Lighthouse Run 5K

This past weekend, my friends and I had the opportunity to participate in a semi-local 5K to benefit a historic lighthouse on the Gulf of Mexico, near Sabine Pass. This race has been going strong for 5 years and although they had to make some changes this year (with the number of registered participates due to COVID and dates of the race due to two hurricanes), they made it work! 

As a joke the night before, my friends and I all decided that since we were running a race on a beach, we should wear our Castaway Cay 5K shirts!

...and so we did!

In order to get to the start line, we had a pretty lengthy and early drive on our hands. I live in Lake Charles, Louisiana which is about 35 miles or so from the coast. This race took place literally ON the Gulf of Mexico and right near the location where Hurricane Laura made landfall (and not far from where Hurricane Delta also made landfall). Driving there, I felt a nervous energy - mostly about the unknown. I'd heard this area was "flattened" by the storms and although I live in the destruction all around me every day, there's just something about seeing a new area or new community that has also experienced the same thing. It's tough.

Thankfully, this drive was pleasant and a beautiful one due to the nature of the land - mostly marsh and swamp like areas!

Once we arrived, we picked up our packets, then began a seashell hunt on the beach! 

It was truly a beautiful morning! The sounds of the waves were so relaxing and the sunrise was beautiful!

Spending time with my friends was fun, too!

Back at the start line, the race director announced that they would have awards for the top overall 3 male and female winners. In my mind I thought, "uhoh"...because in a small race like this one, you start to count the amount of runners ahead of you and yeah, well, it can play games with your mind.

After we began running, my mind went straight to that - counting the amount of ladies ahead of me. There were only three ahead of me, making me the number 4 lady. Well, there's no award for number 4, so I knew if I had it in me, I would do everything in my power to pick it up towards the end. 

While running, I kept a relatively good pace behind the runner in front of me, but I knew that my slacking on running in the past couple of months since the storms were going to do me in....and I was right. At one point, there was a core group of about five of us ladies running for a while when one of the backed off, leaving me in 4th once again. 

During mile 2 on my way to mile 3, I knew I wasn't going to be able to push any harder and I had truly given this race my all. My lungs were hurting (almost to the point of wheezing) and my heart kept threatening to jump into PSVT. Sadly, I had to let any chance of passing anyone go to the wayside. 

...and that's what happened. I crossed the finish line as the 4th overall female. Whomp whomp. 

So, I decided I could take it one of two ways - I could either allow myself to feel defeated for not training like I should have or I could decide that despite the circumstances of the past few months, I gave this race my all and I should be proud of that. Just like in life sometimes, we can be upset with ourselves or we can be proud of ourselves for giving it our all. I chose option number two, because I literally had zero regrets out there. I truly gave this race everything I had in my tank! 

I wasn't too upset about my pace, either! I could definitely feel the lack of conditioning in me this go round but that just means I'll do better next time!

A couple of things about this course affected my pace as well - we were running on sand the entire way and although the sand was mostly packed, it's still a different feel! Also, 95% of the "packed sand route" was at a slant, so we were running at an angle. 

With all of that being said, I LOVED this race. It was different, it was beautiful, the sound of the waves/ocean was incredible, and I can't wait to run this one again in the future! 

We really had a great time!! My friend's mom did this one with us as well and used the opportunity to collect shells along the way. She crossed the finish line with an armful and was literally a hit! It was too funny!

Our friend Kenzie was at the race as well (and baby Asher). She served as our photographer!

Back to the devastation in the area - I'll be honest, I was surprised (happily) to see structures some standing at all. Most of them were damaged, but still stood strong despite the insane winds blasting their way during Hurricane Laura. One thing that struck me as odd about the photo above was the random blue door, still intact on a home that has lost everything! It was sad, yes, but seeing those who were rebuilding and getting their homes back together made me smile. I'm grateful for the strength and resilience of our Southwest Louisiana communities. We've been hit hard this year, but we are coming back - even though it's a slow work in progress, it's still progress!

After the race, we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel and it totally hit the spot! It was the perfect ending to a great morning spent with my friends!

Have you ever run a race on a beach? What were your thoughts on the experience?