Detailed report with photos:
https://www.runningahead.com/groups/BF_and_Beyond/forum/Post/3e23acade4fc4efdb4f8f973d869cbf9#focus
Photos Only Slideshow:
BEFORE MY START
My 63rd event of 2019 was the inaugural Leftover 5K, held on Nov 30. There was also an 8-miler. This is a fun-run put on to help raise funds for Parents Academy, an organization that empowers parents with positive parenting skills to help reduce family stress and build family successes. Location was at a recently completed San Antonio Greenway trail near The Olive Garden restaurant near the intersection of highways 1604 and IH-10. Start time of 8 a.m. I arrived with about 40 minutes to start time and got a few photos. For an inaugural event, this one had a pretty nice turn-out. Weather folks had called for rain, but it did not rain on us. However, it was near 70 degrees at star time, with near 100% humidity. And by tomorrow (Dec 1) San Antonio temps will be down in the 40s again. Crazy South Texas weather!
ON THE COURSE
Still nursing a sore left foot, so I decided to just let everyone go ahead of me – 8 milers and 5K folks all started together – and then just walk slowly on my own for maybe a mile or so and then just come back. As it turned out, once I started, my foot ‘twinged’ a bit, but I was fairly comfortable, so I ended up walking the whole darn 5K, averaging a blazing speed of about 24 minutes per mile, lol. I actually ended up with negative splits, first mile in 26-something, 2nd mile in 24-something, and 3rd 1.1 mile in 22-something, finishing in 1:16:08, with my only goal just TO finish. I was pretty much dead last for the whole course – the turn-round volunteers were happy to see me, lol, since they could pack up – but that was okay, it was a nice walk and I enjoyed myself. This was also a nice mental confidence booster that my foot is healing; slowly healing, but it is healing. I got lots of on-course photos, especially as I was going toward the turn-round point and all the other participants were coming back toward me.
After My Finish
Since this was a fun run – no awards, but finisher medals to all finishers – a lot of folks had already taken off, but there was still a nice little crowd of finishers, and some 8-mile folks still on the course and also coming into the finish. After relaxing a bit and getting some water in me, I wandered around taking a few photos of some of the participants and supporters still there.
EPILOGUE
Really nicely done inaugural event on a recently opened greenway trail that is very nicely done, going over bridges, under bridges, near some nice “woodsy’ scenery, and so forth Very wide trail, so nicely accommodating for other runners, cyclists and walkers not doing the event, with enough room for them to get around the racing folks. Will definitely be doing some future training runs on this trail, especially as it is only about a 5 minute or so drive from where I work at UTSA. After-event goodies included a choice of bean-and-cheese or potato-and-egg breakfast tacos. Nicely designed cotton tee quality race shirt and a unique finisher medal to all finishers. I would recommend this to others and would do this one again. Well done, organizers, well done.
Many thanks to all the people who made this one happen for we participants, including all the sponsors, vendors, volunteers, police officers out there for us – I saw a couple of bike police when I was doing my ‘lonely walk’ on the way back – Athlete Guild race management company for timing, results, helping with course setup, etc.; restaurants Olive Garden and Lone Star Steak House for the temporary use of their parking lots; and anyone else I may not have mentioned here
Scottydog Reports 