I was excited to run the Firecracker 5K after a series of 5Ks that were like .01 short or lost GPS signal. LOL, looking back, that’s funny because I didn’t know anything about the race course. Despite being in 19:30 shape, I wanted a sub-20-minute 5K that was actually recorded, and when a 5K is 3.10 or loses GPS signal, I haven’t had that. Silly? Yes, but whatever.
I knew I was feeling great going into the Firecracker 5K. It had been a long week, and my body just felt tired. I felt that cumulative fatigue mostly from work, but life too. My brother and dad were in town, and we headed to Anaheim the day before. We picked up packets, had a low-key evening, and then I tried to go to bed early but kind of tossed and turned. I hadn’t run the Firecracker 5K (and 10K) before, but they sent enough emails that I was concerned it would be huge and hard to park. It turns out it was about 1,000 people, but we had plenty of places to park. What they didn’t have were enough bathrooms…I think there were maybe 10?
Firecracker 5K Race:
The Firecracker 5K and 10K both started together at 7. I seeded myself towards the front because with holiday races, it can be a bit chaotic, and the Firecracker 5K was no exception. We were off. People were whizzing by me, and I felt so slow. You could have told me we were going 7:00 pace, and I would have believed you. I didn’t really put two and two together that the race was in Anaheim Hills (not Anaheim) until we arrived and yes, it was hilly. I hit the first mile in 6:13 and felt like I was working hard but not crazy.
The second mile had the turnaround for the 5K, and the 10K kept going. As we turned around and I saw how crowded the street was with not much space for the 5Kers coming back, I knew it would probably be an issue. Around mile 2, a dude who was texting on his phone was running right at me. I said “eyes up” three or four times, but he wasn’t paying attention, and we collided. Could I have gotten out of his way? Maybe. There wasn’t a lot of room, and he was on the wrong side of the course, so likely I would have collided with someone. It put me into a kind of salty mood. I ran the second mile in 6:22.
I did not feel good the third mile (a good ole fly and die, and I took it out too fast for how I was feeling as well as the hills). I just kept telling myself: only a few minutes to go and counting it down. I ran a 6:29 third mile, which wasn’t as “bad” as I thought.
We headed up and finished the final stretch of the Firecracker 5K around the track, and I ran a 5:54 last .1. I crossed the Firecracker 5K finish line in 19:47 and as 3rd woman.
Firecracker 5K Thoughts:
I’m sad I didn’t feel amazing, but happy I still finished a sub-20 in “those conditions.” Since 2020, I haven’t run a ton of sub-20-minute 5Ks, and it’s not “super easy” for me anymore, so it’s always a treat to do that…especially when I didn’t feel great. I’ve been working on what a sub 6 minute pace would feel like so I’m happy to do that in the last .1 of the race.
You can see Strava here and all race recaps here.
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Questions for you:
Did you run a July 4th race?