The Bass Pro 5k was A-okay

I wasn't sure about running a Bass Pro Marathon weekend event. After TCM, the half and full marathons seemed like bad ideas (though I did consider the full as a "redemption" attempt!), so I thought the 5k was my best option, even though I am definitely not a 5k runner. I rationalized that I'd be at the event even if I didn't race; I love seeing so many members of my local running community and the hometown vibe is great! I also figured even if things went poorly I should be able to win masters in the 5k. And of course I'd be running that day anyway! I signed up for the 5k the day that online registration closed, with low performance expectations but high excitement expectations!

These two dominated the half!

I knew the course wasn't certified and from running it in training knew it would read long (it uses the same start line, finish line, and final ~2 miles of the half and full courses, so logistically it makes sense but it either has to be long or short to work within those parameters) - so I had a little anxiety thinking that I probably wouldn't be under 20:00. Then I gave myself the "no one else cares" pep talk! 

I really didn't know what I was going to get pace-wise, and the course is mildly hilly, so I did know I wouldn't get even splits from even effort. I currently have a free trial of Strava Premium, so my main goal for the race was to run even grade-adjusted (GAP) splits by feel. I didn't know what that would look like in actual splits, but it didn't matter - if I had all GAP splits of 6:30 and worked hard, it was going to be a successful day in my mind. In general the 5k is the least competitive distance of marathon weekend, but I found out a couple days before that Claire, a former Drury runner who is now training with the University of Arkansas, was running (she has college track eligibility left but not cross-country). I knew she'd recently run another road 5k in 16:11, so it was clear I would be racing for second female even if I was at my best! I think knowing that I wasn't going to win going in made me less worried about how it would go.

Team photo, that most of the team missed

Team photo part 2 - caught a couple more

On race morning, after running group team photos, I warmed up with Casey and Spencer, who were both running the half. We also did drills and I jogged more while they did strides. The half and full started at 7:00 a.m., and I thought that I had plenty of time between then and my 7:15 a.m. 5k start, but between cheering while waiting for all of the runners to go by and running back to my car, I actually had very little time. The race announced that it was 3 minutes until the 5k start when I was opening my car door with all of my warm up gear and training shoes still on! I got my warm ups off and shoes changed as quickly as I could in a slight panic, while also debating whether I had time to pee or not. I really needed to and almost just went right next to my car on the asphalt (lolol), but was able to tuck into a construction porta-potty then do a ~200 m sprint to the start. Several runners make jokes about me really jumping in at the last minute. I had no time to think, because then we were off!

There were a lot of middle and high school boys in the race, so for the first bit I was pretty far back. I also saw about 5 teenage girls ahead of me, along with Claire who was out in front of everyone right away. I settled into the effort that felt manageable for a 5k and moved into second female position by about a half mile into the race. The really fun thing about 5ks with teenagers is that if you run even remotely close to an even pace, you keep passing them the entire race. And that is just what I did - passed a teenage boy then reeled in the next! My competitive instincts kicked in and I really enjoyed pushing myself.

When we ran the course recently in training, I told my running buddies that it didn't play to my strengths. The hills are minimal but I am not good at running fast up any elevation. Threshold to marathon pace is fine on hills, but 5k pace - oof! However, during the race they actually felt alright. I think passing boy after boy helped. I've raced the final 2 miles of the full and half numerous times on this route, and it's gone both ways different years - sometimes I don't really notice the hills and can negative split, other years they seem like mountains and I fade. Based on how I've been doing lately, I just expected they'd be horrible, but they felt better during this race than on any of the easy pace training runs I did on them this season!

Another thing about 5ks is that they are over really quickly. I got into a final kicking battle with a teenage boy on the homestretch (which I lost), and saw the clock just ticking over 19, which was a nice surprise! My watch read 3.19 miles at 6:02 pace, which was also a nice surprise! That's not an exceptional performance for me and I have run a half marathon at close to that pace before, but for what I expected on this day, it was fantastic! It was one of those cases of Happiness Equals Reality Minus Expectations. Plus, I did not have any dizziness symptoms during or after the race, which was a victory in itself.

