Run the Rails 5k

After running the Miles for Milestones 5k I really wanted to do a different 5k that would read correctly on my Garmin. That way I would have a better idea of what my average pace and mile splits were. I found a race in Skiatook which I thought was about a 20 minute drive from our house, but was actually almost 30 minutes away. It was a certified course on a Rails to Trails paved path. It was either run that 5k or a run a 5 mile tempo and I decided the 5k was preferrable, so I signed up. I looked at past race results and the winner of the race usually ran around 21:40. That would probably give me someone to run with because I was expecting to run around 21:40. Had the winning time been typically slower and I'd likely have to run the race alone, I wouldn't have done it. I had a really bad speedwork on Wednesday leading up to the race which made me less than enthused to run the race, but I've gotten really good about not going all doom and gloom when a speed work doesn't go well. I used to get so upset and feel like there was no way I'd reach my goals when one speed workout didn't go well. Now I just let it slide off my back and give myself credit for putting the effort in, even when the times aren't there. Having to run in the evenings and doing a lot of speed work in 90+ degree weather has also helped shift that mentality.

Post race with my overall medal in front of a little pond at the cute park by the start area.

I got up at 6am so I'd have time to do a short yoga video before I left at 6:30. I arrived at the race area a little before 7:00 and I'm glad I gave myself plenty of time because they listed the race start as the area where a festival was going on that day and there was quite a bit of traffic with vendors getting set up. I had time to park and run a mile warm up before the race. As we were walking to the start I heard a guy talking about this super fast 8th grade girl who lined up in front of me. I was bummed that I was likely going to get beat by an 8th grader because I'm not in good shape, but I told myself it was more about my time than place. I heard the guy talking to the 8th grade girl about how if either of them ran a PR, they'd both PR. Her PR was 21:40 and his was 21:46. I was excited that I would have them to run with. It was obvious he was pacing her, so I'd have 2 people to run with. We took off and there was a guy who went out in front, followed by the 8th grader and the man. I was right behind them. We ran through grass and made 3 turns and then we were on the path all the way until the turn around. I felt great from the get go which was a surprise. By the time we made it to the path, I passed the guy who went out in front and the girl. I pulled up alongside the guy who was pacing the girl and he stuck with me until the half-mile point. Once I pulled away, I ran the rest of the race alone. 

I went through the first mile in 6:56 and I was super excited that I was right where I wanted to be. My goal was to run around 7:00 pace and I was hoping I'd be able to average under 7:00 for the race. We had three road crossings and there were police officers there stopping traffic. I thanked all of them. The 4th road crossing was just before the turn around and there wasn't anyone stopping traffic, but I was able to make it across without stopping. There was a water station at the turn around which was an unmanned table with water bottles set up along it. As I neared the turn around I realized we had been running slightly uphill on the way out so we would have a slight downhill after the turn around which I was looking forward to. I focused on maintaining pace so I could run sub-7 for my 2nd mile too. I saw the girl and man running together after I turned around and I didn't have that much of a lead. I knew by passing them so early, I made myself a sitting duck for them to chase. Multiple times throughout the end of the race I swore I heard someone coming up behind me but each time I passed people they cheered just for me so I knew I must have a decent lead on the people behind me.

I went through mile 2 in 6:48 and was so excited. I was crushing my 7 minute goal. When my first mile was 6:56 I was expecting that to be my fastest mile of the race, but it ended up being my slowest. Then my mind drifted to the fact that I was running my half-marathon PR pace for a 5k. I quickly reminded myself that I have bone spurs and am working my way back from months of low mileage so this was a really good race for me! The last mile I pretended that an 8th grader was closing the gap and I didn't have any confidence that I'd be able to out kick a 13 year old, so I needed to move. My last mile was 6:45, but I missed that mile split and didn't see it until after the race. Then my finishing kick was 6:32 pace and that was with the little section through the grass which slowed me down a bit. I was super excited as I neared the finish line and saw the clock was just over 21 minutes,  I was going to be well below the 21:40 I was hoping for! My finishing time was 21:20 which was an average of 6:49 pace. I definitely did not expect to be under 6:50 pace for my average and was so excited. That gave me hope that I can get back down under 21 minutes again! I wasn't so sure when I started training again this fall. 

I was first overall male or female out of 37 finishers. After I finished I got a water from the cooler which had no ice and was room temperature which I thought was weird. I cheered for the girl who finished 2nd overall in 21:37 and was a bit proud that I helped pull her along to a PR. She beat the guy who was pacing her by quite a bit. I chatted with her and her mom after the race. Her mom was 3rd overall female and is the same age as me! As I walked back up to drink my water and cheer for other finishers before running my cool down, I thanked one of the volunteers for being out there. She said, "I got that right, didn't I? That runners prefer warm water to cold water after a race." I was baffled. I have never heard that before. I personally much prefer cool water, but I'll happily take any water. I mentioned it to Ty when I got home and he said he prefers room temperature to ice cold water after a race. I'm curious if this is a thing and I've just never heard about it before. Any runners out there who agree with Ty? I just assumed the majority of runners prefer ice cold water, but maybe I'm in the minority. My finishing time in the 5k predicts a 15k in low 1:08 and all I need is under 1:10 so I feel good about my chances of getting another 60/70 mug at the Tulsa Run! I'm extra thrilled that I ran this with only 3 weeks at or above 30 miles since Grandma's Marathon in early June! I still have a lot of improvement I can make. I'm hoping I'll be training for Boston in the spring and I'm hoping that may include a sub-21 minute 5k as well! The Boston Marathon announced that with a record number of entries this year, they are planning to notify everyone by early October. In the past notifications go out a week after registration opens. This will be almost a month later, which is crazy! I'm just glad to know it's going to take a while so I don't expect to get an email any day.