Sunday morning was the
Food Truck 5K in San Jose put on by
Represent Running. I ran it as part of a Double Challenge, running the
Silicon Valley Half Marathon earlier that day and capping off the morning with the
Food Truck 5K.
 |
| 1 Day, 2 Races, 3 Medals, 16.2 Miles. |
If you haven't read
my recap for the #SVHalf yet, go and give it a read because this is technically Part II of that morning.
Now that we are all caught up and on the same page, we can proceed ;)
Like I mentioned in
my recap for the #SVHalf, the majority of us had brought a change of gear for the second race (we assumed we would be sweaty and stinky, not to mention, it gave us another reason to be #RunMatchy ;)). Some of the pieces were the same as my outfit for the Half, but I changed my tank and skirt to help me feel a little fresher.
 |
Obviously I took this photo before I left for San Jose because I knew I wouldn't have time once I got into town. Slightly edited from the
#SVHalf #FlatCarlee: Mint PRO Compression socks, Tiffany Blue Sparkle Athletic skirt, Brooks Run Happy trucker, white Handful
sports bra, tank from TJ Maxx, elite Road ID, aqua and white QALO silicone wedding bands, mint Knockaround sunnies,
mint and gray Momentum Jewelry wraps, COROS APEX Multisport Watch, and Brooks Ghost 11. |
After crossing the finish line of the
#SVHalf, we jumped in line to retrieve our stuff from gear check so that we could change before the start of the
#FoodTruck5K.
As I referenced in the #SVHalf recap, the gear check situation definitely could have been handled better. Well, once we were through the line and had our stuff, we had to figure out what to do with it while we were running the 5K. You see, although the race offers the double race challenge {this wasn't just something we cooked up ourselves like some of the double race weekend challenges we've done in the past}, they did not offer gear check during the 5K. Had the race not suggested the back-to-back races, I might have accepted that a 5K wouldn't offer gear check, but since it was their idea from the jump you'd think they would have an option for those runners to store their stuff (even if not everyone changed their clothes, were they expecting folks to run the 5K with the medal they received at the first race?). Thankfully two of the wives were there (with strollers) and graciously held our bags for us.
Anywho, during the "intermission" between the finish of the half and the start of the 5K we were able to relax a bit in the family reunion area. We changed our clothes (there weren't changing tents or anything, but thankfully most runners are comfortable enough to change swap their top layers without too much issue), eat our post-race snacks and let our legs rest a bit. I was even able to snap a quick picture with
Meb since no one was at the
Gen UCAN booth when I went by.
 |
He is such an awesome guy! PS He was part of #TeamHilton too! (We saw him coming out of the
elevator when we were getting in it after the races!) |
We were having a #WeRunSocial meet-up at 11:30am (the 5K started at 12pm), so a little before that some of us went and got in line for the WE RUN SAN JOSE backdrop so we could use it in our group photo. We had a decent turn out, even if the logistics (standing in line) weren't ideal (truth be told, I don't think we realized there would be such a long line at the sign so we figured we'd hang out near it and snap a shot whenever we wanted but that didn't end up being reality).
 |
You may not have noticed it, but Andrew (the guy on the far right) has a FORK in his sock! The funny thing is, he doesn't remember
putting it there or know why it's there... I told him he had to be ready at a moment's notice for the FOOD TRUCK 5K ;) |
Once we got to the front of the line and snapped a couple pictures it was time to head to the start of the race. (The start was the finish of the
#SVHalf, which meant we had already ran the course earlier, but I guess we'd know what to expect ;))
 |
| Since we took a similar photo before the #SVHalf we had to snap another one before the #FoodTruck5K |
 |
| Once again, a HUGE THANKS to Richard for letting us all grab some of the photos he snapped on his GoPro! |
Although it was brisk when we started the half at 8am, the temps by noon were warm (as can be expected at midday).
 |
| At least the humidity from the morning was gone... |
Again, there was no real game plan for the 5K. In my head I was thinking we'd probably be around 30-40 minutes depending on how many photo shoots we stopped to have ;) Real Talk - I think we ran the half marathon too fast... not because it was outside of a comfortable pace or anything, but because we had too much time between the two races. By the time we started the 5K our muscles were "cold", tight and ready to be properly refuel, not run another 3.1 miles. I realize they need to have the second race start late enough so all of the athletes from the first race have enough time to finish, but with the pace we ran the half in I found the break between the two races longer than I would have preferred.
