Running Injured for the First Time! Best Damn Race 10k Orlando 2016 Race Report

Pro tip - don't sign up for a race if you don't know what time it starts.  When preparing for this race last night, the Kiddo asked what time we were leaving.  I was assuming I'd leave around 4:30ish, get down to the race around 7am.  Well, I decided to double check the race start time, and boy am I glad I did!  This race started at like 7! I don't know why I thought it started later, but I'm sure glad I double-checked.

So, we left way too damn early in the morning, but since it was so early, traffic was nonexistant.  We arrived by 5:45am and scored a great parking space at the Library garage (for only $2 an hour). We chilled out in the car for a while, while I drank a can of Coke (I think the caffeine helps) and ate a cup of peanut butter.

Eventually, I got out and geared up; my Nathan, sadly, was still frozen (I'd put it in the freezer last night and expected it to melt on the way down), so I took a seperate water bottle.

Packet pickup was very busy and disorganized. First, you had to go get your bib, and then get in line for your shirt (I guess 10k folks don't get a bag or any sort of goodies?).  Many people in the shirt line thought it was the bib line, causing the line to be much longer and slower than it needed to be. To be fair, I thought it was the bib line too, until a nice person in front of me pointed me in the right direction.

After I got my stuff, I hit the potties.  Many of them had no TP in them, but there was a lady, who had finished her pottying, who gave me a baggie with some flushable wipes in it. They came in handy, so thanks, Wipe Lady!

After that, we had some time to kill, so I had hubby take a pic of me on the Winner's steps.

The only time I'll be up here

Okay, so you're asking... what's up with the calf sleeves? I thought you didn't need those anymore!  Well, generally I don't. BUT... Over the past month or so, I'd been taking RAD classes with coworkers (it was just for our department).  The first class was bookwork and lectures. The second class was practicing basic moves (nut punches, gut kicks, etc).  Our third class, which should have been in January with the first two classes, had to be pushed back, due to scheduling issues and didn't happen until the week after Gasparilla (end of February).  This was affectionaly called "Fight Night."  You were put in full combat gear (head gear, elbow/knee pads, chest plate, the whole deal) and taken into a room with three large dudes in full red suits.

We wore all the black gear while kicking the ass of the guys in the red gear

There were three scenarios you had to escape from. First was walking across a 'parking lot' or other empty area, and you were grabbed from behind by the arm.  Okay, that wasn't bad.  Second was getting money from an ATM machine at night and you were grabbed from behind, bear-hug style. Okay, that was a little more intense - one dude picked me up and plopped onto the ground with me (like, he was a turtle shell and I was the turtle on top).  Finally, the psychological one:  You had to stand in the middle of the room with your eyes closed (you were led in with them shut so you didn't know where you were in the room, which direction you were facing and which direction to run to 'safety'), while the three guys stood right next to you, in your personal space, yelling, screaming or just saying plain nasty-ass things to you. And you COULD NOT move until one of them touched you.  I really enjoyed this one!  The first guy came behind me and tried to bear-hug me again (we saw how that went last time), but I remembered to squat, so he couldn't pick me up. I kicked his ass and began to run away, but was caught by another guy, between me and the door. I began kicking him in the stomach (imagine kicking open a door's bar handle with your leg).  After about 2 kicks, I felt something pull in my left calf and I had to "safety word" myself out of the situation. I took a moment, settled myself and tried to kick his ass again, but my leg said otherwise. I wanted to keep going, but the trainer said we were done.  Dammit!  I was fake-raped!  So, for the past week, I'd been babying my pulled calf muscle because I knew this race was coming up; but more importantly GATE was up next week and I didn't want to hurt myself and not be able to do that race at all.

Anyway, back to the race. I got hugs and kisses then went to the start line. Of course got a Start Line Selfie!

Everyone else seems so 'runner' and I'm over here with bedazzled sunglasses!

I noticed that the start line was very quiet - no blaring music to pump everyone up, no loud DJs, not even the National Anthem? What the hell? (I learned later from Hubby that this part of Orlando has a city Noise Ordinance that was in effect until 7:00am).

