On Saturday I ran the Strides for Scholarship 5K for the second time. Last year I ran it for fun with my then 10-year-old niece. I loathe 5Ks but last year I ate the most amazing vanilla-frosted donut after the race. So the good outweighed the bad.
I also wanted to win the race – be 1st overall female. It’s rare that you find a small 5K – not in Bumblefuck, PA – where that opportunity presents itself. For some reason this race is relatively unknown despite a large running club just down the road.
I was nervous. I say all the time that I’d rather run 20 miles than race a 5K. 20-milers are within my comfort zone; 5Ks are not. But sometimes you need to push outside your comfort zone.
I warmed up for a mile and did some strides. I could feel the nervousness in my legs. They splurged on chip timing this year but I still made my way towards the front and took off.
M1 (7:00) – In hindsight this was probably a little too fast. I should have kept the pace around 7:10-7:15. I was in the lead though!
M2 (7:36) – Horrendous. Just past the mile 2 marker, a girl zipped right past me. Damn. I tried to stay with her and put some pressure on but my legs didn’t have enough kick. She ended up finishing 19-seconds ahead of me.
M3 (7:21) – I redeemed myself (somewhat).
22:30 (7:15 avg pace)
Overall: 7/85
Female: 2/41
AG: 2/9
My sister, sister-in-law, and 2 nieces ran the race too. We pretty much cleaned up when it came to the awards!
Sister: 2nd in AG
SIL: Almost 5-min PR from last year!
Nieces: 2nd and 1st in AG
*All coached by me!
Everyone had a great race and my vanilla-frosted donut did not disappoint!
Congrats to everyone who ran Chicago, Steamtown, Portland, or any other race I’m forgetting. Fall racing season is officially here!
Did you race this weekend?
Congrats on the PR! I ran the SI half…kinda sketchily. Head was so not in the game. Shoes came untied…negative thoughts…all that fun stuff. wheeeeee!
woohoo, nice job Kristy! I kind of love 5Ks 🙂 I didn’t race this weekend, but am having race envy for all the people that did!
Gotta start out somewhat conservatively in 5Ks, too! Well, sort of — I usually start too fast, too! Thank you for supporting the #5Krevolution 🙂
Mixing it up is nice, too – hence, my NYC marathon (and your 5K)!
Congrats on the 2nd place finish! That’s impressive 🙂 I have only ever finished first woman at small races with only 5 other women haha
Great job on the race! I wish I had raced this weekend, I need to really get focused and motivated again. Keep up the good work!
It sounds like you kicked ass even though you didn’t end up winning the race. Congratulations on a great time! I ran a 5K on Sunday, but my 24:07 didn’t put me anywhere near a win or age group placement. It was a tiny race, but some speedy girls ran it sub-20.
Congrats, Kristy! You’ll get them next year. It must have been so fun to do this with so many family members!
Congratulations, girl. You are just on a roll here. And to your family of runners. Hey, they have a great coach!
I remember you running this last year and thought to myself, “OMG, a YEAR has gone by already?” How crazy is it that time just flies?
Nice job, Kristy! Can’t say I’ve ever placed in a race, so that’s awesome that you did! So cute that all the ladies in your family cleaned up, too!
Whoo hoo! Great job. It’s so nice your family ran with you! 🙂
I’m with on 5ks being more intimidating than a 20 miler but huge congrats on your race! 2nd female is great and 7th overall is just plain awesome!
I’m with you – I would rather go long than do a short race! Congrats on an awesome race – 2nd place is incredible and I’m sure you’ll get 1st next year 🙂
That’s awesome! It’s the best when you get to celebrate with friends/family who also did great.