On Saturday I ran the Delaware Kids Fund 5k. I haven’t run in Delaware since January.
I knew this race was not going to be strong for two reasons:
- I’ve added a second speed workout (the track) to my training. My body can feel it and it’s tired.
- The race was in a hilly area. It wasn’t flat at all.
I got to the race around 7:30. I easily signed up and then warmed up. I didn’t know anyone at the race. I warmed up a couple of miles sola and explored the hills in the area.
After the race started, I immediately found myself as third women where I stayed the entire time. The first mile made a sharp turn and went up a large hill. I thought that was the extent of the hill climbing but I was wrong.
We continued to climb a hill. I ran the first mile in 6:27. I knew my body was in for a pain train type of race. The adrenaline kept me moving quickly despite the terrain being difficult.
The second mile went into a park. There were a few short hills but nothing like the first mile. I ran with a pack of several men. I almost missed the halfway because it was a small cone but luckily the men in front knew what they were doing.
I hit the second mile in 6:41.
Since the course was out and back, I knew the third mile was going to be hard. It did not disappoint. We ran up the hills from the beginning of the race. I like out and back courses because I am able to see what is coming. There are no surprises! I ran the last mile in 7:01. During the last mile, I felt as if I was climbing hills like in cross country. They were steep.
I crossed the finish in 21:33 and 3rd female overall. My garmin logged a 3.25 but I have no idea if I didn’t run the tangents well. It was a personal worst for me, however, I’m in the meat of training. I’m currently doing 2 speed workouts a week. I race every weekend and I know that some races will be more of a workout then a PR. I’m okay with that. With the course and my current training state, I am happy with my race results.
Don’t get me wrong, logging my slowest race in years stinks but I know that is a reality with racing every weekend. They all cannot be PRs!
Questions for you:
Do you prefer out and back or loop race courses?
What was the last race you ran that put you back in your place?
That sounds like a great time on a tough course. You can’t really compare one 5K to another. The same 5K from year to year is an okay comparison but with the varying terrain, I would NOT say it’s a personal worst so don’t be too hard on yourself 🙂
I like out and backs too – the second you turn around you’re more than halfway done!
I think it’s great how in tune you are with how your body is feeling. And like you said, not every race can be a PR (but why not!?!?!) haha.
Dang. I wish a 21 min 5k was my personal worst! hahaha. I like point to point, because it’s always new. Out and backs are good too though, bc yeah you know what youre getting yourself into, i just dont like when its a tight turn around, like around a cone or something. feels so awkward!
If you’re running on tired legs, you’re getting stronger! You made it through the 5k which means your building!!! Onward!
My most recent tri was a wake-up call of sorts. I learned I can’t totally hammer the bike and expect to run a strong 10-K after. But that’s OK. We learn a lot from racing. And it’s also important to keep things in perspective when racing too.
I prefer point to point courses. And you can’t compare a hilly 5k course time with a flat 5k course time. For the record, your time is freaking fast in my opinion!! The last race to put me in my place was a 10k in July but was my 10k PR but I still got smoked by 4 other women getting second in my age group. I surely pouted lol it’s good for the ego 😉
Even if it was far off what you can normally do, your attitude is awesome. I need to re read this post before my half marathon next weekend because it’s not going to be about speed and I will have done speed workouts and long runs that week- it’s about training and running hard on tired legs. You ROCK! And you still took 3rd overall with your personal worst. That’s just badass.
I think there are lots of positives to be taken from this. Think of it as hill repeats with a race thrown in to pad it out.. Maybe if you weren’t in the middle of training you would have smashed it, but you can only race on top form so many times before the body starts to get a bit tired..