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5th Overall Female & 3rd in Age Group!

May 30, 2011 by Kristy 14 Comments

Today marks Day 1 of training for marathon #9 – the Leigh Valley Marathon.  To be honest, I’m kinda lost without a training plan so I’m happy to jump right back into it.

I planned to do my speed work today just to get it over and done with.  So I looked at my plan:  3×1600 at 7:11 pace (with a 1 min rest interval between mile repeats).  Ugh.  I hate mile repeats.  And why bother with a 1 min rest interval?  That’s such a tease!

That’s when I decided on doing a 5K.  Why not?  It’ll be the same as doing my prescribed speed work, minus the rest interval.  And…misery loves company.

So there I was signing up on race day at the Lansdowne Memorial Day 5K Race, going against every non-spontaneous bone in my body.  I haven’t raced a 5K since 2007 and I think I ran an even 24:00 back then.

Conditions:  Hot and sunny

Course:  Hilly

My legs felt sluggish from the get go.  So I just tried to maintain a 7:30 pace, even though it was no where near the 7:11 pace I was supposed to run.  Some very kind neighbors had their sprinklers on so occasionally I’d get a brief break from the heat.  My goal for this race was to place in the top 3 for my age group.

Around mile 2.5 a volunteer told the girl ahead of me that she was the 4th overall female.  I couldn’t believe it…I was the 5th overall female?!?!  Get out!  But I was running so slow?!  I guess the heat was getting to everyone.

But I wasn’t in the clear yet.  I had a woman hot on my tail.  After mile 2.5 she pulled a little ahead of me.  There was no way in hell I was going to let her take 5th overall female away from me.  I let her go ahead but stayed just enough behind her so she couldn’t hear my panting.  I wanted her to think I was further behind her.  When I could see the finish line I made my move and sprinted right past her.  It’s a good thing I did – she was 37 and in my age group!!

Official results:
23:22 (7:32 avg pace)
5/172 – overall female
3/44 – 30 to 39 age group 

I got a medal!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Lansdowne Memorial Day 5K Race, Leigh Valley Marathon, speed work

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Pink Runner says

    May 30, 2011 at 11:45 am

    Congrats on a great time! Good luck on the training! That marathon is tempting to sign up for, but I think I will hold off and maybe do another spring marathon.

    Reply
  2. Pink Runner says

    May 30, 2011 at 11:46 am

    PS I’m definitely going to sign up for the Hershey 1/2 on October 16. Have you looked at that one?

    Reply
    • Kristy says

      May 30, 2011 at 12:38 pm

      I never even heard of it before! I just looked at the website and may keep it in mind.

      Reply
  3. Kara says

    May 30, 2011 at 1:09 pm

    Great job on that 5K! That is a good pace considering the heat! I don’t think I could do a 1600 at 7:11, let alone 3 in a row with a 1 minute break!

    Reply
  4. Running on Faith says

    May 30, 2011 at 2:44 pm

    Yeah girl! Congrats. What a surprise to sign up and place. I think I have a dream sequence that goes like that 🙂

    Reply
  5. runninfromthelaw says

    May 30, 2011 at 3:11 pm

    Fabulous way to kick off marathon training! I sense good things for you this time around!

    Reply
  6. Tessa @ Amazing Asset says

    May 30, 2011 at 4:32 pm

    Congrats lady! That is amazing, especially with hilly and hot conditions…bleh!

    Reply
  7. karyn says

    May 31, 2011 at 9:21 am

    Congrats, Kris!!! 🙂

    Reply
  8. RAS says

    May 31, 2011 at 9:22 am

    Damn, woman. You look STRONG and LEAN! Congratulations!!!! First day of marathon training and throwing in some random 5k. Love it!!!

    I definitely miss speed/intervals/fartleks… I will need to stop by here for some motivation post-pregnancy.

    Reply
  9. Lauren says

    June 7, 2011 at 7:32 am

    I know I’m really late in saying this but congratulations!! That’s awesome!! I love that you spontaneously decided to sign up, and then ended up winning a medal. I’d say you made a great decision! 🙂 What a great start to your marathon training!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Random Friday Thoughts « Run The Long Road says:
    June 3, 2011 at 6:23 am

    […] 5th Overall Female & 3rd in Age Group! […]

    Reply
  2. Weekend Fun + Week 1 Recap « Run The Long Road says:
    June 6, 2011 at 6:50 am

    […] Valley Marathon – Week 1 Recap MON:  5K + 1.5 mi warm-up TUE:  8 mi tempo WED:  rest THU:  8 mi easy FRI:  5.4 mi easy SAT:  13 mi […]

    Reply
  3. 7 Links « Run The Long Road says:
    July 26, 2011 at 8:14 am

    […] wasn’t the post I was proud of but the race results from my Memorial Day 5K (5th Overall Female & 3rd in Age Group).  I hate 5Ks (I’m not fast), it was hot, I ran terribly, and – for the first time […]

    Reply
  4. Looking Back and Looking Ahead « Run The Long Road says:
    December 31, 2011 at 2:06 pm

    […] were other PRs too.  Cherry Blossom 10-miler (1:19), a hot and humid 5K (23:22 – I need to revisit this!), and a not-what-I-wanted-but-a-PR-nonetheless at the Philly […]

    Reply

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