Accidental 5k PR: Outrun Parkinson's 5K

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.

Photo credit: Classic Race Services

Workouts this week: Aug. 13-19

Monday: Easy miles
Took to the trails and slowed it way down to 10 minute miles. When I don't look at my watch, I feel strong. And then I look at my watch and see how slow I'm going. Oh well. Not everything is a race.

Tuesday: Off
After last week's bad speed workout, I wanted to see if the problem was running on tired legs. So I'm taking the day before speed work off.

Wednesday speedwork

Mile, 4x400, 4x200, + mile cool down

This week felt so much better than last week. It wasn't a struggle. That said, my mile wasn't my speediest. Ran it too easy (Still working on pacing. That's what practice is for). Happy with my 400s and 200s are just fun. Wish I could have my 200 speed for longer. 6:51, 1:32, 1:30, 1:30, 1:28, 40, 40, 40, 39

PM: Doctor
I went to my asthma doctor to get a new prescription for my exercise induced asthma. I have asthma, have always had it. It reached it's worst in high school on the track. And I know the doctor would prescribe me Qvar, which I haven't been taking because I've been fine until the last few weeks. I got a new prescription for Qvar, which I'm supposed to take morning and night daily. We'll see if that helps.

Thursday: 6 miles
Another slow, easy trail run.

Friday: Off

Saturday: 5k fail
I ran a 5k for my speedwork. I hadn't planned on it being a goal race, but it went worse than I anticipated. I figured I could run under 23 without too much effort.

Mile 1: 7:29. I spent the first half mile trying to get my music to turn on. I had it preset before the race, But when I hit play, it wouldn't play. I wasted time here.
Mile 2: 7:36. I guess I slowed down.
Mile 3: I wanted to walk. I wanted to barf. I felt awful. 8:13
I slowed way down and finished in 23:23 for third place woman. It's about a minute slower than I thought I'd do. But everyone was struggling with the humidity. I have no mental toughness.

I felt fine a minute or two after the race.

Tuna salad from the Last Resort. 

Sunday: 13 miler
I'm almost used to the hills on the Rogue route.

My watch stopped.

Miles this week: 34

Race Recap: Vets Day 5k in Destin

I really wanted a redo on my Halloween 5k. I thought I had a better race in me. Two people suggested I run the Free to Breathe 5k at Sandy Creek. And I really considered. But I had plans to visit my sister in Florida that weekend.

WHICH RACE TO DO
I eyed two races in Destin. I didn’t sign up in advance in case something happened and I didn’t go on the trip or didn’t want to race.

One race was closer to their house, but it seemed like a bit of a party. (I think finishers got three beers). The other race was at the American Legion and benefited veterans. Since it was Veterans Day and seemed like a more serious race, I opted for that one.

1. This bib is awesome
2. I was representing Athens in my patriotic tank

(My race prep was driving on Thursday and not being able to run and being busy with vacation stuff and not running on Friday, and not eating any donuts or fried food.)

The race started at 8 a.m. I left their house at 7 a.m. (and brought my brother). I got there at 7:15 and parked next door. I registered. The price went up to $35 (boo) and they were out of shirts. (oh well). I pinned my bib and did a warmup. Maybe 300 people in this race? (Also the bib had a flag on it. Super cool).

We all gathered in the parking lot, only most people guessed wrong for where to start, so we all had to shift. And the race started.

THE RACE
The race was an out and back, with one turn repeated. So very straight and very flat. The temperature was 60, so perfect for racing. (A little cool during the warm up, but I was warm after running half a mile).

It took me a second to get on 7:15 pace for the race. I tried to hang with a tough looking older guy. I passed him. I kept with my pace and my first mile 7:10, which was perfect.

In mile 2, I passed A LOT OF PEOPLE. I passed a lot of women and girls who were breathing really hard. (Which always makes me more conscious of my breathing. I try for it to be controlled, where I’m working hard but not dying.) Also it was WINDY. (Windy and 60 is preferable to windy and 46.) That second mile was the worst of the wind.

We hit the turn around. I saw one woman WAAAAAAAY ahead of me. There was no catching her. But by the halfway point, I’d passed all the other women and didn’t see another woman ahead of me (coming the opposite way on the out and back.) I really didn’t want a woman to pass me.

I should add that they closed one lane of this road, so there were cars driving down the middle of the road, since they wanted us running with traffic (not in the same lane).