I felt even happier about it when I looked at my grade-adjusted paces, to see mile splits of 5:57, 5:58, 5:57. One could only get a tiny bit more even than that! That also means that my GAP average was sub-6, which I would for sure not have predicted. I was at about 18:44 at the 5k point on my Garmin. My official time was 19:13 though.

Proof I can still do this
when I feel normal!

After I grabbed lots of goodies from the finish chute then dropped them at my car, I joined my friends David and Amy to run-cheer for the other races. I loved running around the course and cheering for the half and full so much that it made me just want to run the 5k followed by run-cheering every year, hah! I know the course well so was able to see runners in many places, especially since I ran about 12 miles spectating. My top training buddy Casey, who I also coach, ran a PR half of 1:21:57 and was 2nd overall female, and looked amazing doing it! Rebecca was 3rd overall female in the half. Kimi won the marathon by 20 minutes. I saw so many Ozark Mountain Ridge Eunners and friendly familiar faces out there - I want to do every long run like that.

All in all, this went about as well as it realistically could have. I'm not back to where I want to be, and I still experience dizziness every morning when I first get up, but I'm trending in the right direction. I have an ENT appointment on Dec. 5 since all things point to inner ear, so most likely I will be fine by Dec. 4, hah. I'm thankful I had this race and got to experience the magic of Bass Pro Marathon weekend with my training group, who brightens all of my 5:30a's.

Official results are here. 

My activity on Strava is here.

Articles about the race are here and here, and I also stumbled across this one about last year that I hadn't seen before.

Additional update: I got a sore throat the day after the race (11/7/22) and tested positive for COVID on 11/8/22. I then found out I was exposed at the race expo by one of my running buddies. After not getting it for almost 3 years I sure thought I was in the clear! 

Expo fun

Found myself in the start photo on the registration website, from 2014

TCM Pro Perks

I was blessed to be accepted into the professional field of the Twin Cities Marathon. I had the open and masters qualifying times (2:47:30 and 3:00:00), but I applied only 3 weeks before the race, when the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon cancelled. They didn't have to let me into the filled race, but they were generous enough to do so!

TCM was held in conjunction with the USATF 10 mile championships, which drew many big names in the sport. You can see the start lists here. One of my highlights was sharing an elevator with the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials Champion Aliphine Tulimuk! I also saw most of the professionals at some point during the weekend - including Emily Durgin, Annie Frisbie, Dakotah Lindwurm, Fiona O'Keffe, Lauren Paquette, and Nell Rojas. Kim Conley was probably the biggest name in the marathon, and I saw her all around the event!

On Saturday, my parents and I got to spend some time in the professional hospitality suite, which was also where I picked up my race packet. I didn't go to the main expo, which was nice - I have been to hundreds of expos and they usually tire me out more than anything. We were supposed to get one friends and family pro pass, but they were kind enough to give me two so both my parents could accompany me in pro areas! We ate lunch in the hospitality suite, which had about 10 different kinds of sandwiches, lots of sides, and any extras you could have wanted. It was also available for Saturday and Sunday breakfasts, but since we were staying in a different hotel due to only knowing I was entering this race 3 weeks before, I didn't partake in those.

After lunch we went to the marathon professional meeting, which was somewhat similar to Boston's but without top tier elite. The race organizers had everything planned well and instructions were clear.

On Sunday morning, I rode one of the pro busses to the start. They left from the host hotel, which would have been super convenient had I been able to stay there, but they were still pretty easy to drive to and board. The busses were school busses, just like the main field had, but the drive was pretty quick and the weather good. Our bus driver got lost and turned on her iPhone navigation at one point though!

