5K

Race Report: Be The Match 5K 2016

Official Results:
Time: 30:51
Pace: 9:56
Placing:
Overall: 152/286
Gender: 68/151
Division (F30-39): 22/44

Watch Results:
Time: 30:56
Pace: 10:04
Distance: 3.07 mi
Heart Rate: 185

Goals:
A: 31:30
B: 32:00

Food:
What I ate the night before: Crackers and a banana chocolate chip muffin
What I ate on race morning: 3/4 of a plain bagel
What I carried with me: nothing

Gear:
What I wore: t-shirt, hoodie, buff as headband, shorts
Gadgets: GPS watch, heart rate monitor, fitness tracker

Discussion:
I exceeded my goals, which is outstanding. The race could have gone better for me, which is not outstanding.

I didn’t feel 100% well on Friday. I was… ok, but feeling a little off, at least where my GI system was concerned. I didn’t want to eat anything that would throw off my system more than it already was, so I didn’t have a very good dinner. We were also driving down to the Twin Cities during dinner time, so my food options were limited. I woke up in the morning feeling hungry but also nauseated, a poor combination. And of course slept poorly. First two “keys to success” nailed. Not.

We arrived to the race later than planned, of course. It was COLD. Maybe 36-37F. I left all my stuff in my mom’s car, including my Body Glide, so I was fairly certain I was going to have no skin left on my thighs at the end of the race, but there was nothing to be done. We met up with the rest of my family and were going to hand out bib numbers and shirts for the team, but it turned out they had checked in again, and due to a miscommunication, had received new bibs. It wasn’t a big deal since the only people running with timing chips were my husband, my sister-in-law, and me.

I didn’t miss the tot trot (key to success: check!), but my nephew was cranky and didn’t want to run. It was cold, so I get it. My sister in law carried him so he “completed” the race. I failed to do a proper warm-up (ANOTHER key to success missed), but I did get in a few minutes of running, which was… slow. And disheartening. I had no pep in my step. The call for 5K runners to line up was right after the tot trot ended, so I went to the back to get in position. There were signed for different paces, ending with 10:00, but there was hardly any space between 10:00 milers and walkers/strollers. Annoying. I saw my brother, sister-in-law, and husband lined up in the 9 minute group and moved up.

We started off slow, dodging walkers and slower runners as we moved up. I started off probably too fast and just figured screw it, go for it, don’t back off. I separated from the rest of my family and then my husband ran up alongside me and then passed me. This is his first race ever, I think (and his first in 20+ years, for sure), and he beat me by a minute or so. Pretty bada$$, but now the competition is on for the Midnight Sun Midnight Run  next month! Mile 1 split: 10:08. There was a slight GPS error here, and the map of my run shows me cutting through the lake, which most certainly didn’t happen.

I remembered my mistake from last year, not getting any water at the water stop halfway through. This time, I did, and I felt yucky after drinking it. I’m used to drinking water at a slow pace, not a fast (for me) pace. I kept checking my watch and reminding myself to push the pace. Mile 2 split: 9:49.

In the third mile, I slowed quite a bit, conserving energy (ha, more like being lazy) for a final push at the end. I didn’t quite have as much pep as I’d have liked, but I don’t usually go out so hard. It didn’t smell like dead fish at the end, which was good. Mile 3 split: 10:19. 0.07 extra: 9:09 pace. The weird glitch in the first mile must have thrown off the distance, as the course was USATF-certified and my GPS usually measures long.

My husband destroyed himself to get under 30 minutes (not realizing that he had a nice cushion, since he was running without a watch and had no idea what his start time was relative to gun time), as I discovered him sitting on the ground near the chute. He got up and walked around and felt better, and then we caught up with the other runners in the family and got our free food. Then we froze our butts off waiting for the walkers to finish, which wasn’t that pleasant. I was glad not to be sweltering during the race itself, but we were outside for an hour after completing the race.

I’m pleased with my time, and I feel like a sub-30 5K is within reach this year, maybe even next month. That’s a tall order, but with adequate sleep and nutrition, I know I’ve got more in the tank.

I also had a personal best in fundraising; I raised $551.66, and my team raised $1286.66 in total. Both family members who were bone marrow transplant recipients participated in the walk; we have been fortunate! I’m so proud to support Be the Match and to help others find life-saving donors.

Be The Match 5K 2016 Goals

This is my first repeat race! I’m excited to outdo Donna 2015. Here are links to last years goals and race report.