Mile 2: 7:09. Right on pace I was happy with that.
And then mile 3 starts. And I’m counting down how much I still have to run. It hurts. Oddly, it was my arms that were bothering me. They were sore and heavy. (This has never happened to me before). And then it was my lungs (it was hard to breathe). But I told myself I could do this and I ran and ran, and counted my steps down.

1 mile left to go. .8 miles left to go. .5 miles left to go. And so on.

My watch got to 3 miles. And I didn’t see the finish. I didn’t have much left. A guy came up behind me, but didn’t pass me. The kid who I’d run with in mile 2 but passed, passed me. He was like 12, so I was fine with that and didn’t have the speed to catch him.

Finally I did see the finish. And I didn’t have as much of a sprint as I normally do. The clock timer said 22:25 when I crossed. Which is a few seconds faster than my last race. I thought I’d run a better race than that, but that’s 8 seconds faster so I was happy with it.

POST RACE
My brother was actually at the finish. They’d put him to work. All the finishers got dog tags instead of medals, which I thought was pretty cool. He was handing them out.

He had my water at the finish. Yay. I was spent. And I had nothing left at the end, so I went hard and even? But I didn’t know what my last mile was. I hadn’t looked. I heard my Garmin beep but didn’t recall the time. And it took a few minutes for my Garmin and phone to synch so I could see my splits.

7:10
7:09
7:15. I lost 5 seconds on the last mile. That’s not bad!

And the race ended up being 3.15 miles.
My Garmin said 22:11 for 3.1, which I’ll take. And makes more sense given my splits and because I did speed up some at the very end. After 3, I averaged 6:10 to 7 flat pace.

My brother said they didn’t have the timer set correctly when the race started. He said it like 90 seconds before it started and they guessed what the time was. !!! What!?!

“Was I second woman?” was the second thing I asked after asking for my water. He said I was, and I was probably in the top 20 (16th after the results posted). (First place woman ran in the 18s, and apparently wins every race in the area.)

I ran a cool down mile (mid 8s) and still had energy and my legs. And worried that maybe I didn’t go hard enough since an 8:26 mile was easy for my post-race recovery.

#merica. Running a Veterans Day race in a patriotic shirt
and posing in front of a tank. 

MEDALS, ETC
Post race they had weird food. I didn’t even know there was food until I saw someone with a plate and went inside. There was a roasted red pepper soup, pickles, cookies, cuban sandwiches and Jimmy Johns.

I wanted a banana and a granola bar. My stomach was UPSET. I couldn’t eat soup. I tried the Jimmy Johns, but think it was ham not turkey. I finally found a granola bar an hour later.

I figured I would get a medal, so I’d hang around for the medal ceremony. That took forever. I think they started the ceremony at 10 a.m. Two hours after the race started.

Also this was my first Florida race, so I wasn’t sure how it would be different.

• They took the bottom of my bib at the finish (like they did in high school)
• There was no leaderboard with notecards so I could see place anywhere
• The had some different categories. They had awards for walkers, and I think they had the overall awards, masters (40+), grand masters (50+) and senior grand masters(60+), which I feel is one more category than I’m used to. These winners got cool mugs. (I was sad I didn’t get a mug. They were glass beer mugs with an American flag on them)

I got a medal for winning my age group (nothing for second overall). And slipped out shortly after that.

PARTING THOUGHTS
Ultimately, I am HAPPY with the race.

21:11 or 22:25, whatever. It’s a faster race. A PR.

It was an even race. Mile three was hard, but 25 seconds faster than two weeks ago. I wasn’t dying like I was then. I think I need to train longer so mile 3 isn’t as hard.

I think that might be my last 5k of the year unless we get some really warm weather. I might focus on 10ks, if I have the time. I want to get my 10k time down.

A sub 22 5k will be the goal for 2018.

Race Recap: Jack O Lantern Jog

I ran the Jack O Lantern jog at Sandy Creek Nature Center. The course is certified. It's flat and I've heard great things about it.

My goal in this race was to run a 22:30. But secretly I was hoping for low 22s, which I think I'm capable of.

I was really excited about this race. The weather was supposed to be great. Then my fast friend said he'd pace me. PERFECT.

Then the weather forecast changed and got really cold. I don't do cold. My asthmatic lungs don't work when it's cold. And I was dreading this.

Had I not had a friend pacing me, there's a good chance I would have just not shown up.

But I did. I took all my inhalers and dressed as warmly as I could (wool socks, crops, warmest long sleeve with a tank over it [I thought I would get too hot in this top. I didn't], and a sweat band.) I warmed up with track pants and a vest. I could have kept the vest on. I never really warmed up.

