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?