I Sweat Salt: Skirt Chaser & Lost Dutchman Race Reports

Woot! My first races of 2013; BRING IT ON! First up, Skirt Chaser at Tempe Town Lake. The race is a 5K run where the women start at 2pm and the guys follow 3 minutes later to try and catch the ladies. I signed up on race day because I dropped the ball and missed online registration. The line wasn't too bad, a little crowded, but it was moving quickly. The goodie bag was a nice perk for only a $35 registration fee. The goods came in a reusable drawstring bag and included a fun Skirt Chaser pint glass, a new PowerBar Performance Energy Blend, and a couple race brochures/coupons.

Loving the glass, so cute!

It was an unusually warm February afternoon. I would say it was hovering around 80 degrees. I wasn't overly thrilled about this because I am not a warm weather racer. My body runs hot, so I definitely favor cooler racing temps. I hit the porta potty and headed to the start. I had planned on warming up, but I ran out of time. That was a big FAIL on my part. Note to self, sprint races require warmup. I usually wear Nike Tempo Shorts for all running races, but busted out the Nike running skirt for the occasion. My only complaint about this skirt is that there wasn't a key pocket, so I had to put my car key in my sports bra and hope it didn't fall out. Good thing there's plenty of room in there. :)

The race started pretty much on time, plus or minus a minute. The race starts out by going North on the Mill Ave bridge and then circles down underneath the bridge. We had to climb ourselves back up the hill on the other side of the bridge while heading to the turnaround on Curry Rd. This was definitely not a flat course, there were some nice hills thrown in over the 3.1 miles. I took the first mile out a bit fast and paid for that on the remaining two miles. I was thrilled to see the finish line and was definitely in the hurt box. I was 'caught' by the first six guys, but the top girls weren't; way to go ladies! I ended up 12th overall woman and 3rd in 30-34 with a 21:19. This isn't a PR for me, but I'm happy with it.

This guy helps me go fast.

The post race setup was awesome and packed with racers as well as spectators. The Chadwicks were rocking the stage and there were tons of vendor booths. I picked up some Pop Chips, water, Gatorade, and PowerBar goodies. I came away with more loot at this race than I do at some triathlons, which have a much higher price tag. The best perk was of course the free beer from Four Peaks and the wine from Barefoot. I think Red Rock Company/Lifetime Fitness did a great job with this event and it's definitely very popular with the community.


I love free goodies!

My friend Brandon and I at the finish with our Four Peaks beer!

The following morning I headed out to the 10K run at the Lost Dutchman Races. The race offered packet pickup and registration at Road Runner Sports Tempe on Friday, so I took advantage. $45 for the 10K, which I didn't think was too bad. The goodie bag wasn't anything special with mostly brochures/coupons. The Biofreeze packets were my favorite items.

The shirts were nice; it's not very often that you get a long sleeve technical t-shirt.


Sweet long sleeve.

The race is out in a rural area of the valley, but parking was really simple with a quick 1/2 mile walk to the start area. There was an easy bag drop and plenty of porta potties. The race started right on time and we were off. I tried to hold back a little at the beginning and not blow it out in the first mile like at yesterday's 5K. I really just tried to hold a steady and hard pace, which was pretty successful. I finished in 45 and change. I luckily ended up first overall; a lucky day to likely never occur again, so I happily accept.


With my friend Karleen, who won the 1/2 marathon.

The post race spread was awesome. There was such an awesome spread with yogurt and granola, bagels, bananas, oranges, mini breakfast burritos, bags of chips, and various cookies. I decided to wait around for the awards, which ended up being a bit of a mistake. It took quite awhile to get to the 10K awards. While they mentioned the overall award winners, there was no overall presentation. Instead they had an overall presentation for the top finishers from Apache Junction. I collected my age group award and hit the road; pretty anti-climatic. It's not like the swimmer girl gets to win a running race often.