2016 Rock ‘N Roll Philly 5K Recap

September continues to fly by, right?  I hope you had a great weekend.  I had 2 races to run, so I was pretty busy!  I’m excited to share my recap of the Rock ‘N Roll Philadelphia 5K that took place on Saturday!

I’m linking up with Hoho Runs and Miss Sippi Piddlin for the Weekly Wrap!  It’s a great way to see what your favorite health and fitness bloggers are up to each week!

This year I am a Rock ‘N Blogger, so I was able to participate in the Rock ‘N Roll Philly 5K for free.  As always, all of my opinions are completely honest!

[bctt tweet=”Sharing my recap of the @runrocknroll 5K in Philly this past weekend as part of the #weeklywrap! #runchat” username=”Janelle_RWNR”]

Weekly Wrap: Rock ‘N Roll Philly 5K Recap

I’m really glad that I had the opportunity to run the Rock ‘N Roll Philly 5K.  This is the second year that RNR has put on a 5K to have a busy weekend with the 5K on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday.  I ran the 5K back in 2014 and had a fun time!

As I mentioned last week, my goal for the 5K was to just have fun.  I wasn’t going to race this race because I wanted to give my all to the half marathon.  It’s just another opportunity to earn some really nice swag!

The Night Before:

Running a 5K doesn’t really give me much race anxiety, so I was feeling pretty good overall.  On Friday night, we went to dinner at Cresheim Valley Grain Exchange, a local restaurant.  We ate al fresco and it was surprising that the weather was a little chilly!  I had a bourbon cocktail, a veggie burger, and sweet potato fries for dinner.  I guess I was too hungry to take pictures, but trust me, it was delicious!  I went to bed relatively early to get enough rest for the race!

Race Morning:

As I mentioned before, this is the first race I’ve run since we moved out of the Art Museum area.  We left home at 6:30 to get to the race start with plenty of time.  Thankfully, we were able to easily find parking on Fairmount Avenue, which would be closed for Sunday’s half marathon.  I didn’t have anything to eat, so we went to Mugshots and I got a $4 piece of banana bread…it was a little stale, but okay.  Then once Bret and his mom got coffee from Wawa, we were able to head over to the race start.  I was a little stressed because we had to walk a bit to get to the race start and 7:30 was coming up quickly!

It was a really nice morning, absolutely perfect for a race.  Why couldn’t this be the weather on Sunday??  There were plenty of people warming up and lining up on MLK Drive for the run.  I was supposed to be in Wave 2, and I was surprised to see that there were maybe 10 waves total?  By the time I squeezed in, I was in Wave 3, which was fine since each wave was sent out every 2 minutes or so.   Of course, I took a few selfies at the start line and reminded myself that I would be taking it easy on this run!

During the Race:

I knew that I wanted to run basically a 30-minute 5K, so I just went with the flow.  I’ve run this course so many times that I don’t really think about it while running.  It was nice to see Boathouse Row since it’s no longer a routine sighting on my runs.  There were so many people participating, different ages, races, shapes and sizes.  I love the diversity.

Somewhere around mile 2, I was feeling a little bit too comfortable on the run and when I checked my Nike+ watch I saw I was a little too low in the 9-zone…so I dialed back.  It’s really hard to take it slow on such a slow course!  But I did what I had to do.  I didn’t bring my Aftershokz headphones as I knew there would be music on the course, and it was really good!

Race Results:

It was EXTREMELY difficult to not pump up the gas once I saw the finish line because that’s what I always try to do!  I saw Bret and his mom and they waved, and they got a couple of great pictures of me while on the run.  When it was all said and done, I finished the race in 30:58!

After the Race:

I took a few pictures, grabbed a Propel water, which apparently is not the same as regular bottled water, lol, and then got out of the area pretty quickly after the race.  We had a neighborhood event that we wanted to attend for lunch – a Gospel Bluegrass BBQ.  It was hosted by a local church and all proceeds went to Philabundance, the city’s food bank.  For $10-$15 you could get a small or large plate.  I went for the large plate (of course), and I was amazed at how delicious the BBQ was, especially the sausage!  It was quite a feast!

After the meal, we watched the Nebraska football game vs. Oregon.  It was a big game for them and fortunately, the Huskers got it done!  It was really exciting to watch.  I hydrated and relaxed as much as I could before having another early morning race…more details on that coming up soon!

Takeaways:

I had a great time at the RNR Philly 5K – I really have no complaints.  I was a little reluctant about participating this year, but I’m glad that I did!  It’s always a pretty fun race.

Pros:

• High-quality finisher shirt and medal.  Even though I wasn’t crazy about the designs with Ben Franklin wearing a sweatband, the shirt and medal are both very well made.
• Great energy from the runners.  This just seems to be one of those feel-good races.  I enjoyed people-watching.
• Live music on the course.  For being only a 5K, I did appreciate having live music on the course, and they were pretty good!  There was also a DJ playing rock music.
• Overall very well-organized.  Rock ‘N Roll has a reputation of having races run like a well-oiled machine.  This was also the case for the Philly 5K.

Cons:

• The waves aren’t set by pace, as far as I could see.  I’m sure the faster runners were in the front, but for the rest of us, it seemed that the paces in each wave were all over the place.
• The race is expensive if you don’t sign up early.  The race sold out this year, but I’ve seen it cost as much as $75.  That’s ridiculous!  The cheapest I’ve seen is $30 if you sign up a year in advance.
• The course is out and back. You’re running down MLK Drive and while it’s nice to check out the river and the boathouses, making a sharp turn during a 5K can be pretty awkward.

I really do enjoy the Rock ‘N Roll Philly 5K, even though it is on the same course as just about every other 5K in the city.  I’d definitely recommend this race for anyone looking for a fun run and an awesome medal!

Week 7 Workouts:

Monday 9/12:  I had a 4-mile easy run after work.  The humidity was practically nonexistent so the run felt soo much easier!  There was a group of kids running on Forbidden Drive and it put a smile on my face to see them getting into running at such an early age.  This run felt great, even the huge hill at the end.  I almost skipped this run and I’m so glad I didn’t!

Tuesday 9/13:  Once again I was feeling unmotivated after a long day of work but I decided to go to yoga class with Darlene, my favorite fun-loving instructor.  It was challenging but fun and I felt so much better when it was done.  Trying to practice headstands still scares the crap out of me, but I made some progress!  I signed up to take 8 classes a month at the studio for yoga and  barre, I really love this place!

Wednesday 9/14: 4 easy miles on the treadmill that felt really, really good.  After my workout, I did some squats and planked for about 30 seconds.

Thursday 9/15:  No workouts – complete rest day!

Friday 9/16:  No workouts.

Saturday 9/17:  The Rock ‘N Roll Philly 5K!

Sunday 9/18:  The Rock ‘N Roll Philly Half Marathon, which was a LOT tougher than I anticipated.  My recap will go live on Tuesday!

Week 7 Report Card:

This past week was my first with 4 days of running.  Considering that it also included two races, I think I did a pretty good job!  I’m glad that I was able to go to yoga class, which continues to be a wonderful form of cross-training and relaxation.

I’m going to give Week 7 an A!  When I recap the half marathon, I’ll get into more of my feelings on how that one went…it didn’t meet my expectations, but upon reflection, I think my expectations were too high, and things could have been a whole lot worse!

I’m looking forward to putting these races behind me and pushing on with marathon training in the many weeks ahead!

How was your weekend?  What’s your favorite dish at a BBQ?