Vigor 5K

 

I ran the Vigor 5K last Saturday(February 5) with some friends in my neighborhood. The race was at Wasatch Mountain State Park in Midway.  I knew going in that it would be winter obstacle course.  I had plenty of time to get in some what shape for it, but that didn’t get me off my rear very much.  It was all about the experience anyway. It was so much fun! It wasn’t like any other race I’ve done with the obstacles and snow.

The Race crew from left to right:  Chrystal, Chelsea (our organizer and team leader), me, Mel, Elise, and Holly. We took 2 cars up and I had such a fun time getting to know Elise and Holly.

The first obstacles was a snow mound right at the start. This was the 2nd one about 4 minutes into the run.  The only complaint I had about the race was that it took about 15 minutes for everyone to get over as only 2-3 could go at time. The race had about 150 participants and we were at the rear of the pack at the start so it bottled up quite a bit. This is me, Mel, and Chelsea climbing over.

Obstacle 3: I opted not to crawl on the ground and threaded my way through.

Obstacle 4: Another snow mound. These weren’t too tough.

Obstacle 5: This was actually the most difficult.  I have very little upper body strength and the cracks weren’t a good toe hold. Fortunately, one of my teammates helped give me a hand going over. 

Obstacle 6: Sledding!! This was the most fun of them all.  We had to grab our sleds at the bottom of the hill and then went down.

Obstacle 7: More climbing, but easier than some of the others.

Obstacle 8: This did require me to get down in the snow. 

We finished!  It snowed quite a bit the night before the race so the snow was very soft and powdery. Snow is very difficult to run on.  It required a lot more effort with each step and a lot more concentration. I didn’t feel like I could run straight and I kept thinking I would turn an ankle. It snowed through the whole race, but I stayed warm. I actually felt good during most the race thought. I wasn’t in as bad of shape as I thought. Elise and I finished first in our group and ran together most the race.  We walked during it, especially up the hills. Those were just rough in the snow. I made it through without falling and felt good throughout. Except, I did get really hungry mid-way. Ever since vomiting in my first cross country race, I can’t eat much before a race.

Afterwards, we enjoyed some hot cocoa in the lodge and then drove back to the valley for a fun girls’ lunch.  Hopefully, we’ll be doing some more races this year. Running in the snow ended up being more fun than I thought so I’d probably do it again next year!