The pro bus dropped us off at a hotel near the start, where we had a staging area. Despite getting lost, we were still pretty early, so everyone sat around for awhile before heading out to warm up. It was nice having an indoor area to wait around in, do activation, organize our drop bags, etc. - not to mention indoor bathrooms! We all walked over to the start together, where we had our own porta-potties, a block of road to warm up on, and a gear drop. They had two volunteers monitoring the bathrooms, and they checked everyone's bibs before letting them into the special area.

Then there was the race...

Immediately after I finished, a man met me and walked me to the nearby pro post-race area. He also had my gear bag to me by the time I had my shoes off! There was food, drinks, a private changing area, and massage tables. I usually don't get a massage post-race, but there was no waiting so I did - just after Kim Conley! My parents were able to come into the pro area to meet me, so we easily connected post-race.

Although I give my race a D, the pro experience definitely gets an A. Now I need to run another fast marathon before all of my 2:4X races are too out of date to use for pro field apps!

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Update on what happened during the race: diagnosis, a vestibular balance disorder. When tested for it I did several exercises that a person with a fully functioning vestibular system can do without getting dizzy, and I became so dizzy I was also extremely nauseous. I feel immensely better having a label and plan of attack for this, especially because I've continued to feel abnormal and unstable. I will be treated with the Epley Maneuver, sleeping at 45* angle for awhile, and doing exercises to help normalize my vestibular system. I have dealt with vertigo before (see November 26 here), and it's pretty much the same thing. My mom also deals with it, and her mother did as well, so mine seems to be genetic. It's not harmful in and of itself (it can cause falls and other accidents), but uncomfortable - and not beneficial for racing performance, that's for sure.

Aliphine is in the side of this photo!

Twin Cities Marathon: The Joy is in the Journey, Only

I’ve started and deleted this post several times. I loved this marathon training cycle and went into the Twin Cities Marathon feeling that I didn’t even need to run the marathon to be satisfied. I then finished TCM thinking that I’d have definitely been happier if I had not run it! I thought I’d had bad marathons before – such as the first time I tried to break 3:00 and ran 3:01, the times I tried to OTQ and ran 2:46-2:49, or the time a wrong turn cost me a PR - but I've kind of felt like 2022 said, “You thought those were bad? I’ll show you!”

The short:

My training indicated that I was ready to run 6:20-6:30 pace at TCM. I wanted to start conservatively, which I did at around 6:40 pace for the first 3 miles and then moved closer to 6:30 until about 10. My effort level felt correct for the beginning of a marathon, the endorphins started flowing, and I began feeling confident about having a good day. Around mile 10, both of my legs began feeling clumsy and uncoordinated – particularly not ideal in Alphaflys! The unbalanced sensation got progressively worse and my pace got progressively slower, until I rallied a little in the final half mile when another masters female nearly passed me. I ended up finishing in 3:06:50. The bright spot was that I managed to get on the female masters podium in 3rd, but I was pretty disappointed in my performance. The time wasn’t what I trained for, but the worst part was that I felt really betrayed by my body and had no explanation of why.

My race results are here, including videos of my finish at the bottom.

My dad's video of the finish is here.

We finished by the beautiful capitol building

The long:
Twin Cities was a last-minute pivot, when the Milwaukee Marathon cancelled about 3 weeks before race day. Since my training had been targeted at October 2, I wanted to find an alternative race the same weekend, and the Twin Cities organizers were kind enough to let me into the professional field of the already full race. I greatly appreciated this gesture and the opportunity to run a marathon as planned, and I don’t want my notes about my disappointment to take away from that. The professional perks I received were super helpful (I wrote a separate post about those awesome experiences), the race as a whole was very well-run, and the course was beautiful and lined with cheering spectators.