Last year I ran the race in 36:09. My current personal best is 32:31, run at the Gobble Gallop in November. It’s been almost 6 months since I’ve run a 5K, and I’ve hardly done any speed work in the meantime, but I still think I can improve upon my Gobble Gallop time. This might be a stupid idea, because I have Superior next weekend, but the races are such different animals, I’m not worried about wrecking my trail 25K by trying to race a 5K. I mean, I could get injured, but beyond that I’m unconcerned.

A Standard: 31:30
B Standard: 32:00

So, looking at a 30 second-1 minute improvement over my best time. I think that’s possible. I even think it is conservative, but I’m not sure. I did a 5K “predictor” workout on the treadmill on Wednesday, doing 5×1000 at 10:10 pace, with 200m walking recovery in between. It sucked, but I hit the paces each time, and I was able to get my heart rate down into the aerobic zone in each recovery. I just don’t really know what that translates to on the road. I would like to think it actually translates to faster than 31:30, but we’ll see. I didn’t want to run on the treadmill, but it was dismal, cold, and rainy outside on Wednesday, so I stayed inside.

Keys to success on Saturday:
1. Don’t eat crap the day before. I’m always doing dumb stuff like eating a whole burrito, or eating something that upsets my stomach, and then I get a terrible night’s sleep or I feel like I’m still full at race time.

2. Try to get a decent night’s sleep. I don’t know if that’s possible. I’ll be arriving at my mom’s at around 11 PM tonight, and I’m sure my nephew will be up at like 5 am being a loud kid, as kids are wont to be.

3. Warm up. Which I always say. I do usually manage to warm up for short races, at least a little bit.

4. Dig deep and hang on. I’ve never run an all-out 5K. Probably never will. Certainly will not tomorrow. But, I let myself get psyched out last year, by the weather, by my stomach, by the annoying smell of dead fish. I think I’m in a better position to push a little harder, since I have run much more challenging races than this one.

5. Don’t miss the little squirt running the Tot Trot. Last year we had some logistical confusion (i.e. my mom decided to make pancakes the morning of the race and it took forever so we didn’t leave on time) and we had to park rather far away and missed the kiddo race. He is 3 1/2 this year so he has a better chance of understanding what’s going on.

I’ve raised over $400 personally, and my team has raised over $1000, so we’ve already PRed in fundraising!

Bad Decisions

Tuesday was a day I really shouldn’t have run. I knew it, and I did it anyway. Nothing bad happened but it was a bit risky.

This sounds ominous but in reality I was just tired. I put up a “big” week last week with 36 miles, including 12 on Sunday, and then ran 4 on Monday. I could have used Tuesday as a rest day, and halfway through my workday when I was feeling sleepy, I was planning on it. But I looked at the forecast and I knew it was going to rain yesterday, so I figured I could leg out another day.

I went to the Lakewalk, starting at Brighton Beach, because it’s just gorgeous. There were people fishing on the lake near the Lester River. We’re all ready for spring in the northland, whenever it decides to show up.

The run was frustrating, because my heart rate would not behave, confirming I would have been better off at home. The Lakewalk is such an easy place to run, I should have been throwing down paces in the 15 minute range (BLISTERING SPEED, dontcha know), but here’s what I ended up running:

Mile 1: 17:28, 131 bpm
Mile 2: 16:18, 140 bpm
Mile 3: 16:23, 139 bpm
Mile 4: 15:46, 140 bpm
Mile 5: 16:27, 134 bpm
Loose change: 0.2 mi, 18:51 pace, 125 bpm
Overall: 5.2 mi, 16:33 pace, 136 bpm

Maybe I’m just that slow, but I doubt it. Yesterday was a rest day, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It rained most of the day, although it cleared up by the time I’d have been running, and was warmer than I thought, so it turned out I could have put off my run another day. Hindsight’s 20/20! I did do a yoga video and 20 pushups, so it wasn’t entirely a rest day, but nothing strenuous. The plan is a run today, rest Friday, and then medium-length runs (thinking 6 and 9 miles) on Saturday and Sunday, before majorly stepping down in volume for race week.

Speaking of bad choices, I’m now registered for a 5K on May 14th, which is a week before the Superior 25K. It’s the Be The Match Walk+Run (that’s a link to my fundraising page, thank you Dad for priming the pump), which I ran last year. I will probably be stupid and try to see what kind of speed I’ve got remaining in my legs. It’s a good thing I’m a timid racer, that should hold me back a little. I hope to PR in both the run (32:30 or less!) and fundraising ($276.67 or more!). And maybe I’ll finally have a 5K where I haven’t eaten a burrito or other Mexican meal the night before.