I like that BDR has flags at least, if no corrals

We started on a brick road, which was not what I was hoping for.  Uneven roadways can wreak havoc on calf muscles... I forgot I still had my jacket, but I was able to toss my jacket to hubby as I passed by.

Action Shot!

I settled into doing 1/1 intervals, but I could tell my leg was hurting. It wasn't painful, per se, but I was aware of it and I knew that if I pushed too hard, I would hurt myself.  

Depite lots of brick roads, the area is a very pretty place to run in.

Yuck, bricks.

Random lake

I made it to Mile 1 and I could feel my leg loosening up a bit, so that made me happy!

Yay, Mile 1

We were also off the brick roads and onto plain asphalt by then, so maybe that was helping? My leg was basically numb at this point, so I decided to just keep going until it started hurting again.

Yay, MORE brick

Soon, the course broke off from the half-marathon course (they'd not even started the race yet), and we got more brick road.  Grr. Luckily, there wasn't much of it, and we soon were done with it.

Can we be done with this brick yet?

As we moved onto a larger road, I got stuck (more than once) between these obnoxious women who were walking four abreast and refused to move for anyone.  I had to wait for them to mosey one way or another (they weren't walking in straight lines), or wait for no traffic to go around them.

I don't care if you're at the back, don't block the route!

But, we got to Mile 2 - we're 1/3 of the way done!

Yay, Mile 2! Cute flamingos

We passed the TG Lee plant and I thougt they were missing a huge opportunity to have people out here (or even at the after-party) with samples! I would've loved a little bottle of chocolate milk at this point!

You got any more of that tasty chocolate milk?

I was also passed by the first 1/2 marathoner right around this time, too.  (I think they started their race at 7:30 or so.)

Bye, speedy

Mile 3 was on the other side of the TG Lee plant, and I still wanted some milk.  I was able to get away from the foursome for a while though, so it was a bit more peaceful.

Mile 3 - still feeling pretty good

Hmmm, milk or slurpee?

As we're about in the middle of the race, I decided it was time for some fuel. However, all I had were some Frozen-themed gummy snacks. I wanted to see if these were as beneficial as chews.  Honestly, they weren't bad...

Do you wanna eat some fruit snacks? It doesn't have to be some fruit snacks.... okay bye.

We turned at this point onto a large thoroughfare. I'm glad to see lots of bodies still in front of me!

Slow people coming, expect delays

Also, my camera died again. Yes, I know I need to buy a new camera.  Sorry for the shitty phone pix from here on out.

We encountered more brick roads, but my leg was still feeling numb, so I was still running.  I missed the Mile 4 marker, but nothing fun happened, so here we are at Mile 5!

Pretend there's two signs - one for Mile 4 and one for Mile 5

Ironic - He pulled out of the race on this day

At one point before the race, I had mentioned to the family that they could come and spectate at about Mile 5.5.  There was a straight road that ran between the street I was running on and the street the finish line was on. Well, when I got to this area, I saw no family. I began to worry, because I didn't know if I'd missed them, if they'd missed me or if they got lost! Oh well, I just kept on sloggin' on.  I'm almost done!

Around the corner was Mile 6 and the finish line was within sight!

I like when race directors put out the final mile sign, even if you CAN see the finish right ahead of you

Hubby was able to get a pic of me actually crossing the finish line!

I almost look like I'm running!

And another after I got my medal.

Girl, those calf sleeves do you no beauty favors

The medal GLOWS IN TEH DARK!

My official time was 1:44:58. Not a PR, but I didn't expect one, not with my bum leg. I still ended up beating a total of 41 people, so I wasn't anywhere near last.

Official Results

We headed over to the Best Damn Post Race Party and wandered for a quick bit. I got a Dunkin' Donuts donut hole and some water, but I don't think we did anything else (Hubby's not much of a wanderer).

Not a bad turnout of vendors

Um,  uh, okay.

That's.... not hot. I've seen Deadpool, and you sir, are no Deadpool.

We headed back to the parking garage and headed out; our total was $8 to park for the 3+ hours we were there.