How the race went:

I started my watch at the start. It didn't start. So I had to start it again after I'd run a few seconds. Ugh.

Mid stride checking my watch. 

Mile 1: Felt good. 7:08
Mile 2: 7:12. Still going strong.
And then I completely bonked in mile 3. I was wheezing. I could hear this high pitched gasp at the end of my breaths. And I couldn't. My watch was showing 7:40 pace. I tried to change my breathing—nose breaths, deeper breaths. That didn't help.

It wasn't my legs or my energy. I just couldn't breathe. I was dying. I yelled to my pacer as much and he slowed down.

I kept telling myself I could finish one more mile, and then a half mile and then I was just looking for the finish line. I did sprint to it.

I thought my time was 22:31. That's what I saw when I crossed the line. But officially it was 22:33.

Which was my goal time.

And I should be happy to be chipping away at that PR 5k time. 11 seconds since September is awesome.

But I'm so disappointed running a 7:40 third mile. Those aren't good splits. I should have been at least 20 seconds faster.

I finished second place woman and 10th overall for a small race.

Me and my awesome pacer Mike. THANK YOU. 

I ran my cool down and my breathing normalized since I wasn't racing.

And I want to be positive. I did the very best I could. I ran in the coldest weather I've ever run in (46 degrees with 22 mph winds). My lungs wouldn't have done that a year ago. And my lungs gave me a good two miles in the cold. I just need to work on my endurance. (Good news: legs are fine.)

But overall I'm just disappointed in myself. The course was great. I'd run a race out there again. But I think my next race will have to be when it's warmer. I've marked noon and afternoon races—and might do a day-of sign-up if there's good weather. Hopefully I can find a race in the high 50s or 60s.

**The owner of the running store told me good job. And that actually does make me feel better of the race. I will try to be positive. (I DID THE BEST RACE I COULD.)

First 5k: Primal Rush Trail 5K at Crow's Lake

Start line. I'm in the tank next to the guy in neon. 

I'd like to call this my first 5k.

I haven't run since 2001 when I did a 5k my senior year of high school after cross country season before track season. That is the last 5k I ran. So I have run 5ks, but not as adult.

So today was my first-ish 5k.

I picked it because it was a trail 5k (I don't run on roads) and it's about time I run a 5k. I run. Everyone asks if I run races. But I don't. So I decided to run one. (I guess I just don't see the point of paying to run when you can run for free.) It was near our town. And it was a fundraiser for the organization my husband did his eagle scout project. Also only $20 with T-shirt, so cheap for a 5k.  My husband and I both signed up.

I googled what to do before a race probably 20 times this week. I ate really clean all week. I had my clothes laid out by Wednesday. On Thursday I ran a mile at race pace but generally took the day off (I was tired). On Friday I didn't eat the donuts in the break room, went to yoga after work and packed my bag for the race.

I've been able to run 3.1 miles since February of 2015, so it was probably time to do the race.

I got up good and early the morning of.
• I was ready to go at 7:15 a.m. and Matt was still in the bed.
• We left at 7:33. Matt grumbled that the garage door took 6x to try and close.
• He didn't like the Starbucks drink I got him so we had to stop at a gas station.
• Matt thinks the race starts at 9:30 a.m. It starts at 9 a.m. and we're supposed to be there at 8 a.m. Matt rants about the traffic backup there will likely be.
• At 7:50 a.m. Matt realizes he forgot his watch at home.
• At 8:15 we get there. No traffic backup, traffic is fine. They have our registrations. We walk around stretch. (My size small shirt is way too big!)
• At 8:45 a.m. we line up at the starting line. My heart is racing I try to calm down. (There's a cross country coach who tells her competing team that it's really 3.3 miles. This is an excellent bit of information.)
• 9 a.m. race starts.

I start at the front of the pack. I know there are a ton of slow runners and I'd rather not work my way up through. I start out at 7:30 mile pace. I'm the only woman out front. There's a hill. It slows me down. It's huge and muddy. And there aren't downhills to match the uphills. It's uphills both ways. It's .5 miles in and THIS IS A TOUGH COURSE. It's not flat in the least.

Also, the course is marked—but nowhere does it say .5 miles, 1 mile, 1.5 mile etc. That would have been helpful.

My first mile is 7:56—and perfect considering I was shooting for 8 minute miles. It felt much slower with all of the hills (including a big steep one).