As I mentioned, we already ran the course for the 5K a couple hours earlier (it was about Mile 6.75 - 8.25 and Mile 11.5 - 13.1 of the half marathon course). If you remember from
the #SVHalf recap, there weren't a ton of character stops on the course, but I was able to grab a second selfie with the muffler man and a running selfie while we were enjoying the shade.
Originally I think we were planning on running the race as a larger group, but apparently #TeamHilton (Richard, Lisa and myself) broke away from the pack and kept charging ahead. Maybe our legs still had a little extra pep in our step (let's be real, that was definitely not the reason) or maybe we were just ready to be done running and needed to rush back to our hotel room so the three of us could each shower before our 2pm check-out time ;)
 |
| Sort of LOVE this shot of #TeamHilton! |
I'll be honest, 5Ks are normally not my jam. Unless I am racing them (which is almost never) I usually only run them if they are part of a challenge or because friends have talked me into it. With that in mind, I don't think there was anything too special about this race. Like I mentioned, we had already run the roads in the earlier race so it wasn't like we were seeing anything new or experiencing anything different. There were a few more people out (probably because they were heading to lunch), but other than a handful of extra spectators I would say it was déjà vu. Also, seeing as this was called the
#FoodTruck5K, I would've expected there to be more food trucks in the family reunion area (I think there were 3) and that we might have gotten a ticket for a post-race treat from them (but maybe I'm just spoiled from
the Lexus LaceUp races that had the food truck food as a perk). Even still, the race was fine - there were two water stops, the roads were wide enough to not feel overly crowded, the out-and-back course allowed you to cheer on your friends and fellow athletes, etc.
 |
| #RealTalk - Photos from the backside aren't as flattering as one would hope... |
Richard, Lisa and I ended up finishing the race in front of most of the crew in about 32 minutes. We took a couple walk breaks when the heat (and potential dehydration) started getting to us, but otherwise we were motoring along at a decent pace for having already completed 13.1 miles a few hours earlier.
 |
| You'd think with a name like "Food Truck 5K" you'd get some food after the race... |
 |
| WE DID IT! |
We waited for friends to finish so we could cheer them in and snap a couple quick photos before we had to say good-bye.
 |
| The medal in the middle (the "Run2.0") is for doing both of the races in a single day. |
 |
| Not sure why the color is blown out in these pictures, but free is free ;) |
PS I've just gotta take a quick second and brag about my Daddy-O for a minute. While I was running these races in San Jose, he was
ROCKIN' a 5K in Detroit. He's a run streaker (running at least a mile a day for
YEARS even though he doesn't consider himself a runner...) and has recently started bumping up his single mile to
THREE so he could do the "
I Ran The D 5K". Not only did he
ROCK it (when we were texting me he told me that he could have gone faster but was waiting for a friend) but he even beat my 5K time for the day! Oh yeah, and although normally people say kids take after their parents, I think he may be taking after me in the character stop department ;) He's a
ROCKSTAR!
 |
| WAY TO GO DADDY-O! |
As I mentioned in my #SVHalf recap, we are already talking about 2020 (potentially getting an AirBnB house for a big group of us and making a longer weekend out of the trip), so I would say there is a 80% chance I will be back next year, but, real talk, I would only run
the 5K if other folks were doing it - I could honestly take it or leave it. The medal was nice, the participant shirt was cute, the free race photos are always amazing (even if there was only one or two photographers on the course), but other than that it isn't something I would "need" to do again if friends weren't running it.
After we booked it back to our hotel so we could all get in showers before checking out, we refueled at the hotel bar with some lunch and then I did a little walking around San Jose to keep the legs moving. I found some fun murals and then walked around San Jose State for a few minutes. Eventually it was time to head to the airport and fly home.
This was the first time I had been to San Jose (to run or to visit), but I definitely enjoyed it and can see coming back soon!
 |
| It's been real, San Jose, a real fun 36 hours! See you when I see you! |
Is there a race (either distance or specific race) you only run if friends talk you into it?
