RACE REPORT: Taylorsville Dayzz 5K

It's been a hot minute since I've done a race report. I miss writing them. I really miss writing in general and is something I want to get back to doing more often. It's therapeutic for me because the written word is the medium I feel I communicate best in. My grandma would always point out to me that writing is the best way to communicate what's in your heart and soul.

Anyways, I digress.

I love city and town festivals here in Utah. There's a chock-full of them, especially during the summer months around either the 4th or 24th of July. There's Peach Days, Swiss Days, Draper Days, Handcart Days and a plethora of others. In fact my dad was the chairman of the Bountiful Handcart Days when I was a teen for a number of years. This is where my love for festivals and hatred for parades began.

Yes, I hate parades. I kind of always have, but it really was solidified when my dad was in charge of Handcart Days. The parade was always on a late afternoon in the July heat and you just sat there waiting for it to end. There was nothing fun about it except for the occasional thrown taffy. But, the city council nixed thrown candy for a number of years so the only interaction you had with parade marchers were awkward waves as they passed by.

Parades are dumb.

But, this post isn't about parades, though I will be bringing them up again. Everything else about these festivals are fun. There's usually a carnival of sorts in the city park, fireworks and a fun run. That last point is what brought me to the Taylorsville Dayzz 5K. 

Well, okay, I take that back. My wife's dance team performed the Thursday before the race and we did watch the fireworks on Saturday night ... which were AMAZING. I am such a sucker for fireworks. But, I don't want to digress more than I already have done at this point.

I signed up for this race on Friday morning after my father-in-law signed up. I'm always a sucker for a new race medal and free banana at the finish line so it didn't take much to convince me. I didn't know much about this race other than this was my friend Lizz's first 5K five years ago and it was in Taylorsville. I did see a race map on the race website, but I didn't study it. I'm not a huge fan of mapping out new races, I like to experience the new race not knowing what to expect. You only get one first time.

The race started at 7am and honestly I wish it started at 6am. Heck, make that 5:30am. It was hot. And, I probably didn't help matters wearing a black shirt. I should have known better, but it was a 'The Party in the Back' shirt I just got and I felt the need to show and tell it. 

Oh the conundrums I create for myself.

But, after meeting my father-in-law Van, Lizz and a few other friends we were off promptly at 7am. Since I do a run/walk method (3min/1:30min) it was fairly easy to ease into the run. My legs felt fresh enough, but after a few intervals the heat decided to zap everything -- my legs, my energy, my soul. Okay, maybe not my soul, but there was a point around a mile into the race where it sure felt like it.

Early into the run I told my father-in-law he could go ahead, but he didn't. He wanted to run with me, which I was really appreciative of, because not only was I not running alone but it was a great way to connect with my father-in-law of less than a month. I love running with others, but it's different when it's with family. My sister and older brother are the only siblings who have ran with me, so it's a rarity.

Van and I chatted throughout the race. It was great. It kept my mind off the heat along with my horrible choice of colored shirt. We got distracted enough in our conversation that we even took a wrong way detour along the course. Thankfully we didn't get too off course, but in the process of chatting we just followed a group of runners that lead us off course.

Before we knew it we reached the finish line. It was just a shade over 46 minutes which I'll take. I don't put too much credence in my 5K times. It's been a hot minute since I've tried for a PR in the 5K distance. But, the effort was there and I feel good about that.

After meandering a bit after the race and chatting with friends, Van and I hopped in our cars to leave. I lagged behind because I got a call and a few texts I needed to answer, plus I wanted to stretch one last time. This was a mistake. Not a grave mistake, but just about ... because as I was leaving I noticed that I got blocked in by a PARADE!

This is one of the many reasons why I hate parades.

So I sat in my car for about two hours until I noticed a car that was in a similar situation drive over some grassy areas to get out of the parking lot. I decided to do the same and concocted a plan if I got pulled over for doing it. Which was saying I saw other people doing it so I did it too. And, of course if that didn't work, I'd just fake a bowel movement emergency. Thankfully my over-planning wasn't needed, probably because all of the cops were still in the parade. 

That night we came back to the park for the fireworks and ... WOW! As much as I hate parades, I equally love fireworks. The show they put on for the Taylorsville Dayzz show was amazing. Probably the best fireworks show in the state. No joke. Even better than the Stadium of Fire.

Anyways, I'm loving this hard reset on my running journey. This is just one first step I'm taking on the renewed journey of running, health and fitness.