Race Report: Gobble Gallop 5K

Official Results:
Time: 32:31
Pace: 10:28
Placing:
Overall: 1030/1802

App Results:
App: MovesCount
Time: 32:35
Pace: 10:27
Distance: 3.12 mi
Heart Rate: N/A

Goals:
A: 33:00
B: 34:00

Food:
What I ate the night before: Qdoba burrito bowl
What I ate on race day: 2 Starbursts
What I carried with me: Nothing

Gear:
What I wore: Hoodie, short sleeved tech tee, medium-weight running tights, buff (as headband), gloves
Gadgets: GPS watch

Discussion:
I woke up early after dreaming that I was late to the race. Actually no. I dreamed that I was with 3 of my high school friends who I’d convinced at the last minute to run the race. They needed to sign up, so we needed to get there early, and I was lollygagging around, and then we arrived too late for them to sign up. I woke up feeling like a jerk. Then I was too worried about being prepared for the race to go back to sleep. Annoying.

I need to stop eating entire burrito bowls before races, because I still kind of felt full. I mean, it was good on one hand, because I didn’t need to eat anything, but I could have maybe eaten 3/4 of the burrito instead and not felt so… uffda. The quintessential Scandinavian-American onomatopoeia is the only appropriate word for it. So I was a little worried.

I left for the race at about 9. I love the races around here, they start so late in the day! 9:30! I thought parking might be an issue, but that was dumb. It’s Thanksgiving, businesses aren’t open, their parking lots were fair game. I parked up the hill about 4 blocks. That was good thinking on my part. It was snowing but not too windy, which was nice, and the streets weren’t slick, which I was worried about. A large portion of the race was run on brick, which can get a little tricky.

I warmed up without feeling self-conscious! That was nice. I just kind of trotted around for awhile and then watched the end of the mile race. The winner of the mile race was also third place in the 5K. I hate him. Most of the runners of the mile were kids (or their parents) and most were faster than me. Some fairly small kids are really freaking fast. So now I’m jealous of 9 year olds.

I spotted Joe, a friend of mine, and glommed onto him until race start. He is a fast runner so he of course lined up well ahead of me, but it was nice to have someone to talk to for a little bit. I lined up at the back as usual. It was a bit more of a bottleneck at the start, since the pack was wider than the start/finish gate we had to go through. The results don’t have gun time/chip time differentials posted but I think I started about 2 minutes after the gun time. At first I wasn’t even sure the race had started because it seemed like nobody moved.

Throughout the first half of the race, I had to tell myself to slow down. I kept going under 10 mins (I was looking at my watch way too much during the race, but clearly I needed to) because it felt good. I am glad that I kept reminding myself to back off because I needed that energy at the end, although I probably could have pushed a little harder. (Especially if I hadn’t eaten the burrito the night before, as I had a feeling of fullness in my stomach. Nothing more concerning than that, but it was still annoying.)

My splits were fairly even: 10:23, 10:31, 10:34. So it’s clear I started a little faster and backed off, but that’s fine. That was tempered by slower segments where I was moving around runners. Because of the delay in the start plus my overall slowness, the first runners passed me on the way back before I reached the first mile marker. So that was a little demoralizing, but it makes sense. 10:23 + 2 minutes after gun time = 12:23 with less a mile to go for the lead runners, and the winner finished in 15:36. Joe passed me going the other way relatively early on too and I yelled at him to get after it as he blew by.

The race itself was fairly straightforward, with little elevation change, although I could definitely feel those small inclines. A young girl said to one of the adults with her that she was “definitely feeling the burn.” I was, too. I tried to take advantage of any slight declines to speed up, and then dialed it back on the inclines. I knew at the halfway point that there was no doubt I was going to at least meet my B goal, based on my average pace so far. I had that set up as one of the displays on my watch so that I could see it the whole time, since I was so obsessed with setting a PR.

With 0.2 mi to go (according to Strava, I didn’t know this at the time), I started to kick, and then with about 0.1 miles to go I hit another gear and zipped in. Joe waited around to cheer for me at the end for a second, which was nice! I had a lot more juice in my legs than maybe I should have had left, so I guess I left something out on the race course. Oh well, that just means another PR next time.

Because yeah. That was a giant PR. 1:50. I clearly didn’t see that coming, since I thought 33:00 was a stretch. I am excited and happy, and I am glad to see some improvement after stepping away from racing shorter distances for four months to focus on my half marathon. I know that PRs come easy at the beginning and in a few years I’ll be happy to shave a couple seconds off a 5K time. I’m still going to soak it up and enjoy it because I did earn it, and I did work hard to get to this point, even if it wasn’t a goal race.

