On Thanksgiving, my husband I headed to the Medford Colony 5k. We haven’t raced in Medford for a while, but it was the closest 5k to us. We had to get back to cook our turkey.
After signing up, they informed us they ran out of t-shirts. Even some preregistered participants did not receive shirts. I didn’t need another t-shirt but I found it to be a bit tacky not to have anywhere close to enough t-shirts. This was one of the many hiccups we ran into.
During the warm up we got lost and ran 4 miles versus 3. After finally getting back to the start line we saw there would not be enough time to use the restroom. Since the four restroom stalls for 800 people had a line a mile long, we just skipped it. We got to the race start at 8:25 and were off by 8:30. At the start line, there were a lot of younger kids upfront that should not have been.
When the race started, I found myself weaving around the kids. Two small kids ran directly into me and actually hit my watch just right that it froze! I was quickly able to fix the problem and restarted the watch.
After resetting my watch (while still running), I began actually focusing on running hard. The messy race start didn’t cause me to stop running and only threw off my Garmin data. I was lucky the kids kind of bounced off me, and none of us fell I guess.
During the first mile, there was a lead pack, and I found myself as third female overall but I could see the first two women. I passed one shortly and found myself alone with no one. The first mile went around the lake and through the neighborhood. There was a slight hill. I ran the first mile in 5:59. I was surprised with how fast I was running because I didn’t feel that great.
During the second mile, I was running close to another woman. I passed her and once again found myself alone. My legs felt heavy, and I knew I couldn’t hold the pace I was running. During mile 2, several of the leaders got led in the wrong direction. Luckily for me they had sorted it out before I hit a turn and a man was yelling hard right. I ran the second mile in 6:04.
The last mile was a struggle. My legs felt tight and sore. If you feel good the last mile of a 5k, you aren’t doing it right. Around 2.5, the woman I was running with earlier passed me. She broke me and I knew I didn’t have the energy to catch her. We made another turn around a school which I was thankful for because I thought the course might end up being short. I ran the last mile in 6:11.
By the time I knew it I was crossing the finish line. They had a pace per mile clock at the end as well as an overall time. I finished in 18:48 and as second women overall.
Thoughts:
I was not tapered and didn’t feel great. It was motivating because my legs hurt and I was able to run a sub 19 minute 5k. I think when I taper, I would be able to PR. Will I say that every race? Who knows… My goal was to run faster than my first 5k in the Philly half marathon (18:59) and I did that so I can’t complain. Only 12 more seconds until my PR!
Questions for you:
Did you run a turkey trot?
How was your Thanksgiving?
So, I’m new into running… Just really starting 6 months ago. What does “taper” mean??! Also, great job on your run!
Thanks for stopping by Theresa! Taper means resting and gradually reducing mileage before a goal race. Since I’m racing so much, I can’t taper for every single race if that makes sense. I hope you are enjoying the Holiday season!
I went for an easy run on Turkey Day. I ran a 5K with friends last year – we talked the whole time. It was windy and freezing and so unorganized so I decided to skip that one this year. There are a few nearby but often I feel “lazy” and just want to run from my house. Congratulations on your sub 19!! That is awesome.
What a mess at the starting line! That always ruins races for me, so great job on such an amazing time. Can’t wait to see what you do when your legs are fresh and rested! Great job Hollie 🙂
Sounds like this race just wasn’t prepared for the numbers, with running out of shirts and only having a few bathrooms. Even if the shirt isn’t a big deal to you, it stinks to just not get one, or worse yet, preregister and they don’t make packets so they give out all of your size before you arrive at the race to pick up.
You ran a good race with good splits! Your first mile was faster than usual but even Mile 3 wasn’t too much slower. Way to go for running sub-19 on tired legs, too. You’ve been racing a lot lately and I bet if you tapered you could definitely PR.
I love a good Thanksgiving Day turkey trot! Congrats on an awesome time. In the midst of high mileage and no taper, it’s even more impressive!
I’ve run races before that have run out of shirts, but never for people who pre-registered. That would frustrate me because usually you pay less if you choose not to take a shirt. Congrats on a great race, especially with tired legs! Sub 19 is always impressive to me.
WOW!!!! That is awesome! I did a turkey trot too and was really happy with it for me! It was a week and a half after my marathon and I got 20:36 (my pr is 19:48). It was good for 2nd female and 1st was 18:36 so no where close to me :). I really had not been able to do anything fast yet after the marathon and my legs have felt so tired so I was actually just hoping to hold a 7 minute pace and was really pleasantly surprised to see a 6:22 as my first mile! By mile 3 I was losing it though and I am fine with that…it was really just a fun race and my whole family did it 🙂
Another great one, even with the fatigue!! I used to run a holiday 5K that had tons of kids and they all lined up at the front. The worst part? The first .25 was downhill!! It was a mess and I finally just stopped running it. Glad you were able to get your watch back online and still come in 2nd. Nicely done!!
Oh geez, I feel like I might have rolled over the kids…I can only imagine how badly that would have turned out.
That’s a lot of hiccups for a 5K. I’m glad you were able to keep your focus. I really do think race directors need to institute a rule that you have to be over a certain age to line up front. It’s GREAT that kids come out to run, but it can really be a safety hazard when they aren’t quite sure what they’re doing.
Getting closer to that PR!
That’s an amazing time!! You were definitely lucky to have the course directions figured out and not get caught up in any wrong turn. Congrats on another speedy race!!
Ugh, YOUTHS! C’mon! Glad you didn’t let that hiccup phase you though. A PR is in sight!