You can see me at the back of the pro field at the start

I was somewhat nervous about the long climb near the end of the race, and the fact that the point-to-point course gained about 100 ft more in elevation than it lost. It was also warmer than I’d like at high-50s/low-60s, so I wanted to keep my effort and pace extra controlled at the start. Because of this I checked my splits for the first 3 miles, and thought the 6:39, 6:46 (uphill), and 6:28 (downhill) I ran were pretty perfect. I settled into 6:30ish effort from there and everything felt great. I generally race best by feel, and I didn’t look at my watch for the rest of the day.

Of course I didn't buy the pics!

Around mile 10, I kind of tripped over my own feet. I thought it was just a fluke, the uneven road, or the huge soles on my Alphaflys initially, but I continued to have some clumsy feelings. I’d experienced some of the same on my shake out run the day before, but figured it was just from the long car ride and ignored it.

I could tell I was slowing down between mile 10 and the half because I started getting passed. I reminded myself that this bad patch could end any time, and then I would get back on pace. The half point had a clock, and I saw 1:27:58 on it and told myself, “you can do that again!”. Although I didn’t have a specific time goal for this race, I wanted to pace well and finish strong, and be under 3:00.

I did everything I could think of to stay engaged and positive, including trying to latch onto people who passed me, keying off the energy of the spectators, using the downhills, positive self-talk, smiling, caffeine gels, etc. My legs felt kind of like they do when I haven’t run for a long time – you know that first run after injury when everything feels sloppy? I stumbled several times but was always able to catch myself, which I was thankful for.

Just keep smiling...

The miles from about halfway through mile 20 were the most demoralizing of the race, because I was getting passed almost constantly. The 3:00 group went by me around mile 17, and although I hadn't been able to hang onto anyone else, I tried even harder to hang onto them, but my body wouldn’t respond. I made peace with not going sub-3, and with just doing what I could and finishing. I didn't want another poor marathon performance, but I wanted a DNF even less. Even though I was getting passed left and right, it was mostly by men, and the hope that I was possibly in a masters female podium position helped keep me going.

Around mile 20, the course begins a long, mostly gradual, but nearly constant climb. By the time I got to it, so much had already gone wrong that it didn’t even matter, but surprisingly from 20 to the finish I began passing people. It wasn't because I was speeding up; there are a lot more people bonking at 3:00-3:10 than in the 2:40s! Encouraging those I passed helped me continue on. Those 3 miles would have been tough to run fast on; even though they were not steep, the incline was just so long without respite and everyone was on already fatigued legs. On a good day I could have minimized the time lost, but that course would be difficult to negative split on!

Final kick

I was relieved to finish the worst of the climbs, though there were still hills in the next couple of miles. Since halfway I’d been counting down to mile 25 (e.g., at mile 15 I told myself “only 10 miles left!”) because I knew the final mile had a lot of downhill. As I started down the final half mile, a woman who looked like she was in masters passed me. I was able to pick it up and outkick her; I was determined not to give up a place. Her chip time was faster than mine, but my gun time was faster than hers – fortunately prize money goes by gun time! Though I'm thankful I had that kick, it also bothered me; why could I do that when I couldn't run any better for the 16 miles before then?! 

The experience of this event was great. My Minnesota trip with my parents was amazing. The actual race was disappointing and upsetting. I’m thankful for another marathon finish, and any day any of us can complete a marathon is a good day – but I feel really betrayed by my body. I am usually so good at pacing by feel, but now I feel like I can’t trust how I feel (but on the other hand, that went great in all of my 2022 races that were not marathons!). I used to be able to finish marathons feeling super strong, but I have completely bombed both of my 2022 marathons. My marathon split of my gravel 50k remains my fastest marathon this year, which feels pretty sad. I used to see people have fantastic training cycles then significantly underperform in the marathon and wonder, "How could that happen?" Well, now I know!