Mile 2. Already I'm dying. I'm slightly dizzy and wondering about not finishing the race. I want to puke. A few high school girls have passed me. No one my age though.

Mile 3. More uphills. I roll my ankle in the trail. I halfway roll it anyway. My ankle goes one way, my body goes 45 degrees to the right. It's a very Gumby like move. My ankles are super strong though, so I'm fine. (I'm wondering if I really roll it, if I can stop running!) I actually start to walk at this point. I see Matt behind me and I really want him to catch me so we can run together. I need the support. He doesn't. I walk again. It's so hot and humid. 83 degrees, humidity probably 93%. This is the worst run I've had in months. (Part of it is mental. I am tougher than this.) I put my watch on distance mode to see how much I have left. It cycles and cycles and can never figure it out so I'm running clueless. There's no one in front of me. I think I took a wrong turn and am running some different part of the course. I see a water stand and figure I'm in the right place.

Finally, my watch chimes that I've travelled 3 miles (which means I've traveled more than 3. It underestimates me by about  10% consistently). The end is no where is sight. I see a building, but it's a false hope. It's still not the end. I run. My legs are lead. When can I walk? I finally see the end. The clock is almost at 30:00.

This is officially the slowest 5k I've run in my life. I try desperately to beat 30, but don't have enough left in my legs. (I shouldn't have walked or waited for Matt). I finish in 30.06.

I shut off my watch without looking at it. I don't want to know.

Then, immediately go to the bathroom. I have to pee.

Matt finishes a minute after me. I grab water and a banana. And generally walk around like I'm lost. I fill in my race card.

They start handing out award for earlier races a 20k and a 10k. I go to congratulate a friend of Matt's family who I work with. She did the 10k.  (The 10k started at 8 a.m. and that would have been a better time to run.)

I start to think that I won my age group (despite running the worst race ever). Only the high school girls passed me and that's something! Matt tells me they placed my race card with the men (because I'm a beast. I definitely put it in the women's bin). And for a while I think that I won my age group only because there was no one else. There was—40 places behind me.

We wait around in our sweaty clothes. We watch the leader board carefully.

So I win my age group. And that was my goal for the day.

I get my medal. Matt also wins his age group and gets a medal.

I finished 20th overall. I'm 5th for the women. 4 cross country team members in front of me. In fact, if that cross country team hadn't have run I would have finished 8th overall with only men in front of me. (The cross country runners should have their own division! I did finish in front of more than half of their girls).

We take pictures with our medals. And go to Matt's parents for brunch. I AM STARVING.

And it's Matt's first running medal :) Which is cute. So he's happy we picked a relatively uncompetitive 5k. (The Chilly Dawg that he ran last January had like 500 runners with plenty of women running 18-20 minute 5ks. He said that course was FLAT compared to this beast.)

And when I finally get brave enough to check my splits—And notice that my watch says 3.53 miles for my run.

Splits:
Mile 1: 7:56
Mile: 2: 8:23 (Which is actually decent pace)
Mile 3: Too slow. But under 10.
Mile 4: Not accurate since I stood around at the finish line deliriously

I know the coach had said the race was 3.3 but they apparently added some switch backs to the course this time (Matt noticed a sign changed) and added some length. Everyone Matt talked to said their GPS read 3.5. Even our friend that ran the 10k said the course was not 6.2.

I actually ran my 3 miles in 25:56 according to my apple watch (Which underestimates my speed. It says I run slower than I actually do. I can't get it to calibrate correctly.)  So maybe 30 minutes isn't bad for a hilly 3.5? I guess it's not bad for a first race.

And I'm okay with my time.

Until....

Then that evening I get the race email. And it tells me my SLOW AS HECK RACE PACE and links to the timing and race results. Which I'm honestly embarrassed by. But it wasn't a 5k. It was 3.5 miles or 5.5k. So I din't actually run that slow. I wish I could correct it. I delete the email so no one thinks I'm slow.

Review of Crow's Lake 5K course
If anyone is thinking of running the 5k course at Crow's lake—it is difficult. There's a big hill in the first mile. And lot of little hills in it. Expect to run a good minute slower per mile than your road pace. This course is about 3x harder than the Intramural fields at UGA and almost on par with the White Trail at the State Botanical Garden. The course is hard for a cross country course and has lots of places to roll your ankle. NOT a fast course. You will not PR on this course. Part of it is in shade, but not enough to be a cooling factor like some trails.

I'm not sure I'd run this one again. We'll see. I'd say it was well organized. And I would have liked more cheering!