Fall 2022 Girls on the Run 5k w/ G
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It's a Gigi takeover! Hi everyone, I'm so excited to tell you all about my experience with the Girls on the Run, and the 5k I did with my dad.
I decided to sign up for the Girls on the Run program because it was the first year I was age eligible to join. I really wanted to see what it was all about, and whether it was worth doing it again. It was right after school, so usually I had to get home, eat a snack, and then head back to my school where the practice was being held. There were five coaches, and about 10-20 other girls from 3rd grade to 5th grade in the program. We practiced two times per week, and about 90 min a day. Although thankfully we didn't actually run for the whole 90 min a day, instead we did about 30 min of running (sometimes 20) and a lot of team building and fun games. I missed a few practices along the way because I was sick. I also missed the practice 5k, but I felt confident because I have done 5ks before.
The race was on November 5th, 2022 in Waunakee. The weather didn't look the greatest in the forecasts ahead of time. I was also coming off a sickness for the last week and a half. So the discussion with my dad for the week leading into the race, was to be comfortable with possibly not being able to do it. Sick + wet/wind = Not great. I've been working on math in the 3rd grade.
On Friday, my dad and I got lots of supplies together in case we actually did the race. We decided to wear the long sleeve shirts they gave us as our outermost layer, and then we both wore a water proof wind jacket underneath. This way we could represent the race, but stay dry (we didn't stay dry...
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Dad woke up and checked the weather. It wasn't as bad as it could be, but it wasn't great. There was no lightning in the area, but there was a storm off in the distance that might hit while we're on the race course. We were also going to have to deal with some crazy wind. I had a nutella waffle for breakfast. We both got dressed and headed out the door around 7:25am. There was only street parking and dad wanted to get there early. The drive over was mostly uneventful. I watched Sing 2 on my iPad. For most of the drive over, it wasn't really raining. But as we got closer to the race location, it rained more and more. When we got to the race location, we parked the car, and not long after we arrived there were lots of other people showing up. Dad checked the weather radar and saw that after this little patch of rain passed, we would be good for a bit. But we were probably going to get some rain when we were running. We got our running gear on, and then headed over to the race location.
My friends were starting to collect at our race flag. Everyone showed up despite the bad weather. One of my coaches gave me a tattoo (don't worry it's only temporary) that said "Superstar". A different coach gave me a hair tie with a little blue ribbon on it. My friends and I were being silly. We also saw Scoopie the Culver's mascot. I asked my dad if he thought Scoopie was racing too, but he said it was doubtful. My dad told me to gather my friends so we could take a group picture.
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Then my dad and I took a picture together.
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Around 8:30am the announcer led us through some stretches and cheers. Our cheer is "We're strong. We know it. And this is how we show it. Girls on the Run is so much fun. Girls on the Run is #1." Before long it was time to head to the starting line. They let all of the groups of girls in Wave 1 head to the starting line together. Which means the groups got a little broken up and I wasn't standing to all my friends anymore. My dad and I had settled on doing unstructured run/walk. So when I wanted to walk, I would just say so, and when I wanted to run, I would say so. There were about 750 Girls on the Run runners and about 1000 running buddies. At around 9am, they sounded a fire truck horn to announce the start of the race, and we were off.
Conditions - 🌧 Light Rain, Wind 16mph to 32mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 56°F + 56°F; FL - 57°F
End: Temp+Dew = 57°F + 57°F; FL - 57°F
Mile 1
Mile 1 was hard, and I felt like I walked most of it. I saw some of my friends running too and would shout encouragements at them. We had to run up a hill, and we decided to walk most of the uphill and run the downhill. At this time it was mostly spitting rain, and it wasn't that bad. But the wind was pretty heavy. During mile 1 I met my competition. When we headed down the hill, one of my coaches behind me yelled "Gigi, I'm coming for you." That's all I needed to hear. Challenge accepted, you aren't going to catch me. So for the remainder of the race, I kept looking back to make sure we stayed ahead of her. I didn't see her for the remainder of the race. We finished the first mile in about 14:07 minutes.
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Mile 2
Mile 2 had a nice spot where we could see the runners ahead of us on top of the hill. So then we got to the top, and then we could see everyone else behind us in the distance. The rain was starting to pick up a little bit, but it wasn't that bad. Once we got down the big hill we reached the only water stop. As we got closer to the water stop the rain and wind were starting to pick up even more. I asked my dad a few times how much further we had to go, and he told me we were a little past halfway. Around this time in the race I saw more of my friends running. I saw Alice. Before I knew it we were finished with Mile 2 in 13:28.
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Mile 3
Mile 3 was hard because it was getting even rainier and windy. At one point there was a large crowd of people that were cheering in the distance. My dad encouraged me to do a super boost past them. When I did the crowd went wild. They screamed! It was a boost to my spirit. Despite the bad weather they came to cheer us on. Now the rain was really getting crazy. Dad and I were yelling at the clouds to give us MORE RAIN. RAIN HARDER. And... it did. We probably shouldn't have done that.
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It was wild. The other people around us couldn't do anything but laugh. Then we came to the end of the third mile at 13:12 and we were in the home stretch.
3.11 miles
With as hard as it was raining and throwing us around with the wind, all you could do was smile. We're strong, and we were showing it. This picture barely does it justice in terms of how just how soaked we were.
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My dad's shirt was originally pink, but it was so rain soaked it turned red. We found the finish line and super boosted to it. We finished in 42:08. That's my second fastest 5k.
When we crossed the finish line, I found a few of my friends. And I beat my coach! So all in all it was a great race. Then my dad and I walked back to the car and got cleaned up. He brought me some dry clothes to change into.
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So what are my thoughts about the Girls on the Run program? I loved it. So so much. I want to do it again when it is offered. Hopefully next time it's not so cold, rainy, and windy. But I didn't let that damper my spirits. I'd like to thank my dad for taking me to the race and running it with me. And also thank my grandma and mom for taking me to practice and picking me up. And lastly I'd like to thank my friends and coaches who helped encourage me all along the way. Thanks for reading and see you again!
