Monday, October 10, 2011

October 5k Race Report

October is the time of 5k races in my town.  Seems like there are quite a few every weekend.  There are only a few that I look forward to every fall (when I am not injured like the last two years...)  This past Saturday was the Scarecrow 5k, which is one of my favorites because of its flat course and I signed up early this year.  In fact I signed up before the wedding AND I signed up under my married name ;)





Although Brian had not been running or training, he begged me to sign him up too and so I did.  He came along as we met up with all my running group friends and did a easy warm up on the crisp morning.  We have been having a streak of clear sunny days and I have been loving it and Saturday was no exception!  Soon after the warm up the race started and we were off.  The best part about home town races is that you get to start up close and there is no weaving or dodging slower runners. 

I enjoyed the first mile when the pace actually felt good.  There was a slight downhill and I coasted through the first mile.  I was ahead of my planned pace (planned = 6:40, actual = 6:32) and was feeling good so I thought that I would be able to at least hold this pace or negative split the race but how naive I was.

At the 1.5 mile mark we hit a dead turn around which really slowed down my momentum.  That was my least favorite part of the course.  All through the second mile I was feeling the honeymoon - I could tell that I had lost a bit of speed due to all my relaxing in the past few weeks.  My second mile was definitely not a negative split.

Going into the third mile I tried to speed up.  But it didn't work and with most 5ks my legs were starting to hurt.  I hoped I could hold onto the end and soon enough the finish line was in sight.  I knew I had a PR but I really didn't care at that point because I just wanted to finish and stop running.


Mile 1 - 6:32
Mile 2 - 6:37
Mile 3 - 6:46
Last 0.1 - 6:08 pace
Finish time: 20:40 (6:40 pace)


Once again someone managed to catch my death face at the end of a race - really need to work on that.

Walking through the finishers shoot I did not feel good.  I pulled over to the side and dry heaved.  This is the first time since my college track days when I have almost been sick and just like always it was not fun.  Thankfully the feeling passed quickly as I downed water. 

I am happy with this race and my new PR by 18 seconds! Finally breaking 21 minutes in the 5k has been a goal I had pursued for years and often thought it might not be attainable. 


Brian finished a few minutes after me (25:02) and he actually PR'd too (by +30 seconds)!  I was really proud of him and he was pretty happy with the race too! He thinks he ran so well because of his new shoes which also happen to be his favorite color!  I am not so sure about that - I think it is because he ran with one of my running group buddies and had a good pacer so he didn't go out too fast.


Another 5k race in the books - and even though it hurts really bad, this race distance is still one of my favorites! 

14 comments:

Christy @ My Dirt Road Anthem: A Runner's Blog said...

Great job on a PR and a smoking fast time! I nearly always get the dry heaves at the end of a 5k! They are tough races

Johann said...

Well done on the PR's both of you! That is a fast time. I love this: "All through the second mile I was feeling the honeymoon..." Now you can aim for sub 20:00. You can definitely do it if you train for it.

Lisa said...

Congrats on the PRs!! Looks like a beautiful course along the water, but you were going so fast not sure if you'd even see it! ;)

Marlene said...

Smoking fast!!! The death face says it all, but it just shows you were working. Nobody should look good finishing a 5k. ;) Congrats!!!

And I HATE sharp turn-arounds in short races.... they had one in both 5Ks I raced this year. Killer!!

Tricia said...

awesome job, congrats!

Laura said...

Holy awesome! Congrats!

Allison said...

Congrats on the new PR! I'd say the death face is necessary if you're going to be working that hard.

Rena said...

Congrats on the PR. It seems like a fun race to run. And as for your death face, you should see my end of a half marathon face. :P

Christine said...

Congratulations!!! This is an amazing time!!!

Fruit Fly said...

That's pretty cool that you got a new PR even while feeling the effects of your Honeymoon. Congrats!

Kim said...

Aww, congrats on both of your PRs! Sub 21! That is awesome! I hope to break 23 next year.

Brian's shoe logic cracks me up. Sounds like something I would say.

I hate turnaround points too! It totally messes with your momentum!

Suzy said...

Congrats on the PRs. It sounds like a great race except for the turn around.

Chelsea said...

Awesome job! Congrats to both of you!

Page said...

5ks never feel good, but once you're done, you're so glad you did it. Congrats on the strong race.