I Am Here - Spud Run 5k Race Report 2024

After a less-than-stellar "running season" over the past few months, I knew it was time to get my running shoes back on and hit the course. 

When I checked the weather the night before, it looked... okay. Like, overcast, a nice temp, but no rain in the forecast until 10am or so, definitely after I finished and got my medal. But that was not to be the case. I got a few drizzles on the way there, nothing more than spittle. 

I parked and went in to get my bib, then got in line for the potties, behind two women who brought their little toe nipper dogs - not service animals, just pets - into the ladies' room. The dogs felt that it was fine to stick their heads under the stalls every chance they got, and yet barked loudly and annoyingly when it was their owner's turn in the stalls! Ooh, it's just a peeve I have... dogs are not children!!! They don't need to go everywhere with you, like inside libraries, inside library bathrooms, or inside library bathroom stalls. When it was my turn in a stall, a huge boom of thunder announced the incoming deluge of rain that had just begun. It was pouring out there! Oh well... Sugar melts, but spicy sticks around, so I went over and got my potatoes and took them back to the car, getting absolutely drenched. I chilled out in the car for a bit (I'm always either way early or way late!), watching the raindrops on the window. 

Still Life, Car Park, Water on Glass 

It seemed to abate when it was time to head to the start line, and the sky actually looked like it was clearing, so I debated bringing my rain jacket, or just get wet if it started again, but I decided to wear the jacket. It was 70º when I left the car, but a wet 70º is much different from a sunny 70º! 

Deep enough to get my ankles wet if I stepped in it

And it turned out to be a smart decision because within two minutes of starting the race, the downpour came back. It felt delicious, honestly, warm and welcoming on my face. I heard random people nearby who were complaining about the weather, but whatever... it's just water! I put my headphones in and just walked. Oh, yeah, I'm just walking now. I'm still dealing with some leftover bullshit from February/March, so my goal was to walk this entire thing and see how I felt at the end. 

Honest confession... I don't know what's up with my camera settings, lol

The first two miles of the race were uneventful, just wet. I was happy to be back at it, happy to have some time to myself with my thoughts (it's been a hard two weeks since we got back from Arkansas), and happy to be able to move relatively pain-free. 

At one point, the rain was just pounding us, the heaviest it had been all morning, and the song I Am Here by P!nk came on my playlist, and y'all... I'm not usually that person who heavily identifies with music, like at ALL, but for some reason a few lines really just hit me in the right way...

I can think of 1,000 places

Much worse than this

But I am here, I am here

My face is also a potato

Like, yeah, it's raining, and I'm tired, and my legs are hurting now, and I'd much rather be in my nice, warm bed, with my nice, warm hubby, but damn... it could be so much worse! It made me realize how blessed I am to be happy, healthy, and here. 

The last mile was rain-free, and warmer, so I took off my jacket and wrestled with it for the entire time (it's slippery and didn't want to stay tied around my waist). I finished with a chip time of 57:49, which wasn't terrible, given my lack of training, plethora of pains, and the weather. Though we all know at this point, I'm not doing this for PRs... I'm never gonna get faster. I was 252nd finisher out of 272 (even though only 411 people registered for this run... I have a feeling the weather kept a lot of people home this morning!), 148th out of 165 females, and 10th out of 11 in my age group. The last finisher came in at 1:23:17. 

I was able to score another bag of potatoes on my way back to the car, and then made my way over to Race-Trac to change and get a Pepsi, before driving up to IKEA to pick up some shelves I needed for the living room. And then (logic be damned), I drove all the way back to St. Augustine to get some maple fudge (IYKYK) from Savannah Sweets, hit up Buc-ee's and then drive home.