This is my last race of 2015. I was going to race a December 5K, but the one I had in mind turned out to be next weekend. I didn’t want to run back to back races, so there we have it. Ending the racing year on a high note!

Gobble Gallop Goals

The Gobble Gallop is tomorrow, so I guess I have some goals.

The course is really easy. It starts and ends and Duluth Running Co. and goes down Superior Street and back. It’s easier than the course for the Fitger’s 5K, which goes over I-35 and therefore has two large (for a 5K) hills. Of course I don’t mind a hill or two but this should be a faster course.

I’m not really sure about my speed right now but I’m just going to throw it out there, why can’t I shave another minute off my current personal best (34:21)? Okay, more like a minute and a third.

A Standard: 33:00
B Standard: 34:00

Why not? My treadmill repeats are faster than those paces. I’m stronger and I’m (slightly) leaner than I was back in June when I ran the 34:21. 33 minutes is a 10:37 pace and 34 minutes is a 10:57 pace. Obviously I have to run a little bit faster than those paces per my watch in order to ensure I come in at my goal times, just in case my watch is a little generous with the distance. I just need to be careful I’m not throwing down a 9 minute pace right out of the gate.

I’m fairly certain I’m physically capable of hitting my A Standard. I just don’t know if I’m mentally capable. I am more cautious than most runners, I think, or if not cautious, just unaware of how much harder I can push under certain circumstances. When I ran the Be the Match 5K, I let my cousin run ahead of me at the end because I felt like I couldn’t run any harder. She finished maybe 30 seconds ahead of me, I seriously could have hung on for that, but I let myself fall back.

It should be a fun race no matter what, although I’ll be a bit lonely since I don’t know anyone running. As long as it’s not raining and it’s not icy, I can handle it!

Building Character

That’s what I told myself while I was suffering through another boring treadmill run yesterday. It’s just making you mentally stronger, I reminded myself each time I wanted to quit. Man, I really hate the treadmill. Of course that kind of defeatist attitude didn’t help. Nor did the poor play of the Minnesota Wild.

Four days in a row on the treadmill is really taking its toll. It’s way harder on my body than trail or road running. I also think I have terrible posture on the treadmill, but I’m in my basement, not in a gym, so there isn’t a mirror to check. My lower back is stiff and my hips are kind of sore.

I wasn’t planning on four treadmill days in a row, of course. It rained Monday through Wednesday, but yesterday it was snowing so I figured I could get outside. When I was walking to my car at 5 (which is now well after sunset around here), it was slippery enough that I changed my mind. I don’t have a headlamp yet, and the streets around here are really dark, so I didn’t feel safe.

I’m taking today off from running as a result of these aches and pains, although I will probably do some strength training and a little yoga (which I’ve completely given up on since I don’t have abundant free time like I did this summer), so it won’t be a true rest day.

After today, I’ve got to get back outside. I have six days until my Gobble Gallop 5K, and I can’t be going into it with back and hip soreness. I plan on hitting some trails in the city limits this weekend (to stay safe from the deer hunters) and then I’m not sure, maybe the Lakewalk on Monday and Tuesday. I still have high hopes for a PR in this race, despite no actual proof that a PR is possible. Still, why not be wildly optimistic?

Energy Drain

I haven’t run since Monday, which is not that great. It’s not terrible, the world isn’t ending. I’ve been really tired and low on physical and mental energy. My week went like this:

Monday: run
Tuesday: felt sick most of the day
Wednesday: SO tired
Thursday: extremely long day
Friday: cold-like symptoms
Saturday: lazy

I have new shoes (same as the old shoes, they were on super sale again), I just got a new charging cable for my watch so I can use it again finally, and the weather looks decent for the next few days. It’s still deer season so I’m not able to get out on any of the real trails safely, and during the week there’s just no time to get out on the trails. I’m not running in the dark on the trails just yet. The streets around here are dark enough.

I want to start planning my races for next year but my future is uncertain. I graduate next month and haven’t found a job yet, so I don’t know where I’ll be living. I don’t want to sign up for races I won’t be anywhere near, or won’t be able to attend due to an unpredictable work schedule (that does happen in engineering, it’s not all 40 hrs/week office work). But I also want races to look forward to and plan for! Yes, I have this 5K on Thanksgiving, but it’s not a goal race, more of a way to gauge if I’ve improved.

I need a nice long run tomorrow to get back on track, and then some easy medium length runs and some speed work to get my legs in shape for the Gobble Gallop. Turn the page, right?