The day already was hot and humid. We were not acclimated for running in that type of weather being from Indiana. However, we figured we would just do the best we could. That is all we ever require of ourselves.
First off, parking was horrendous. The event was at a park near a body of water. The area was nice but there was no one directing parking, at all. It was a free for all. We were already running a little behind so trying to find parking was stressful. Many of the other people trying to find parking weren't too pleasant either. Once we found a spot, we hurried to get our packet. Again, nothing was marked. We had to ask.
We picked up our packet and I was told that they were "out of medium" shirts, and I could go up or down a size. How could they be out of my size when I pre-registered to ensure I got the right size? Don't they set those aside for the pre-registerants? Apparently not. Therefore, I opted a size bigger.
We got a sample of men's deodorant (what am I gonna do with that?) and some flyers. I tossed it all away and crammed my shirt in the fanny pack that I wear when I run. I was not about to walk back to the van, nor was I going to layer on another shirt.
Again, we had to ask where the starting line was because we had no clue. There was a triathlon going on as well and we felt that took precedence. The 5K was hum-drum in comparison. Although, it was neat to watch the triathlons pull from the water and hop on their bikes and take off. My first time witnessing that and it was a rush just seeing it.
So, finally, our time was up and we took off.
Did I mention it was HOT?
I didn't think I could do it. I struggled the entire 3.1 miles - huffing, puffing and sweating. At that point, I just wanted to finish - time was irrelevant.
I saw the "finish" and gave it my all and passed a woman at the last second only to hear cowbells and realize that wasn't even the finish. What the heck? Then why did it say finish? So I pushed and crossed. I was handed a medal and I made my way to the cooling station.
Our bibs had coupons to go get snack and a beer (um, no thanks) and to put in for a drawing. I knew I didn't place. However, I like to stick around and hear times for my age group. We were told that they were going to start awards and so forth at 9:30. We had half an hour so we ate our snack (nice spread of food) and took some pics. 9:30 rolled around and a lady next to me asked when it was suppose to start. I told her 9:30 and she was slightly irritated. We waited until 10am and decided to leave. We weren't going to waste an entire day of vacation to wait to hear a few numbers.
So we did and enjoyed our day. They told us our times and pics would be posted that day. 2 days later........one of my worst times. But that is okay - I finished.
So the review of the event Jungle 5K in Florida:
Terrain - paved trail through the park and around water, an out-and-back run
Organization - poor! no one directing parking, nothing marked, etc.
Cost - $25 per person, pre-registration guarantees a shirt (just not the size you request apparently)
Time of Race - 8:00am
Overall - One of the worse races, poorly organized and felt like the 5K race was just an after thought compared to the triathlon
Award - everyone got a participation medal, didn't stick around to see what winners received
My Time - 31.14
Race # in our 15 in '15 Challenge - 7/15
#BeastModeActivated
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| At least I got a medal |
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| This is us waiting over 30 minutes for awards to start |
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| Hot and sucked but we finished! |
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