Gazelle in Training: Shamrock 'N Roll 5k/10k

So, this was my first race as self-titled "Peachtree Rex". It. Was. A. Blast.

GPS of run

If you aren't following Peachtree Rex already, WHY NOT?

Having no concept of how fast I'd be, I had the idea of 30 mins as a good target. I got up to a 12 min pace with no issues on the treadmill (of course, that lasted less than a minute). It just seemed like a nice, round number.

I'm going to depart from my normal format and just have a point/counterpoint for T-Rex running:

Pro

You're a friggin' T-Rex

Con

After the 1 mile mark, I had a lot of difficulty seeing out of the viewing window

Pro

Tons of people wanted to take pictures with me

Con

I got incredibly hot and had to step out of the costume briefly to cool off

Pro

Starting at the very back of the "runners" wave and hearing the surprised reactions of people as you pass them

Con

For the first time in years, I fell while running

Pro

When I fell, I caught myself pretty well because I had to run with my hands holding the front of the costume so I could (kind of) see

Con

While running, I had my forehead pressed against the front of the costume to keep the viewing area steady, which ended up rubbing it raw.

Reflections

Running a race in a T-Rex costume is awesome, but not without its challenges. I spent most of the race trying to follow any runner in front of me that I could find. I would not recommend this costume on a sparsely populated race or one open to traffic where you would have to respond to police directions particularly quickly.

I would also recommended a headband or sweatband of sorts. Both as a sweatband as well as for protecting your head against the inside of the costume.

Heat-wise, I was OK as long as I was either not running or in the shade. It was only about 45 out, so I doubt I will take this out in much warmer conditions, or significantly dial back the pace. I'm also not sure I could handle distances over 5k.

The costume did fine, overall. One pre-race concern was how the tail would hold up being dragged on the ground for 3 miles. At the end, there was a small hole. I'll probably put a layer of duct tape on it before the next race. Seeing out of the costume was bad, but probably not worse than what I expected. I tripped once (probably on a pothole, not 100% sure), but was uninjured.

I had a great time taking pictures with people, entertaining (and sometimes scaring) kids, and frightening every single dog there. I even had the Atlanta Hawks guy come over and have me shoot some baskets at their tent for a while (I think it took me 15 shoots before I actually made one).