Last weekend, Jon and I finally participated in the Davis Moo-nlight Run again. You might recall that we’ve done the 5K before in 2019. I had been so thrilled at the time that I had convinced Jon to do this with me, hoping to turn him on to (shorter) races. He had enjoyed his first race willing to “do this again” (imagine my elation!), and then the pandemic hit and there were no races for quite a while. Talk about stymied ambitions.
Well, races are back. Last year, I was traveling with my family during the summer, but this year, there was not “excuse” not to pick up where we left off.
Unfortunately, we had another excessive heat warning last week and Saturday, the day of the race, was supposed to be the hottest day. The Davis Moo-nlight Run, as the name suggests, is an evening race starting shortly before sunset. Luckily, the sun is down and temperatures cool off, but the race start was already pushed back to 8:30 pm and it was still 90F/32C outside.
The race goes through a residential neighborhood in East Davis but the start and finish lines are in an industrial part of town, which means there is plenty of easy (and free) parking.
We left home a little early to get an early dinner before the race. We hadn’t been to Davis in a while (as you might recall, this is where we met) and we were excited to go back to our favorite taqueria in town. We had a nice dinner (just as good as we remembered!) and then had time left to drive around and visit some old stomping grounds and reminisce. It was great.
We got to the race area with plenty of time to get our race bibs. I also ran into my IG-running friend Steph, who I knew was going to pace the 10-miler. (Kudos to her! A little crazy in this heat, but the *good crazy*.)
The 10-miler and 10k was off at 8:00 pm, our start time for the 5k was 8:30 pm.
We didn’t really set a time, but were hoping to finish in <60 minutes again. I told Jon I was going to keep an eye on my Garmin and give some updates along the way. We had a little bit of a slow start with so many walkers at the start line. But it was awesome to see a diverse group of participants. There were people of all ages, moms with strollers, some younger kids and some older people, even some people pushing wheelchairs and a guy on crutches. Can you imagine? (I thought he might have signed up and got injured but decided to still do the race, but I found out later that there was a “disability division” and that he had registered on the day of the race. That’s hardcore!)
Jon got into a good rhythm when we hit the 1st mile marker and I encouraged him to pick up the pace. He was able to do so and we started passing groups of people. It was like walking intervals – speeding up to pass, then slowing back down to a steady pace.
I am glad I brought some water along, because it was still pretty warm outside. Jon sweats easily anyway, so he was definitely building up heat. I was a little thrown off at the 2nd mile marker, as my Garmin was about 0.2 miles short. I didn’t know if the course wasn’t measured correctly or if GPS math was just off by a bit. I encouraged Jon to pick up the pace again.
We finally crossed the finish line right around the 1-hour mark. Strangely, my Garmin never caught up and measured the whole course a little short (it’s been usually pretty accurate at races) – or we must have really hit the tangents right (haha, unlikely) – but hey, at least we pulled off negative splits!
Also I wanted to show off the awesome race medal that we received upon completion.
It was a hot and sweaty 5k this year, but we did it. I am so proud of Jon for giving this another go.
Anne
July 20, 2023 at 6:55 amI confess, I haven’t read this.
BUT. I use Feedly. I got a dump of your posts this morning.
But this one seems to have maybe possibly come through when you posted it??? Here’s hoping it happens again??? (and I promise I’ll come back and actually read it!)
San
July 23, 2023 at 7:01 pmThanks for the feedback, Anne! I noticed that my last post popped up in Feedly and I am cautiously optimistic!!
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie
July 20, 2023 at 7:21 amWhat Anne said about Feedly! Congrats on an amazing couples’ race!
San
July 23, 2023 at 7:01 pmOMG, I hope Feedly keeps it up!
Engie
July 20, 2023 at 8:10 amWhat a fun race! They usually start so early in the day that I am put off. (LOL. Not a morning gal over here.) Did you find it hard to run right after dinner? I think that would be a challenge for me, beyond the 90 degree weather! Great job!
San
July 23, 2023 at 7:02 pmI used to be an evening runner, so it didn’t bother me too much… and we “only” walked after dinner, so it didn’t feel impossible (otherwise I probably would have had something smaller).
Elisabeth
July 20, 2023 at 8:35 amThis is so cool and I love that medal. I also love the idea of an evening race. There is something so magical about summer evenings. My best run ever happened about 9 pm one summer night and I STILL dream about the runner’s high I got that evening.
Gold stars to both of you <3
San
July 23, 2023 at 7:03 pmThank you, Elisabeth. It was definitely fun to do this as a couple! Evening races can be really fun… I haven’t run evening races to PR, but just to have a good time.
coco
July 20, 2023 at 5:38 pmI totally get the happiness from running with the spouse. My husband ran with 3 races with me, all 5km, it made me so happy. Unfortunately his knee and ankle are no longer suitable for running so now I join him for golf or gym sessions from time to time. I love sweating with him.
Moon night race sounds fun! I’ve never done one. It must be nice to see the sunset during the race.
San
July 23, 2023 at 7:03 pmAh, that’s too bad that your husband can’t run anymore… but hey, at least you have another activity that you enjoy together. That’s amazing!
Tanja Jordan
July 21, 2023 at 2:29 amSo freaking proud of Jon and you for not backing out due to the heat! Wish I could have joined you guys!
San
July 23, 2023 at 7:04 pmThanks friend! I know you’d have been totally up for it!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
July 22, 2023 at 10:07 amWow that is amazing. And then in the heat. I would have died.
San
July 23, 2023 at 7:04 pmThanks Tobia. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds, but yeah, sweaty ;)
Kim
July 28, 2023 at 8:06 amCongratulations! And what a cool medal.
Going to dinner and hanging out then doing the race sounds like a fun night! (Followed by a cool shower LOL)
Lisa of Lisa’s Yarns
July 30, 2023 at 5:37 amThis is a fun tradition for you guys! I am glad you had fun together! That is odd about the course measuring short. Courses always measure long for me, probably because I don’t run the tangents!
Anne
August 9, 2023 at 12:28 pmOK, fun but DEFINITELY sweaty. Wow. You two are hard-core (and you ate at a taqueria beforehand? wow again… ;>). I’m so glad Jon was up for this and maybe – maybe? – he’ll consider doing it again in the future. What fun to do something that brings you joy with your life partner. :)
San
August 12, 2023 at 4:18 pmThank you. We had a great night (and are lucky because Mexican food does sit well with both of us usually LOL)