Menifee Memorial Day 5K (20:37)

I decided to run the Menifee Memorial Day 5K because I haven’t spent time in the Menifee-Mereno Valley area. Getting out of Edwards on weekends is always fun to me, and while I usually go to the same few areas of Los Angeles, I thought it might be fun to check out a new area. So I did. I spent most of the Memorial Day weekend being lazy and cleaning my house. After a busy week, that’s all I wanted. Then on Sunday afternoon, I left for Moreno Valley and Menifee.

My 5K goal was to run under 21 minutes. I haven’t run a hard 5k in quite some time. (Almost a year?). During my post-flu time last year, I ran close to a 23-minute 5k in Charlottesville. This time, I had no idea what to expect, but I was hoping to run under 21 minutes at least, to be back under 20 by the end of the summer.

Before the Menifee Memorial Day 5K:

The day before the Menifee Memorial Day 5K was uneventful. My “other” goal this summer is to run a lot more 5ks. It can “feel silly” to drive into Los Angeles for a 5k. I mean, it’s usually 250 miles round trip. But I don’t think of it that way. I think of it more as exploring a new area and getting to run somewhere new, then derping around the town or city after. I got a tasty tri-tip sandwich and Nothing Bundt cakes for dinner and fell asleep early. After running so many half marathons lately, I have struggled to figure out “what to eat” before a 5k. You definitely don’t need to carb load as much.

Funny enough, I slept much more than anticipated until 5:30 am. (After falling asleep around 7:30, I expected to wake up around 4-4:30!). It threw off my entire morning because usually, I eat around 3 hours before a 5k and warm up for about 30 minutes. That didn’t happen. I ate 80 minutes before the race and got about 14 minutes of warming up. I questioned whether I should have eaten my full breakfast before because I didn’t want to barf it up. Luckily, I actually felt fine the entire time.

Menifee Memorial Day 5K:

The Menifee Memorial Day 5K started an air horn, and we were off. It was a 1.5-loop course. We did the bigger 2-mile loop once and then the 1-mile loop. When we started running, I found myself as fourth-place woman. The pace felt hard. We went around two sharp turns on the sidewalk and headed back on the running path. A few kids went by me. I crossed mile one of the Menifee Memorial Day 5K in 6:25. Honestly, I was shocked. I haven’t run a mile that fast in quite some time. A few weeks ago, I ran a mile on the track and struggled to run a 6:48.

The next mile was straight, and we had a slight headwind. I passed two women and became the second woman, where I stayed for the rest of the race. I crossed the second mile of the Menifee Memorial Day 5K at 6:35. Again, I was surprised.

The last mile of the Menifee Memorial Day 5K went into some headwind, and it felt like I was running 7 minutes. I knew if the course was a perfect distance, I couldn’t run much slower than that to be under 21. I passed a couple of people and just put my head down. It felt hard, as 5ks do, but not the worst pain in the world. I crossed mile 3 of the Menifee Memorial Day 5K in 6:43 and powered on the dirt path to the end.

I finished the Menifee Memorial Day 5K in 20:37 and was 2nd woman overall.

Menifee Memorial Day 5K Thoughts:

I am honestly surprised I ran as fast as I did. It was a flat course, with the only challenging part being hairpin turns onto the sidewalk.

It felt like nothing went right that morning, and I didn’t think I was *that* fit. I look forward to building on that and running a few faster 5ks this summer. In another surprise, I won $200, which is always fun. I can’t remember the last time I placed at a race with a cash prize…probably in 2018 or 2019. If you are looking for a flat, low key 5k, this is a good option.