Oh my GAWD. I am still exhausted from my weekend. How is that possible? I even took a [much needed] nap on Monday afternoon while my daughter napped. I blame the intense racing and then the entire day of walking around and being busy with the Browns game. I never had a chance to recover. I legit feel just as exhausted from a 5K as I did from the marathon. I guess I must have put forth some solid effort, eh?
Run Santa Run Race Recap
The Run Santa Run 5K was great. One of my virtual clients came up for the race. I’ve been working with her for months, and have known her for about 2 years prior to even working together, so it was really fabulous to meet her in person. She and her husband came over for dinner on Saturday evening (spaghetti and salad, of course!), and we chatted and had a really great time.
Sunday morning arrived. I woke up at 6:45. The race didn’t start until 9:30 but it’s a good half hour from where I live, so I wanted to make sure I had a cushion of “getting ready” time. I was up in the air about my race day attire since it’s been so unseasonably warm. I had three outfits ready to choose from. I opted for my original plan, which was a long sleeve INKnBURN tech shirt and shorts, though in hindsight I should have gone with the singlet. It was 60˚ at the start. Far too warm for a long sleeve but it’s such an amazing shirt and I really wanted to wear it for a holiday run this year.
My family decided to come to the race with me (okay, I may have convinced them to join). We loaded up the car and headed to the race. We arrived around 8:45, which was plenty of time to meet up with my runners (I had two running this race!), stand in the line for the bathroom (flushing toilets, FTW!), and get in position at the starting line.
There were a ton of people there. I assume it was because the weather was so nice but I also think they did a really great job advertising the race this year. There were just over 1,000 runners which was much more than I had anticipated being there! We headed over to the starting line and were definitely at the mid to back of the pack. We were nowhere near the front.
I had spoken with my coach prior to my race. The goal was a PR, which meant 25:52 or less. I’m not entirely sure that’s accurate, though. I think the course I PRed on was short. So who knows what time I was really aiming to beat. More likely 25:59. We discussed pacing. The goal was 8:35, 8:30, and then pound pavement for the last mile and tenth.
Unfortunately I neglected to start my GPS with enough time to find satellites and we were on the move before I knew it. As soon as I found satellites I started my watch but I was off by about a quarter of a mile. Between the GPS fail and the dodging of both people and cars, I knew my first mile was going to be much more about effort and much less about pace. I turned my watch to reflect pace instead of distance so I wasn’t flying completely blind, but it would have been helpful to know actual distance and pace from the start.
Mile 1
The first mile was tough. Between all the dodging and the completely flat terrain, I was struggling. But I kept an eye on my pace and I was averaging an 8:20 or so. About halfway through the first mile, I yanked up my sleeve so I could keep my arms free to check my pace on my watch.
Mile 2
Mile 2 was a touch better but only because there was a brief downhill. I now had two arms rolled up as high as they would go. At one point I looked at my watch and saw 7:50, which I knew was either due to the downhill or because I was just flat out running too fast. At that pace there’s no way I had another mile left in me. I reeled it in. By the end of the second mile, I had tucked the front of my shirt into my sports bra.
Mile 3
Mile 3 was when I knew it was go time. One of my all time favorite racing songs came on and I tore off. At one point I realized I was pushing puke pace and still had at least a half of a mile left, so I had to slow down a bit.
Once we turned the last corner onto the last stretch of road, and I had the finish line in my sights, I gave myself a mental nod to go all out. I didn’t want to be dry heaving at the finish line but I did want that PR. Since I really had no idea if I was going to snag it or not, I went for it. And I ran hard. For the last 400 m or so, I was running as hard as I could (which wasn’t really all that hard given my effort of the previous 3 miles). I was running with eyes closed, just trying to get to the finish line. Alas, I made it across and made a quick bee-line to the side gates to dry heave.
 |
| Feel the buuuuuuurn! |
 |
| Annnnnnd… hold it in!! |
But my, oh my! I was not the only one! I saw several runners getting sick immediately after crossing the finish line. Once I was done trying to hold myself together (which I did, thankyouverymuch), I apologized to the guy who was volunteering at the finish line. Little did I know how many people had barfed before I had gotten there. I bumped into my friend Bryan and his wife who informed me they watched a whole bunch of people tossing cookies at the finish line, and I later discovered it via video of the finishers. The poor guy came to the rescue to so many people who got sick! It was a massacre!! This was one of the more competitive 5Ks I’ve run in a really long time. Especially competitive for a “fun run!”
Post-race I met up with my runners, who also had pretty great races! One was aiming for 28 minutes but had a rough week prior to the race so she didn’t quite hit her goal. The other one also had a tough week of training, so her goal was to run the entire distance. They both did a great job!
Overall I had an amazing race, and a solid performance. Next time it’s 60˚ at the start, I’ll be sporting a singlet. I was quite toasty throughout the race. Not so uncomfortable that it was unbearable, but it would have been an easier ride had I had less fabric to deal with. I did manage a PR, which is amazing. I’ve now officially PRed three times this season. Normally I can pull off one or two PRs, but by mere seconds only. These PRs were all rather huge. This last one was my smallest margin but pretty impressive given the short distance of the 5K. I’ll be back in 2016 for sure. Maybe I’ll get a sub-25 next! #wishfulthinking
xo
TALK TO ME!
What was the last really competitive race you ran?
Did you run a holiday race this year?
This post is linked up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs for Tuesdays on the Run.
