was a little disheartening to not receive any in hand swag, but that isn't the primary reason we sign up, right? The shirts were great this year though!

The race started at the U of U in Daybreak. You had the option of riding a bus or having someone drop you off at the start line. I opted for getting dropped off. At the start it was chilly, mixed with race day jitters I decided to stop one last time at the Porta Potty station. Well after standing in a line for an eternity, a race director came to announce there was only 5 min before gun time and to hurry. Hardly anyone budged! Quickly deciding mine was more just jitters than actually having to go I left and headed toward the start line. 

The race started and we were off. The race starts heading east on 114^th South, you run through Daybreak past the lake and up "temple hill"; it’s a good little climb. You then continue to head east on about 3200 west. Make sure when you do this, you better have sunglasses because you are running directly towards the sun. While running in the sunrise is wonderful and it helped to warm us up quickly. Once you reach 104th south, you hit another hill. This is around mile 8. Reserve some energy for this hill; it differentiates between the well trained and the not well trained.

The aid stations along the way were wonderful; although lacked volunteer support. Some had just one person sitting at a table. Most offered a choice of water or Gatorade. I believe it was at mile 6 and 8 they also had Gu and some additional supplements like banana’s and apples. Once you get to mile 11 you head north on the Jordan River trail. It was beautiful with the fall foliage around you. It was easy to forget it was a race. At the finish the time clock was over by about 2 minutes. Which was a great surprise the day they posted the results on their page.

At the finish it was very organized, they had a drop bag pickup, Chick-fil-a, Dr Pepper (which I thought was funny) and bananas. I didn't get a chance to hang around long after to enjoy what else they had to offer. If you are wanting to PR this is not the race for you, but if are wanting a bit of a challenge and a fun course then give it a try, you will not be disappointed.

Overall I would give this race 3 shoes. The reason for not scoring it a full 5 would be lack of swag, traffic on roads was frustrating, as much as cops would hold traffic but there were times when have to wait for a car to go. Not a lot of volunteer support on aid stations. But that wouldn't stop me from wanting to do it again next year to try and beat my time!