Chestnut Hill Reservoir 5K

The beauty in my own "back yard".

HUZZAH! My second 5K is complete!! For several hours there I thought it wasn't going to happen, as a crowned tooth giving me FITS over the night before (I'll be seeing my dentist on Friday to see what's going on. Thankfully, I'm in MUCH less pain now.) I guess that sleep deprivation actually works for me.

This 5K was a COMPLETE different vibe from my first 5K: the Spectacle Island 5K. For Spectacle, I had to take the Green line to the Blue line, to a ferry to an island. For Chestnut Hill Reservoir, all I had to do is walk the 2-ish block that I normally walk. Chestnut Hill Reservoir is where I normally run.

Pre Race

This 5K was a lot less structured and much more lax of a race. There were no announcements and we all just kinda herded together towards the start. According to my race, the GPS ended up being 3.4 miles instead of 3.1...oh well.

I love running at the reservoir. The gravel is soft (yet it ALWAYS gets in my socks), there's fun wild life to watch, the people are always friendly, there's water nearby (given it's a...you know...reservoir), and it is quite literally in my back yard.

Holy geewillekers did I sweat! It wasn't all that HOT, but it was super sunny and I was DRENCHED afterwards. (As drenched as one can get in New England.) Thankfully, I remembered to wear sunscreen this time and escaped free from a Spectacle-esque sunburn.

Post Race

If I look super happy, it's because I am...and here's why: Spectacle Island 5K time - 50:06, Chestnut Hill Reservoir 5K time 44:57!!! That's 5 whole flippin' minutes. I didn't do anything "special" to improve my time, I just ran more. I still run like a turtle, but I'm a consistently improving turtle. Plus, if I take that much time off every 5k that I run, I would be a VERY happy camper. However, something tells more it's going to take a bit more than just "running more." A plan to be made later....

After the race was over...what I WANTED was brunch like booze...but since it was 9am, and we weren't in the city center, there would be none of that. Instead, we "settled"for breakfast at Eagles Deli. (On the way home, we picked up mimosa making supplies from the local liquor store and 7-11 and had the bottle of champagne polished off by noon. Hey! I head earned it!)

Pancakes with Nutella and fresh strawberries. YUM!

Since I have been overtly interested in running play lists and how they affect your performance, here was mine for this particular 5K:

1) It's Time - Imagine Dragons
2) Bulls on Parade - Rage Against the Machine
3) Come Around - M.I.A.
4) Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
5) A Little Party Never Killed Nobody - Fergie
6) The New Workout Plan - Kanye West
7) Radioactive - Imagine Dragons
8) Can't Hold Us - Macklemore
9) Land of 1,000 Dances - Wilson Pickett
10) Titanium - David Guetta
11) Sandstorm - Darude
12) Infinity Guitars - Sleigh Bells
13) Thunderstruck - AC/DC

So what's next? It's the Blacklight Run on October 26th at Osgood Landing out in Andover. I think Mr. & Mrs. H-Bomb will be joining along with a very special guest. STAY TUNED!