A few weeks ago a fellow UGA grad reached out to me to see if I would be interested in running the Rock ‘N Run 5K and blogging about my experience. She offered me a free bib on behalf of WSOC in Charlotte. Since I have not run a race since May, I happily agreed.
I’ve mentioned this before but I have a love/hate relationship with 5Ks. On one hand, I love that I can actually compete in them versus distance races where I’m more focused on my personal performance and don’t feel any pressure to compete with others. On the other, they are so very freaking hard. My mentality is basically go as hard as I can until I fail. I love the mental and physical toughness the distance requires but it sure doesn’t feel great when you’re in the middle of it.
I was up at 6:15 a.m. to prep for the race. I needed to shower, eat and make my playlist. I actually don’t like to eat a lot before 5Ks because I feel sick during the race if I do but I did eat half of a piece of banana bread with some peanut butter along with a shot of espresso.
Another think I don’t like is arriving too early to a race. I do like to get in a warm up jog before 5Ks because it’s too hard on my body to go from no activity to all out sprint but I hate standing around. Today was perfect. I got there at 7:40 for the 8 a.m. start. I already had my bib so I didn’t have to bother with packet pickup.
I wore my new Mizuno Wave Elixir’s for the race and they were awesome! They’re very lightweight, comfortable and so fun from a design perspective. More details on them in a later post.
Let’s talk about the race. I was really, really hoping to PR. My current 5K PR is 22:44 and I’m disappointed to share that I did not PR today. I finished in 23:24 which made me the 18th female overall and the first in my age group. The race was well organized, there was plenty of parking and it was well-attended. The course was relatively flat, although it wasn’t very scenic.
One thing I loved was that this race supported the development of the up and coming “New North End” corridor in Charlotte and the start and finish were located at the North Carolina Music Factory. The race also supported Classroom Central, which provides school supplies to children living in poverty. During the month of August, WSOC is running their “School Tools” program. They are collecting school supplies (and donations) to be distributed to 22 Charlotte-area counties. Pretty awesome!
I was so close to the PR. When I think about it, I definitely think I could have found that extra 40 seconds somewhere but when you’re in the midst of it and giving it all you have it seems impossible. I will admit that mile one is always easy for me. I can usually knock it out in about 6:50-7:00. It’s mile 2 that kills me. I can rally for mile 3 and mentally push through the pain but I slow down too much on the second mile. I’d like to actually train for a 5K and see if I can run a sub-22.
I grabbed a water and a banana after the race and then bolted out to make it to yoga. I love practicing after races. It feels so good!
The remainder of the day was devoted to cleaning, organizing and purging. This cute one got cleaned too and spent the afternoon at the groomer. She’s fresh and clean now! 🙂
Hope y’all are enjoying the weekend!
I am sure you can pull out a 5k at your goal, but it’s more important to stay injury free!!
soooo true!
I love the new mizuno’s! Nice job on the 5K!
What a fun race!!! Love the sneakers! Great job on the time! You are so fast!
thank you!
congrats girl!!!! love the necklace on you, too!
5Ks hurt SO much. I think you should be thrilled with your performance given that you haven’t really been focusing on running. And 1st in your AG is awesome! I’ve also toyed with training explicitly for the 5K distance, but it’s so hard to find a not-hilly race around here.
fast 5Ks with serious hills are nearly impossible!
purging?
you know, my house of junk/things i don’t need anymore.
Even though you didn’t PR that’s still a seriously fantastic time!!
thank you so much!
I think your time is great! I would love to make a sub-28 5K. One day I will get there and you will get under 22!
Great job, Jen! I have to say though, it’s funny/strange to me that some people shower before a race. Why not just bask in the post race (and yoga) shower?
it helps me wake up and get my muscles warm!
Congrats on your race! You look lovely in blue : )
Have you done a post on your Garmin? I’d love to know your thoughts since you evidentlynuse it for racing! Do you use it for traning/regular running too?
i haven’t written a post about my garmin. i do use it when i’m actively training for something or needing to know distance but recently i have not used it on leisure runs. it’s nice not to stress so much about your pace.
i do credit my garmin for helping me to become a faster runner. there’s nothing like seeing the cold hard truth of your pace on your wrist for a little wake up call! i race with it too!
Congrats on your race! First place in your age group isn’t too shabby 🙂
Your shoes are the bomb.
😀
Congrats on the 5K! Even, if you didn’t PR that’s still an awesome time! I’m still trying to get a sub-30 5K.
thank you! stay with it – it took me forever to break out of the 10-minute mile cycle!
Congrats on the race, regardless of the missed PRs. 5ks are hard to PR in if you’re not really focusing on short, fast distances. Sounds like it was a lot of fun. I’d love to join you in your next 5k. I’m about 2 minutes behind you; maybe in a small race we could sweep 1st and 2nd!
i was hoping that all the high-intensity training i’ve done in crossfit would translate to improving my 5K performance.
i’d love to plan a race together! 🙂
I am glad that we clarified the purging thing haha! Loving the blue kicks… maybe I said that in a post earlier, or maybe those were different shoes. I can’t wait to do a 5k in a few weekends since my new recent PR!! You will get sub 22 soon!