Monthly Archives: September 2011

This weekend held my absolute favorite road race, the 2011 Dogfish Dash 5K/10K!  I ran it last year as my first 10K and returned to take on the 10K distance again.  The race is held in the town of Milton where the brewery is located and the proceeds benefit the Delaware chapter of the Nature Conservancy.  The race this year was increased to 1750 runners and it is now the biggest 5K/10K combo race in Delaware!

Scott and I loaded up the car yesterday and once we crossed state lines into Delaware, I cracked open a “road beer” (this is legal in DE for passengers).  Don’t worry, I was discreet!  Festina Peche in a Phillies koozie.

We got down to Rehoboth a little after 6pm and I checked in and got my race stuff.  Scott went over and bought a wrist band for the after party as non-racers can pay $10 to enjoy the brews.  I ducked into the brewpub to see how long the wait was and as expected it was at least 2.5 hours (the wait was much less earlier in the day).  No biggie, though, and we went next door to Finbar’s and got a seat at a bar table after about five to six minutes.  While waiting for a table to clear, we ordered an Evolution Jaques Au Lantern.  It has a major kick of spices without really any sweetness, we liked this change of pace from the usual pumpkin beers.  It was delicious!

I played it safe with dinner and ordered a chicken sandwich with red peppers and brie and paired that with a simple side salad with ranch dressing.  Happy to report the meal was a success for my tummy and I had NO heartburn this time around!

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Sunday we got up around 6:30am and partook in the free breakfast at the hotel.  I got a mini western omelet and a bagel with PB.

It really hit the spot.  I also had a small glass of apple juice, took a lemon sublime Gu, and had a small cup of coffee (caffeine really helps offset muscle fatigue and soreness for me).  We got to the race about 15 min before gun time and found parking with ease.

The weather was cloudy, a little warm, and the only precipitation we got was a little mist that went away quickly.  I found my spot behind the starting line and waited for the announcements.  Sam Calagione was there this year and spoke to the runners before doing the countdown and blowing the whistle to start!  I’m not going to lie, I’d probably get a little star struck if I met him. 

At 8:00 am we were off and running through the town!  Miles 1-2 felt pretty good, but I could tell it was majorly humid and making it hard to get good breathing down.  I made sure to grab water at the first stop.  Energy felt pretty good.  At mile 3 I took a brief walk at the water station nearby to catch my breath.  Humidity was killing me!  Mile 4 was more pushing.  I forgot the small but still tough inclines Milton had, but my Garmin showed I was still making great time!  Mile 5 came and I was so happy we were nearly done.  I could almost taste the Punkin Ale waiting for me.  I walked one or two more times before the end then came in for the home stretch to the finish!

Smile!  You’re almost there! 

Phew!  I remember at one point during the race thinking, “You JUST ran a half, this should not feel hard!”  But, no matter how much energy you have, if you’re not getting good amount of oxygen in your system you’re going to feel it.  Instead of pre-packaged bottled water they handed us a cool reusable one already filled.  My official chip time was 55:32!  A new PR!  That’s twice in one week!  I felt pretty awesome although majorly out of breath!

Not too bad on the splits.  You can see how the humidity really started to affect my times.  But, still majorly happy with it!  Once I cooled down we got in line to grab our first beer and of course went with the fan favorite Punkin Ale.

Cheers to beer!  Ignore my post-race tomato face. 

As you can see in the background, there were major amounts of people at the after party.  They had a tent area with the sponsors and a live band, (Reedo and the Front Porch Offering) so we checked that out.

Prizes for the winners.  Sadly, I knew I wasn’t placing in the 20-29 age group.  Maybe one day I’ll place in one of the races I do.  After checking out the tent, we got back in line for another beer and never ended up getting one.  The setup looked pretty much the same size as last year, but they majorly increased the runners (which meant guest increase).  After about 20 min of the huge line going nowhere, we decided to hit the store instead.  I picked up a cute tee and got Scott a fitted cap.  We also took pics of the coolest treehouse ever.

We were a little bummed about not getting another beer.  The lines were just too much.  Luckily, DFH is a company full of great people who appreciate their fans to the nth degree.  I received this reply on Twitter.

I just cannot say enough good things about this brewery and the people who work there.  I’m so happy our 10 year reunion is being held at the brewpub a couple months from now. 

We got home just in time to watch the Eagles make a total collapse.  Ugh.  We’re going to forget about that now.  Here’s the stuff I got from the race (like that distraction?).  We got a sweet crewneck tee.

The 19 oz reusable water bottle (that folds!).

A couple magazines.  One I may have to purchase a subscription.  Pretty sure you can guess which one.

We also got a couple writing utensils and a really awesome poster of the Chicory Stout artwork.  I’ll be getting that framed soon!  I’m so glad I was able to come back to this race and cannot wait for the next one.  Yes, the beer lines weren’t great, but the organizers have shown they are going to look into that for next year.  You can be sure I’ll be running it, lines or not!  Many, many thanks to the AMAZING people of Dogfish Head for planning such a great race!