Jingle Bell 5k

Saturday morning before Carter's 3rd birthday party we ran the Jingle Bell 5k. My goal going into the race was to better my postpartum PR of 20:56 by running under 6:45 pace. I felt if I had a good race I could run 20:45 or even better! Friday evening we went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant as a treat for Ty who had been hankering for Mexican and who had a really busy and exhausting week at work filled with working the Saturday before, going in at 7 am every morning, and traveling on Wednesday with a 6 am flight out and a return flight that left at 9 pm for a total of 20 hours awake! The Mexican was delicious but I paid for it the next morning with trip after trip to the restroom and feeling like I could throw up. I was a bit worried about how my stomach would feel during the race. I ran my mile warm up feeling much better and snuck in one last restroom trip at the porta potties before lining up with Jeremy, dad, and Thomas.

As we took off at the race start I was feeling really strong. My last few races I didn't look at my pace during the miles, just looked at my mile splits when my watch beeped. That had been working out great. I was running paces I otherwise wouldn't have thought I was capable of. So I went with that race tactic again. I was running with Jeremy for the first mile which made me a bit nervous but I know he tends to go out slower and pick up the pace in the last 2 miles so I figured he was just taking it a bit easy the first mile. When my watch beeped and I saw I had run the first mile in 6:19 I knew it really had been too fast. I was bummed it had been that fast because it felt great. I knew 6:27 pace was a 20:00 minute 5k from when I was working to break 20 during my freshman year in college. I knew I was in great shape and was ready to bust out a faster time, but I also knew a sub-20 was not in me quite yet. I told myself to hold it together the 2nd mile.

I was shocked with how fast my first mile was that I wasn't getting passed by other runners as I slowed down. I was still maintaining my position and even passing more runners. When we hit the turn around point of the out and back course I had worked my way up to 4th female. The girl in 3rd wasn't very far ahead of me and I made it my goal to catch her. I went through mile 2 in 6:45. Although I had slowed down considerably from my first mile I was still within my original pace range which was 6:45 or under. As I started the 3rd mile I could feel it in my legs that I had run my first mile too fast. They were tired and heavy and each hill we ran up became increasingly more difficult. I caught up to and passed the girl in front of me with about half a mile to go and from then on out focused on staying ahead of her. My goal was to not let anyone pass me. I pushed hard and kept telling myself not to give up. Mile 3 was 6:41 which was only one second slower than my last mile during my previous PR so I was pleased with that. I pushed as hard as I could toward the finish line. When I first turned the corner toward the finish I could see the clock said 20:30. As I was crossing I knew I had been just under 21 minutes. With my splits I knew I should have been well under my previous postpartum best of 20:56 but my official finishing time was exactly 20:56 oddly enough. When I checked my Garmin I saw the course had been a bit long at 3.19. 

My Garmin told me I had a new 5k record of 20:26. I was pretty pumped that on a long course I still equaled my previously fastest time and that I ran the equivalent of a 20:26 5k, although I won't count it as my new PR since it wasn't an official time. I'll be gunning for a time like that at our next race, the Race Into the New Year. I was pleased with my time and how well I held it together after a too fast first mile and that I didn't give up or allow myself to be mentally defeated during the race. I am a little disappointed that the race was long so I don't have the satisfaction of having run a new PR. It feels a bit like a sham that I ran a 20:26 since it isn't an official time. But that just means I need to make it an official time in my next race! My time of 20:56 for 3.19 miles put me at an average pace of 6:34 per mile. My goal at our next race will be to run more consistent miles and hit them around 6:35 or under. I finished 3rd out of 330 total women which I felt very good about. I also came in 18th overall out of 565 total runners. That put me 1st out of 45 in my age group.

Jeremy finished the race 11th overall and 2nd in his age group with a time of 19:39. Dad was 43rd overall and 3rd in his age group coming in at 23:26. Thomas ran the race in 25:10 which placed him 62nd overall and 4th in his age group. Ty finished the race in 29:49, good for 164th place overall and 9th in his age group. Mom ran/walked the mile fun run with Carter and Elise. Carter was quite pleased because my mom dressed Bobbie in an elf costume and he got to hold her leash. The fun run started 15 minutes after the 5k. So I finished the 5k and watched dad, Thomas, and Ty finish before heading out onto the course to walk and run back to the finish with mom and Carter. It is so funny to watch Carter because he doesn't like to run on the street. Even though the roads are closed to cars, he prefers to run on the sidewalk. I've noticed the only races he's actually run on the course have been ones we did on a trail. I think being on the road makes him nervous.

Carter and Elise ready for the fun run.

 

Me running in the fun run with Carter and Bobbie.

 

 

 

Jeremy, dad, and me with our age group awards.