3.1 on the 3rd: Disappointed but not Discouraged

My running group held an unofficial 5k race on July 3, which we decided to call 3.1 on the 3rd (there is an awesome race in Springfield called 4 on the 4th that didn't work into most of our schedules a day later).  I created a course on rural farm roads that was rolling with a small net drop, and measured it 4 different ways.  Race morning was 64* (61* dew point), which is really amazing for July in Missouri!  I expected I'd be running alone, which was the main downside, but based on how my workouts had been going I thought I could still dip under 18, and I was even in a cut-back mileage week.

Post-race celebration

We met at my house at 5:30 a.m., then jogged over to the start a little over a mile away, did some drills and strides, and took off at 5:50 a.m.  Colin was immediately out front as expected, and his goal was to break 17 but I thought he could be significantly under.  Steve was next to me for the first 200 m or so, then I eased away.  I wore 2 Garmins for accuracy, with one programmed to take 1k splits and the other taking mile splits, although I ran the race by feel without looking at the data until after.  I liked having a beep every 1k because it split the race up nicely for me.  

There was only 1 second difference in my race time (&
apparently also the time of day) on these two Garmins!

5k pace is hard from the beginning, and Colin was significantly ahead of me by 1k and continued to steadily widen the gap throughout the race.  I tried to stay focused on my effort but kept thinking, "Either Colin is annihilating his sub-17 goal or I am failing on my sub-18 goal" (turns out it was both - he ran 16:30!).  I caught my mind drifting several times and directed it back to quick turnover/5k effort.  It is harder to focus running solo!  The race passed by pretty quickly, but sure felt like a 5k on my legs, especially during the uphill from about mile 2-2.4.  Though the race was a net downhill, it rolled the whole way and finished the last 0.1 uphill, so if I had to do it again I'd run this on a track!  I do well with hills at marathon pace but definitely need to improve on my power going up them at faster paces.  I knew I wouldn't count this race as a real PR if I ran one since it wasn't a certified course and had a net downhill, but that wasn't a decision I had to make since I finished in 18:09, 5:50 average pace (Strava activity here) - although I later realized that this was my second fastest open 5k ever (I've just run faster in 10ks and close in the final 5k of a half marathon or two, bahaha!).

When I saw my time, my first reaction was disappointment.  I'd been so sure I could run in the 17s.  However, one of the reasons I wanted to race so badly this weekend was because my first short race of a season has rarely (never?) gone amazingly, so I wanted to bust the rust in a setting that didn't really matter, before my important shorter races.  That goal was accomplished and this was a much better way to start out than trying at a high stakes 5k like I did in 2019!  I also remembered that I've had multiple seasons where I've run a 10k goal race at a faster pace than any 5k I did, so I am not letting go of my ambitious 10k goal for the year. My heart rate indicated that I wasn’t really running 5k pace (more like 10k to half  HR), but I really didn’t feel like I could go any faster! [later note: I ran a 10k at a higher HR 3 weeks later, so this was correct]

One thing I was really happy about was my negative split.  I fully believe negative splitting is the best way to run your best time on the day in any distance race - though if competing for place, not time, is the goal, it is different - but I have a very difficult time executing a negative split in a 5k.  I'm not sure I have ever negative split a 5k I was seriously racing.  My mile splits were 5:55, 5:50, 5:46 (not sure what my kick was because I didn't get my watch stopped when I finished).  If I'd had to choose my ideal splits before this race I'd have said 5:50, 5:45, 5:40, so I got the pattern right!  Oh, and I was the first overall female if that counts for my 2021 record (7 for 8, with one second OA female).

I cut off the final 0.1 since it was at 18:12 pace
due to my stopping error

I was hoping my rabbitELITE race kit would arrive in time for this "race", but it didn't quite make it.  Hopefully its first race will be one I'm happier with!  I'm super thankful for the experience and to have running buddies who are excited to do things like this with me, and also thankful that 18:09 is a time I feel meh about (I used to be ecstatic anytime I was under 20).  How our expectations change, eh?  I have a real 5k race next month, in a competitive women's field, but it will also likely be quite warm, so I'm not sure how that will go, but I really want to do this again!