Bolt to the Q 5k Race Recap

This morning I ran the Bolt to the Q 5k with my son, D. It was put on by the San Diego Chargers (part of the NFL series).  The course went from the Chargers' Training Facility to Qualcomm Stadium, where we were to finish on the 50 yard line.

All week I'd been kind of dreading the run; actually, I've been worried about this whole weekend.  I hurt my back, on the lower left side,  a little over 2 weeks ago, and while it's dramatically improved it still hurts sometimes, especially if I pull on it or twist in a certain way.  Additionally, I hurt ANOTHER part of my back (this time under my right shoulder) on Thursday. I had taken my daughter into the doctor with a fever.  They had suspected a urinary tract infection, and while I was bent over the toilet trying to collect a urine sample from her (I know, the life of a mom can be so glamorous) that part of my back spasmed.  I did go to my chiropracter on Thursday afternoon, and by Friday night it was much better, but still, I was worried. I  had two races this weekend--the Chargers 5k and a sprint triathlon I'm doing tomorrow. I was worried about how my back would hold up today.

Packet pickup was yesterday, when I went to Qualcomm Stadium and got our bibs, timing chips and t-shirts.  One thing that wasn't good was that they didn't have kid sizes for the 5k, and the adult small they gave me for D would be HUGE on him.  Luckily, I was able to exchange it for a kid-sized t-shirt for the kids' 1-mile race, but I heard that other people weren't so lucky.  I usually don't wear the race shirt in the actual race; I prefer to "earn" the shirt and wear it after, but my son wanted to wear his so I wore mine to match him.

The race started at 7:00, and since it was a point-to-point race, they had shuttles getting people from Qualcomm Stadium to the starting line at the Training Facility.  The last shuttle was to leave at 6:30.   I planned on leaving my house at 5:45, thinking that it would be plenty of time to get there. I was wrong. I hit tons of traffic getting off the freeway, and was very lucky to get there in time.  Note to self:  always leave more time than you think. I actually know this, and usually do this, but since I had my 8-year old with me I didn't want to wake him too early.  I should have known better and woken him 15 minutes earlier.  Lesson learned.

before the race

training facility at the start

We finally got to the start line, where we met up with my friend T and his boys.  One of his boys is D's age, and they're friends. They goofed around, as only 8-year old boys can do, and soon it was time to line up.  The race was corralled, which I thought was unusual for a 5k, but we went to the last corral.  There were Charger Girls at the start, cheering us on, which was cool.  Soon, we were off!

 

 

I ended up running with D and his friend.  D is a fast runner (in a 1-mile race last month he clocked in just over 7 minute) but his endurance past a mile is terrible.  I need to work on that with him by running with him more.  Needless to say, he needed lots of walk breaks, which was fine with me. It was hot and oddly humid (at 7:00!) and I didn't want to stress my back, especially since it was feeling good and I have a triathlon tomorrow.  It was nice to take it easy, run hand-in-hand with my son, and tackle the course, which had a few uphills but was mostly downhill.

view of the stadium before mile 3

Soon we hit mile 3, at the stadium parking lot, and it was time to head to the finish line.  We ran through a tunnel and ended up on the field, at the 50 yard line, with Charger Girls waving their pom-poms and lots of spectators in the seats. It was really cool!  They had a camera set at the entrance to the field for the Jumbo-Tron, but I looked up too late to see us on the screen.  We crossed the finish line, collected a souvenir headband, waited for our friends, and took in the feeling of being on the field.

heading into the tunnel

almost there!

finish line!

it was neat to see the stadium from this vantage point!

I would definitely do this race again. It was well--organized, and finishing on the football field was just too cool for words.  A fun race, especially with my favorite running partner---my son!