Jingle Bell 5k

I found out in November I get free entry into some races since I'm on the Runners World Racing Team. I figured, why not add a half-marathon in December since I would get free entry? It would mean I'd be running it off the training I put in for the Tulsa Run which I then stretched out into easy running to make it through the Route 66 Half Marathon. It was only 2 weeks after Route 66 so it would mean just recovering from one race and then easy running going into the next. After the Turkey Trot, Thomas wanted to run another 5k to run a better time because he didn't have the best race there. My parents were already interested in the Jingle Bell 5k so they decided they'd come and we'd all run it. With how well my 5k went at the Turkey Trot, I felt like I could run a sub-21 in the 5k and decided to run the 5k as well. I planned to race the 5k on Saturday and then give the half-marathon whatever I had left on Sunday. My goal was to go out at 6:40 pace and see if I could come in under 21 minutes. My friend, April, came out to cheer which was a fun surprise. The race didn't start until 10am which was nice because I slept in and had time to eat breakfast before the race.

With April before the race.

With Thomas before the race.

Thomas and I ran a half-mile warm up before the race and went to the restroom really quickly beforehand. We made it to the start line with moments to spare. The race took off pretty fast with quite a few females ahead of me. Within the first half-mile I had moved into the top female position. We went out and back, going over the bridge to the east side of the river from River West Festival Park. I went through the first mile in 6:41 and wasn't feeling great. In retrospect, I think it was a little too cold for me to wear shorts. When it's in the 30's for a 5k, I don't race well when I wear shorts. I probably should have worn capri tights. My legs felt super off and I think it was due to them being really cold. At that point the closest person in front of me was Thomas with about a 30 second lead. In the back of my mind, the half marathon the next day was looming large. Knowing I would be running that race, I didn't want to push too hard in the 5k if I wasn't feeling it. When we hit the turn around, I saw I had a huge lead on the closest person behind me and the nearest woman was even further back. I knew I had the top female spot in the bag. I decided if I wasn't going to be able to come in under 21 minutes, I would coast in the last mile instead of racing it.

Mile 2 was 6:53. I was feeling a bit rough and I calculated I needed to run the last mile in 6:30 to come in under 21 minutes, so I started coasting down and dropped down to finish the race in more like tempo effort. It was fun to watch Thomas ahead of me battling for place with the people around him. He passed quite a few at the end of the race. Even coasting into the finish, I didn't get passed by anyone. I saw the clock at the finish line was just over 21:30 as I approached.  I ran the last mile in 7:06. I took off on a cool down to jog back in with mom. I thought about it and realized I needed more like a 6:40 last mile to finish in under 21 minutes and was bummed with myself that I hadn't gone for it. I felt like I could have finished in under 21, but I also knew I would have been frustrated if I all out raced and wore myself out for the following day and finished in just over 21 minutes. My finishing time was 21:38. I was 8th out of 154 overall and 1st out of 81 females. Thomas finished in 20:36, putting him 5th overall and 1st in his age group. Jeremy finished in 24:40, good for 16th overall and 2nd in his age group. Jeremy and dad ran part of the race together. Dad finished in 26:10 which was 24th overall and 2nd in his age group. Mom finished in 43:54, 105th overall and 3rd in her age group. We stayed for awards and all picked water bottles as our awards which were awesome!

Running in to the finish with mom for my cool down.