Screenland 5k Recap (20:51)

I was excited for the Screenland 5K in Culver City, California. It takes place on the day of the Oscars, and you are supposed to dress up as movie characters. Naturally, I decided on Maverick from Top Gun. Slightly cringe, since I work with pilots. I thought about running in a real flight suit but didn’t want to risk chafing, especially the week before the Los Angeles Marathon.

My only goal for the Screenland 5K was to run as hard as possible in the bodycon Amazon Maverick flight suit. It was not breathable at all, and it was the least offensive flight suit option (if you know Halloween costumes…you know, LOL).

Before the Screenland 5K:

We left our house around 2 PM. We needed to get to the Screenland 5K expo by 4 PM, but as traffic brewed, we realized we likely wouldn’t make it because we had to also park and then walk. So, we ended up skipping the expo and just grabbing dinner, then going to bed relatively early. Plus, it was Daylight Savings Time, so we lost an hour of sleep.

The morning of the Screenland 5K, I woke up with some hamstring tightness. It wasn’t crazy, but it was enough that I was somewhat cautious. As I moved around a bit, it loosened up. We got to the Screenland 5K around 8 AM for the 9:20 start, picked up our bibs, warmed up just under 4 miles. I went to the car to put on my flight suit. It was way too hot to jog the warm-ups and cooldowns in the flight suit. After I put it on, I was like, “Wow, it is hot.” But I was committed.

The Screenland 5K was supposed to start at 9:20, but they were talking, and by the time it actually started, it was 9:30. There were several fairly rude runners yelling, “Let’s go already.” Of course, I wanted to start too, but it’s a people’s 5K, not some intense championship. I was super turned off.

Screenland 5K:

Once we were off at the Screenland 5K, I felt decent. I looked down at my watch, which said I was running a 6:15 pace. Okay, that’s definitely not what I wanted, and I dialed it back a bit to around 6:40. My big goal was to run under a 7-minute pace wearing the spandex. The first mile I ran in 6:38, and I was shocked.

By mile 2 of the Screenland 5K, I was so hot. I felt like I was breathing through a tube, and that my body was roasting. Part of it is getting COVID only a month ago, but the other part was obviously the outfit. I kept telling myself, “Keep going, let’s try and keep the miles under 7 minutes.” I actually reminded myself I had run 2 miles at a 6:50 pace only a few days before, so I knew I could do it. I hit mile 2 of the Screenland 5K in 6:52.

The last mile of the Screenland 5K was so hot. I cannot undersell that. I just kept focusing on the end. There was a quick out and back, and I found myself running side by side with another male. When I saw we had a quarter of a mile to go, I just sprinted as hard as I could. Several men went with me (the audacity of a woman wearing a costume beating them), and I crossed just under 21 minutes.

My final time was 20:51, and 6th woman (1st costume).

Screenland 5K Thoughts:

I am pleased with that. I definitely still felt some remnants of COVID, but all in all, felt decent. Last year, the week before the Los Angeles Marathon, I ran a 5K at a 6:57 pace. This year, I ran a 6:48 in a spandex and unbreathable outfit. So, I’m happy with the results. Would I run the Screenland 5K again? I think so. It’s a bit chaotic, and you have to accept some disorganization as well as a delayed start time, but it’s a lot of fun to run the closed streets of Culver City.

You can see Strava here and all recaps here.

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Questions for you:

What is your favorite movie?

Do you watch the Oscars?