The Color Run Columbus

Today was the Columbus Color Run. I signed up for this one as soon as it opened because it looked like such fun!  I have not run as often as I've planned because of travel and work but I've run enough that I felt like I could run enough of this race. I've been running 2 - 2 1/2 miles per run.  I feel better than I did in May when I did the Komen Race for the Cure.

The day was fun and it was fun to hang out with friends but I wouldn't consider today's event a run event.  It was hard to actually run for more than a few minutes at a time and the focus was really more on being goofy than on running.   The start line set off in waves so runners did not go first which made traffic a bit crazy as the race continued. The streets were narrow for the size of the crowd so it was hard to run at any consistent pace.  The color stops were fun, but definitely required walking and often waiting in line for the color. Lots of "traffic jams" at the color stops.  Some people rolled around in the color so you had to be careful not to step on or trip over people.

Some things I noticed about the race:

People had a great time dressing for the event-fun socks, fun hats, fun hair clips, colorful skirts. You could tell people had fun getting ready for this event.

I was glad I had sunglasses. They were fun and the protected my eyes from the color.

The color was fun and not as hard to get off as I was worried about it. After a long shower, I only have two small spots of pink left on my hands.

I wasn't able to wear my newest running shoes as I didn't want to ruin them so I wore my last pair. I definitely noticed a difference on my heel pain with these shoes today but glad I didn't wear my new ones.

I was better able to run outside than I was in May. Today didn't seem quite as hot a it was in May or there was more shade on the course. Either way, the outsideness was less of an issue for me than it was in May.

The first few minutes of a run are killer for me. I need about 4-6 minutes to get into the run and that is hard to do in a crowd.


Some things I noticed about me--Since this was my 2nd 5K, I noticed I went into it a little different:

I woke up tired. I wasn't worried. I have learned that tired or not, I can run. It is sometimes harder to start when I am tired, but once I get going, it's fine.  Last 5K, I was so worried the whole week before--so worried that if I was tired on race day, I wouldn't be able to run.

I wasn't nervous the whole week before. I had no real expectations for this one other than going.  I knew I could run 2-3 miles at a time and I knew that  this run, however it turned out, wasn't going to change that.

I walked the first 2 miles with friends. It wasn't worth running and navigating around people so we walked. But I decided to run the last mile and did most of it except for a few stops when I couldn't get around people, for color, etc.  I wanted to at least run a little bit of it and there seemed to be more space to run at the end.

Thoughts:


If you are a new runner, I would not use a Color Run 5K as your first race if you really want to see if you can run a 5K or if you have a specific time or distance goal.  I had trouble even considering this a run event--it seemed more like a festive walk or a fun time with friends. More "Party in the Park" than 5K.  If I had gone into this with a goal of running the whole thing or of finishing in a certain time, I would have been really disappointed. It isn't set up for that so I wouldn't recommend doing it for that purpose. For me, it was a race on my calendar that kept me running. It was a fun day with friends. It was an experience that I'm glad I have.  But if you are going into it as a runner with a running goal, I might pick another race.  I am registered for Color Me Rad in Columbus in August. If I end up doing it, I'll know better what to expect  But I know not to have any big goals for that race.

It is interesting to learn the differences in these organized runs--what I like, what I don't like. I like getting experience with 5Ks--seeing how they work, how to navigate crowds, etc. I am still not sure I even like these big events. For me right now, they just give me dates to work toward. Dates that keep me running.  But I feel like I need to try a few more before I decide I don't like them.  I am looking at a few October/November races.

Definitely a fun day:-)