On Saturday I ran the Rotary 5k. I ran it in 2015 after spending a night at the Air Force Ball. Needless to say, I was out late and wasn’t “prepared” to run the race last year. Last year, I ran a 20:12 which I was happy with. This year my only goal was to beat that time.
When I arrived at the race on Saturday, it was windy and somewhat cold. I warmed up, and my legs didn’t feel good or bad. They felt sore from the RnR Philadelphia Half Marathon but other than that I felt fine.
The race started, and I immediately found myself as fourth overall and 1st woman. I stayed there the entire race, and there was no one 20 seconds in front or behind me. It makes for a very boring race recap, but that is how some races go. Heck, I don’t even have any race photos.
The first mile was both windy and hilly. There are a few minor hills, and we were running into the headwind. They closed down the road, but we were running close to several cars. My legs felt decent. I was surprised to run the first mile in 6:16 which wasn’t as fast the Flying Fish 5k two weeks ago.
During the second mile, we went into a neighborhood. The course is out and back, and I nearly got lost in the middle mile. Luckily, a police officer directed me in the correct direction. At the turnaround, I saw I was still fourth overall, and the three males in front were quite far ahead battling it out. We turned the corner, and I began seeing other racers behind going in the opposite direction. There were a lot of high schoolers, and it was motivating to see them out running (considering I couldn’t even run a mile in high school?). I hit the second mile in 6:27.
During the third mile, I just focused on finishing. There were a lot of hills and turns. The course was well marked and even though I had no sight of any other racers, I was confident I was going in the right direction. (To be honest, I couldn’t remember the course at all).
Finally, we wrapped around the high school and headed towards the finish line. I crossed the third mile in 6:27 and the finish line in 19:40.
Thoughts:
I was happy with my results. My time was 30 seconds faster than last year on the same course. (Although this year I had not been out late the night before ;). I don’t have any complaints. Some race recaps are more boring than others, but that is what happens when you run the race so frequently.
Questions for you:
Have you ever raced alone?
Do you run the same races each year?
Nice work! I’ve found myself racing in “no woman’s land” a few times. It’s interesting because it can be tougher to stay focused since you aren’t “racing” anyone, but it also makes it easier to execute your plan since you don’t have to respond to moves others make. When that happens, I tell myself it’s just like a workout, and I just need to execute the plan as precisely as possible.
Wow-you are super speedy!! I tend to run the same races each year but my goal for 2017 is to try a few new (to me) races and break out of my comfort zone.
Great job, Hollie! Your times are speedy. Thanks for a glimpse of what it’s like at the front of a race. 🙂 I am a back-of-the-packer and happy there, although my motivation to run isn’t competitive – it’s to keep up with my kids. I will tell you this, the back of the pack is where the party is! Two years ago in the Rock ‘n’ Roll half in Phoenix, I was struggling to keep up my pace (it was hot), when from behind me I heard, “Make way for the 3 Train!” The 3 hour pacer was coming with a large group of people and I darted to the side lest I be trampled. They caught up to me and took a walk break, so I joined in and we chatted and joked the whole rest of the way. You are right about running the same races. It has caused some burnout for me so I have now included trail running to mix things up and really enjoy it. Have you noticed that more races are making medals that are part of a puzzle or part of a series to keep you coming back? Clever… Have a great week and cool runnings to you!
Congrats on the win and a great race. I’m writing a recap of my Saturday race and it’s going to be a lot like yours… boring race because there weren’t people around me. I hate being in no mans land in a race where you can’t see runners ahead of you and have to rely on signs, although mine had a lot of signs and was well marked. I think it’s tougher to run a good time when you’re alone vs. having someone else nearby.
I do run several 5k and 10ks each year. I’ve even run Boston 7 times.
I’ve gone to plenty of races alone. It’s a different experience since you don’t have to worry about anyone else.
I decided to focus on local 5ks after driving 80 miles RT to run a 5k by my self.
Definitely more fun to run with friends!
Great race! Also, you spent most of the summer injured which I assume you didn’t last summer, so to be able to run it faster says that you are stronger overall.
Good work! I’ve raced alone a few times and thankfully always been overwhelmed by the general love that comes from the running community on race day. Having said that, it’s so so great to go along with runner friends, if not just to have the nervous chats beforehand and the debrief afterwards!