My plan for lunch was Long John Silver's. I'd discovered there was one on Michigan, so we drove over there, but right before we pulled in, I realized... It's only 9:30 in the a.m.!  They won't be open yet for at least another half-hour, or more.  We sat in the parking lot for a bit, trying to figure out what we wanted to do (skip it, get breakfast, eat at Disney, etc). Every five minutes or so, a short blonde-haired lady would walk past the front doors and give us the stink-eye. I don't know who she was, or what her problem was, but if she was some sort of management, it was pretty unprofessional - don't alienate your clientele by making faces at them out the window!

So, I decided to waste some time by going to WaWa and changing out of my running clothes (what I would have done at LJS, had they been open).

I popped into WaWa, changed my clothes, and, of course, made a courtesy purchase as a thank you.

Best candy ever?  Quite possibly.

Once finished at WaWa, we headed back to the LJS on Michigan, thinking that they would be open (I'm pretty sure the sign on the door said they opened at 10:30).We pulled into the same parking spot we had before and walked up to the doors...

Can I come in? I have money and would like fast food fish

Which were still locked!  We walked to other doors. All were locked.  We waited in the car until about 10:45 - never saw anyone come to open the doors, so we said fuck this shit and left (there will be nasty online reviews for sure!).

We found another LJS on John Young Parkway, so we went to that one instead. It also is a shared space with KFC and that was to our detriment.

There was no one there but us, and it's Saturday at 11:30.  Hmmm.

I got the LJS Sampler, the kiddo got popcorn shrimp and hubby got chicken.  We had to get KFC wedges since they didn't carry LJS fries.  Which sucked, because the wedges tasted weird.  The proteins were all tasty, though. I ended up saving my chicken for later because I was so full.

Fish, Chicken, Shrimp, Hush Puppies. KFC wedges on top.

Once we were done stuffing ourselves silly (well, mostly me and the Kiddo; Hubby's not a fan of LJS and didn't think until later that he could have gotten KFC food!), we powered up the Garmin to figure out how to get us to Epcot.  First, it tried to take us to Downtown Disney. Then it tried to send us into the back door of Epcot, so we gave up on the Garmin. Somehow, we ended up getting to the MK parking lot without going through the parking plaza!  Hope I don't get towed!

We decided to just park at the TTC and mono over to Epcot.  Epcot currently had Flower & Garden Festival in full swing, and I love this time of year - Epcot is always extra beautiful! (Seriously, I took 743 photos - not counting the ones that got deleted!  I love this!)

Feels crowded

Flower beds around the lagoon

Obligatory Geodesic Sphere Photos

 We stopped by Club Cool for a lovely, free, beverage.

The floor is never NOT sticky in here

After that, I started taking some photos of the topiaries Epcot is famous for creating for the festival. 

Sorcerer Mickey from Fantasia

Closer Shot

Artsy

Dancing Ostriches

I'm so pretty

Artsy

We walked through the Butterfly House, which is always a let-down. I think, though, that's because where we live, we have a Butterfly Rainforest at a local museum that is hand's down, 100x better than this!

Random Butterfly

Random Purple Flower that Butterflys Like

More Lagoon Flower Beds

Artsy

More Artsy, with creepy Butterfly Topiaries in the background

Chip and Dale Topiaries

Dale Topiary

Chip Topiary

Wilderness Explorer Mickey

Then, of course we had to take a ride on Test Track!  We love doing Single Rider.  You get through the line much quicker that way.

This way to the ride!

So trippy

Unfortunately, my stomach can only handle one or two go-rounds before it begins to complain, so left the family there to ride repeatedly; I was off to take more photos! (I promise not to upload all 743!)

Floating thingies in the lagoon

Phineas and Ferb Topiaries

Random Blue Flowers

To Infinity... And Beyond!

Lt. Dan needs me!

Cool little things that most Disney guests don't slow down to appreciate

I met the family outside of Test Track and we made our way out of the park, back on the monorail to the TTC and eventually, of course, to Wawa!  Potty, gas, food, then home. It's been a long day!

Location: Downtown Orlando

Host: (Who put on the race) Best Damn Race

Race Fee:

Packet Pickup:

Parking: Library Parking Garage, 4 Hours, $8 total (5:45 am to 9:18am)

Support: (on-course)

After Party: