I've wanted to run a sub 22 5k since 2017. It hasn't happened. I've been training for half marathons and just haven't had the right race. I've run 22:30 a few times and I think Strava gave me a 22:11 once.
This morning I decided to run a 5k.
I'm 2 weeks off a half marathon, and after my 13 recovery days I was more than ready for a workout. I thought my legs were as rested as they'd ever be, so I told my sleeping husband I was going to do some speed work and went to a race. (I didn't want to get expectations up in case I blew up.)
I thought maybe I'd get some 7:30 pace work in and I'd be happy with a time under 23 minutes. I was really worrying about blowing up. About being tired and having to walk on the course. I have done NO speed work in almost 3 weeks. I haven't done any 5k specific work since last year. And I wasn't trained at all. I thought this would be a tempo run with other people. I had no expectations for this race. Hence I told no one.
I also had Chick-Fil-A for my pre-race dinner. I had waffle fries and Chick-Fil-A sauce. (Bad day and I was eating my feelings). This really could have been a disaster.
I show up and pay my $25 for the race.
And the course is different than normal. It's finishing in a parking lot instead of the normal downhill by the beach finish.
I line up by the front. It's a small race. I figure even on a bad day I'll be close to the front. And then it's race time.
Mile 1: 7:05. I feel great. I'm flying. I'm worried I'm going too fast so I throw on the brakes.
Mile 2: 7:32. Which is super cool that I can find this pace so easily. This is what I thought I'd run. I did a check in. And my legs felt fine. My breathing was the only thing that wasn't great. I focused on it and calmed it down.
Mile 3: 7:16 pace. I told myself to speed up. I hit the halfway mark on PR pace and I was feeling good. So I sped up.
I should add here that the course was short.
I hit the first mile and my watch said .96. And then I hit the race's 3 mile mark and my watch was at 2.8 or 2.9. But I could see the finish and I was so glad.
I crossed the line and my watch said 2.99
21:50
Which I didn't expect to see that at all.
I ran another .1 at about 7:40 pace just for my Strava account.
And I think that's a PR. It's an official course. Watches measure differently. I've had so many races that measure long.
And even if it was short, I was on PR pace. I averaged 7:18 pace when I think 7:20 pace is my PR.
And I'm elated. I finished second place woman. And don't know where that came from. I thought a minute slower would have been great.
So when people talk about race with no expectations—I've never believed them. But maybe now I do? There was no pressure on this race and I flew. I felt great. My legs are fine. Maybe it was a tad hard the last .6 or so.
It was the race I needed. Yesterday I was thinking of quitting running. It's just such a huge time commitment. I miss free time. But this made me so happy. Hard work is paying off. I'm actually getting fast. So happy with this.
So thank you for this race. And for doing something on a whim and it working out!!
Also this race photo is so bad is's hilarious. I was really happy the race was over. And I don't remember feeling THAT bad but that's what the end of a race feels like.
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| Photo credit: Classic Race Services |
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