I found the Long Beach Classic 5k a few days before the actual race. I had planned to take a weekend off from racing but then changed my mind. I wanted to do the Long Beach Classic Half Marathon last year, but the timing didn’t work out. So anyway, I signed up and headed down the Saturday before. There was a bit of traffic but nothing unbearable.
Before the Long Beach Classic 5k:
Probably defining the race, but two days before, I ran the Pride Color Run on Edwards. It was “supposed” to be a fun run, but I ran it averaging just under 7:40 pace. That’s much faster than my easy run pace, and I felt it the day after and into the race. I knew the morning of the Long Beach Classic 5k; I didn’t feel too great. Coupled with a basset hound neighbor in the hotel howling in the middle of the night, I knew I wasn’t feeling my best self. But still, I wanted to give myself a good chance. I warmed up just under 3 miles and headed to the Long Beach Classic 5k start.
Long Beach Classic 5k Race:
I wasn’t sure how competitive the 5k would be, but it proved very competitive. I prefer that. We started, and I was 6th woman overall and ran with a pack of women all around my pace. I could tell my legs did not feel great, and I just tried to focus.
The race was flat with a tiny bridge but nothing terrible. I thought the bridge was at mile 3 of the Long Beach Classic 5k, but it was mile 3 of the half marathon. So wahoo.
I hit the first mile of the Long Beach Classic 5k in 6:33. It was a little slower than previous races, and I also felt worse. I could tell that much. Miles 2-the end of the Long Beach Classic 5k, I was running with two other women, and it pushed me to keep trying my hardest. My legs felt stiff and heavy, but I continued to push. At one point, I thought I might throw up, LOL.
Mile 2 of the Long Beach Classic 5k has a slight incline, and I went down the hill. I hit the second mile in 6:42. I was disappointed with how I felt, but I knew I *probably* had no one else to blame for running too hard a few days before. During mile 2, our mini pack separated and two of the women pushed ahead and I found myself stick with another.
The next mile, I went back and forth with one of the women. I anticipated going over another bridge, but then I realized it was just a straight line to the end. When I figured that out, I pushed as hard as I could and ran a 6:44. I passed one woman and finished in 20:40 and as 5th woman overall.
Long Beach Classic 5k Thoughts:
It’s both motivating and annoying with my time. Motivating because I knew I felt like garbage, but I still finished about 15 seconds slower than in previous races. Annoying because I wish I felt good on a very flat course. So hopefully, I will be slightly wiser before the next race.
You can see more race recaps here and Strava here.
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Questions for you:
Have you run the Long Beach Classic 5k?
What’s your favorite race distance?
The most competitive 5k I’ve run recently is the Stow Lake Stampede in San Francisco. Your 20:40 would have been good enough for 217th place overall and (it’s hard to tell because they are more focused on listing results by age group than gender) around 75th in the women’s race. The winner ran a course record 16:04. It’s a pretty difficult course too. It reminded me a lot of the Pacific Association Cross Country race series, which has fast fields. The race series that the Stow Lake Stampede is part of has its final 5k in Morgan Hill on the Fourth of July. I wonder what a sub 20, which would win many a local 5k, will place there.