Stroehmann Back on My Feet 5 miler

As you may recall, the last 3 years I have given away a free entry to the Philly BOMF 5 miler however I was never able to actually run the race.  This year the timing worked perfectly that I could run.  When I went on the website to register, I noticed there was a free kids run so of course I signed the kids up.  I knew Emir wasn't going to want to run since he just had the Mt. Tammany 10 the weekend before so that would work out to bring the kids down.  And my sister Cindy had registered to race so I was looking forward to running with her.

They love being involved at races

It was a bit chilly Saturday morning but we bundled the kids up and they were fine especially once the sun started shining, it warmed up.  We were a little worried about parking once we saw a big regatta being set up on the river however we were able to snag a free spot in the lot behind the Art Museum.  It was a bit of a walk around the Museum to the race area but we brought the Double BOB so no big deal at all.  I was surprised when we reached the race area at how big it actually was.  There was a bunch of different tents and food trucks.  It was super easy to get my bib and bag.  I had opted to donate my race shirt to BOMF so I didn't have to go to that booth.  I also brought a bag of shoes to donate which was easy to drop off as well.

 

 

Niko LOVES to try to run as fast as he can

 

Niko is like me and said "Mommy I think I should go potty before my run" which is exactly what I had been thinking about myself so we took Una with us to the porta potties.  There was a line but it moved pretty well.  They definitely had a good number of potties for the number of people at the event which was nice especially when you have kids with you.  Once we were done that a lady came to gather the kids for their race.  She had made these really cute shirts that she gave to each of them.  Then they all lined up probably about 200 meters from the start line.  It was a very short little sprint but the kids had bibs and it was enough to make them happy.  Niko can easily run longer but Una declared she was "exhausted" and sat in the BOB gorging on munchkins immediately after her run.

running is "SO HARD"

There was about 10 minutes before our race so we stretched, listened to the RD talk about BOMF and had one of it's members talk.  There was also a player from the Philadelphia Union there to send us off and hang out for the morning.  Don't ask me his name but Emir and Niko were excited about it.  Then we were off!

Me & Cindy!

Coach had told me to go ahead and race the 5 miles even though I'm in the middle of training for C & O Canal 100.  He said that if I could run the race fast then I would be tired for the 23 miles he assigned for the next day (spoiler he was right!).  I had explained this all to Cindy so she said "alright we will race this thing!"  She knew the course since she ran this race last year.  She said it's mainly flat however mile 2 is the same hill from the Philly Marathon.  I'm glad she told me so I was ready.  We ran the first 4 miles side by side.  I love running with Cindy as much as I love running with Emir.  She is fine with however I want to run.  If I feel like talking, we will chat.  If I'm quiet for 5 hours she doesn't care.  She also seems to really just know how I am feeling, sometimes even more than I know how I am feeling (I need to get her on my ultra crew!)  Anyway we had a really nice time running in silence with a little convo here and there.  We ran approx: 7:45, 8:08, 7:50, 7:50.  A couple of times I felt like I was struggling and slowed down and assumed that those couple of miles would be well over 8 but was really surprised when the splits popped up.  So once we got to the last mile, I said to Cindy "Let's go!"  I felt that I could speed up for that last mile and I definitely wanted to sub 40.  She didn't say anything as I sped up but she didn't really come with me either.  Later she would tell me she didn't want to go quite as fast because of some stomach issues, but still she was only about 15 seconds behind me.  I ran that last mile in 7:25, coming in at 39.12.  I felt super proud and happy.  I haven't raced 5 miles in a long time so it definitely is a PR but even still, I know it's definitely faster than I could have run 5 miles even in the last couple years.  My fastest 10K at the 2014 Runner's World was 7:55 pace and this was faster.  I'm definitely starting to see some speed come back into my running lately even with the 100 training.

Niko had a blast!

There was a tent set up with water and various snacks and kombuca.  While recovering a bit, Emir was telling me what a great time the kids had been having while we raced.  There was a blow up soccer field and a goal shot type of thing.  Niko and Una had been playing the whole time.  Niko even got to play a little soccer game with the Union player.  There were other tents with some little games and giveaways too.  The kids had such a blast!

playing soccer

Overall I was really impressed with the whole event.  I mean am I surprised?  No, not all knowing the BOMF organization and all the wonderful things they do but still I left the race feeling really great.  The even was well organized with tons of VERY helpful, VERY enthusiastic volunteers.  The aid station on course was great too.  Cindy and I both talked about how it's awesome that this course varies a bit from the normal MLK drive courses even though it is to go up a hill ;-)  You can't help but feel good about helping such a wonderful organization and they show such great appreciation in their event.  I am so glad that I finally got a chance to experience the race that I have been promoting for the last few years.  I knew it was good but now I know that it is GREAT and I look forward to coming back with the family again and again.