Get Busy Livin 5k

The Get Busy Livin 5k, honoring the life of Dylan Meier, was back this year for the first time since before Covid. The kids would be staying with my parents the Thursday and Friday before the race because they were out of school and I wasn't. I had the Zoo Run 10k the weekend before so I wasn't sure whether I'd actually race or run it with my dad because I wasn't sure I'd be recovered enough from the 10k. I got excited when I ran my 5ks of my 10k in 21:47 and 21:18. I felt pretty confident I would be able to break 21 minutes again in the 5k after a long line of just over 21 minutes in virtual 5ks and not racing a 5k since February of 2019. I felt good during the week leading up to the race and ran mile repeats as my speedwork on Wednesday with an average of 6:47 pace. I decided to go ahead and race it and attempt to break 21 minutes or run 6:45 pace since the course has been a smidge short since they changed it in 2016. Jeremy and I ran a warm up to the race together and got a feel for how windy it was. At the starting line no one wanted to go up front so I ended up right up front. The crowd seemed smaller than in the past and I didn't see any of the women I normally compete against at this race. We took off and I was quickly out in front of all the women and in the top 5 of the race.

We ran across the field and then excited the football stadium and ran to a small paved trail. Mom, Ty, and the kids were standing at the corner and I was excited to see them. The kids were pumped to see me up toward the front. I heard one of Thomas' friends, Alex, behind me as we crossed onto the trail. I looked down and my watch showed 6:25 pace. It had felt like we went out hot, but I felt okay. The first mile also has a lot of gradual downhill so I didn't worry about going out too fast. With how my race played out, I probably should have, but I think that had more to do with my legs being fatigued from the Zoo Run the weekend before. I went through the first mile and was shocked I ran it in 6:32. I got excited that I was going to average way under 6:45 pace since I was already 13 seconds under. 

There was a young boy, maybe high school age running ahead of me and at about the half way point when we were running through the baseball diamond's parking lot I passed him. I had no idea I was slowing as much as I was because I still felt like I was pushing and I caught him and passed him. I was a bit disappointed that my 2nd mile was 6:50, but I felt confident I could keep my last mile around that same pace so I would still come in with an average pace under 6:45. Having already passed the only person close to me in the race, I didn't have anything to work toward and in the last mile my legs were dead. I kept pushing and there was no doubt in my mind I was maintaining pace or speeding up. When I got close to the stadium, I was so ready to be finished! I can't remember if I saw my last mile split during the race, but I think I didn't. I saw the finishing clock was at 20:30 and sprinted across the turf which felt terrible after running on pavement. I felt like I was bouncing and not getting traction. My last mile was 6:57. I averaged 6:46 pace which was super close to what I was hoping for and with how terrible and dead I felt during the last mile of the race, I was okay with that. My finishing time was 20:39 for the 3.05 mile course. I think I could have snuck under 21 if it had been a full course because the last section of the race I ran in 5:58 pace, so I could have run that last 0.05 in less than 20 seconds.  

I watched Jeremy finish and then I jogged a cool down. I jogged out to dad and ran toward the stadium with him. Then I added some more and called it a day.

I was 4th out of 65 overall and 1st of 29 women. Jeremy finished in 22:42 and was 9th overall and 3rd out of 10 in his age group. Dad finished in 24:37 and was 19th overall and 2nd out of 7 in his age group. It was a good day! When I picked up my award they asked me how many years I have won the race. For fun, I went back and looked when I got home. I've won the race 5 of the 9 years they've run it. I thought it would be fun to have a list of the years.

2011- No Official Race Results, 3rd in my age group (Out of Shape)

2012- 23:18, 2nd in my age group (Pregnant with Carter)

2013- 23:06, 2nd in my age group (Carter was 4 months old)

2014- 20:59, 1st overall female (1 month after having a miscarriage)

2015- 24:27, 3rd in my age group (Elise was 3 weeks old)

2016- 20:18, 1st overall female 

2017- Cancelled Due to Storms

2018- 19:46, 1st overall female

2019- 19:24, 1st overall female

2023- 20:39, 1st overall female