I stumbled upon the Hot Fudge Sundae Run 5k in Bakersfield on my quest to race as much as possible this summer (ideally would be every weekend). Bakersfield is about 90 minutes from my house, so I was excited it wasn’t a race 2 hours away. Although, I haven’t had the best experience racing in Bakersfield. I’ve had a couple of weird personal exper,iences as well as getting lost at the last race I did there. My only goal was to run hard and have fun.
Before the Hot Fudge Sundae Run 5k:
We left the house around 5:30 for the race to start at 8 am. Typically in the desert, when I’m done running b,y 7:15, it’s already above 90 degrees. While Bakersfield is *slightly* cooler, it’s still hot. When we arrived at Bakersfield, it was already 80 degrees. I sweated through my top and decided to race in a sports bra. I rarely run in a sports bra (in fact, I’ve done it maybe five times…for no reason; I just usually don’t). I did about a 3-mile warmup and got to the Hot Fudge Sundae Run 5k start around 7:55. We met up with a couple of our friends from the base and hung out, and by the time we knew it, we were off.
Hot Fudge Sundae Run 5k Race:
The Hot Fudge Sundae Run 5k started promptly a,t 8 am, and I always appreciate races that start on time. As normal in local 5ks, several small children sprinted in front. Typically in 5ks, it’s not worth it to me to elbow young kids for 1-2 seconds on the front line. Several fast dudes went by them, and I found myself next to another woman. We were going at the same pace, and I knew if it came down to a kick, I wouldn’t be coming in first. I already don’t have a good kick, nor have I done anything (speed work) that would help me. We ran the first mile together at 6:45. I was slightly disappointed because I had been feeling good the entire week before.I thought maybe this was when I would run a 20-minute 5k. (Despite not taking any y own advice of running for the weather that day).
We did a 180 and turned to go the opposite way. There wasn’t any shade, and by 1.2, my body was overheated. I wondered how I was going to finish or hold onto that pace. The woman and I continued for a bit, but then around 1.6, I found myself pulling away. We were both fading, but I was fading a little less. We ran a giant loop, and I went to grab water to pour on myself, but it was hot. I wish I hadn’t, and I felt disgusting between my sweat and the hot water. I hit the second mile in 6:55 and told myself to keep holding on.
We headed back towards the Hot Fudge Sundae Run 5k start, and I passed a couple of men. It seemed like most people were fading, which gave me confidence since I was also doing that. I wasn’t running any faster; in fact, I was fading too, but I was fading less than many people around me. I guess I have the desert to blame for being stronger in extreme heat. I started counting down and trying to catch a few more men. I crossed mile 3 of the Hot Fudge Sundae Run 5k in 7:02 and sprinted as hard as possible towards the end. That ended up being about 6:23 pace.
I crossed the Hot Fudge Sundae Run 5k in 20:39 and was 1st woman overall. I then headed directly to the ice and cold towels, stuffed some ice in my sports bra, and took a couple of towels. I appreciate the Hot Fudge Sundae Run 5k was prepared for the heat and weather that day. I’ve finished similar weather 5ks, and all they have is hot water, so having ice and cool towels was nice.
Hot Fudge Sundae Run 5k Thoughts:
I can’t say I’m ecstatic about the time, but I wasn’t exactly ready to run in 85-degree weather either. I was hoping on a good day to be faster than the week before. It was a hard day in brutal weather, so I’m happy with my effort. Last week I ran a 5k in 20:52 in great conditions, and I ran the Carlsbad 5000 in 21:51 in pretty decent conditions. I haven’t done any speed work lately. I do plan too soon, but the last few weeks have been chaotic, so I’ve chosen to do less stressful and easy runs.
You can see all races recaps here and Strava here.
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Questions for you:
What is the hottest race you’ve done?
Are you training for anything?
Hottest Race was a 5K on a South Carolina beach in July (ugh – I don’t like running on sand, and it was so freakin’ hot) BUT they had ice cold watermelon as one of the items to have after the race, which was amazing! I like the thought of the ice cold towels. We did that at a 5K my gym used to organize and people loved them!
Running on sand and in the heat sounds rough! I like the cold towels too, I think it was so smart!