Finish tent

My training for TCM wasn’t that of a 3:06 marathoner, but on October 2 that was what I was. Although I am thankful I got to run the race, I am also pretty confident I’d feel far better about my running if I hadn’t run it! Why did my body respond so differently in this race than it had in all of my long training runs? Why couldn't I make myself run better? Why have all of my 2022 races gone fine except for my marathons? Why can't I do what I used to do in the marathon this year? Of course, there was no way to know how it would go in advance. I’ve been reflecting back on all of my long run workouts that went well and that I finished strong – including a 6:13 mile at the end of my 10 miles at 7:30 + 10 miles at 6:30 business, which was the day I ran 24 miles at 5 a.m. at the end of 3 x 100 mile weeks at basically the same pace I ran TCM. I wanted to feel strong in the final 10k of TCM – like I did at Tobacco Road, at Phoenix, at Grandma’s 2018. Even other marathons that I “blew up” slightly at the end like CIM, Indy, and Grandma’s 2019 I didn’t really blow up compared to this (I mean, I even ran a 2:58 wheezing at Houston 2020). It’s frustrating! If you train with me, follow me on Strava, or read my monthly recaps on here, you know how consistent I am with training. Yes, I absolutely love training, but when you follow a solid schedule exactly and feel great doing it, you expect a reasonably good race performance out of it.

I basically just want to marathon train without actually racing a marathon now. That may sound crazy, but sign me up for it! I love running, but I'm not too fond of racing right now. I love the day-to-day of marathon training, but the actual events are raining on my parade this year. For several years I thought it would be a long time before I'd ever run another marathon over 3:00; now I feel like I'll never run another under 3:00. One bad marathon is a fluke; two is a pattern.

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” - Romans 5:3-5

I heard a lot of "Go 123" cheers + my
last name was not correct...

Late addition: 

Update on what happened during the race: diagnosis, vestibular balance disorder. When tested for it I did several exercises that a person with a fully functioning vestibular system can do without getting dizzy, and I got so dizzy I was nauseous. I feel immensely better having a label and plan of attack for this. 

Outtakes (some bits I kept from the posts I deleted):

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

Bests:

• Female masters podium (3rd)
• Faster than Boston
• Beautiful course and well-organized event
• Fun pro field experience
• Wonderful racecation with my parents

Worsts:

• Weird clumsy, uncoordinated sensations in my legs starting around mile 10 and progressively worsening
• My training wasn't that of a 3:06 marathoner
• Over 6 minutes slower than my 2022 gravel 50k marathon split
• Two disappointing marathons in a row, i.e., all of my 2022 marathons

---------------------------

A perk of marathon training without racing would be that I'd never have to taper, right??

----------------------------

The joy is in the journey until a crap race sucks the fun out of it.

It's hard to resist the Plaza 10k!

The short:

Racing during a ~100 mile week went "so well" last month that I decided to do it again! In my head I am faster than I ran at the Plaza 10k, but I was proud of myself for putting myself in there with a lot of women who were about 15 years younger than me. I ended up 3rd overall female and 1st masters female, and set a new state road racing record for age 41 with 38:16. It was also my first time racing a few days after a 24 mile workout!

Results are here.

My state record is here.

My Strava activity is here.

On the Plaza mid-race

The long:

In my opinion, the Plaza 10k is the best 10k road race in Missouri by far, and this year was my fifth time running it. Being in mid-September, it always falls during marathon training for me, and previously I've run 3-4 miles before and 8-10 miles after the race to make it into a big day. My coach didn't want me to do that this year; he wanted me to get in a 24 mile workout around the time of the race, so after weighing our options we landed on doing the 24 mile workout on Wednesday, September 7. That gave me 3 days between the workout and Plaza on September 11, although those recovery days weren't short either - because it was also peak mileage week!

I felt great considering going into the race, and the temperature had cooled down enough to feel like an amazing contrast, at 56* on race morning. I met my friend Andrew, who was kind enough to pick up my race packet on Saturday for me, and ran a warm up with him and a couple of his Kansas City friends. My uptempo running and strides during my warm up felt smooth, and I was excited to give it a go.

Start

I saw numerous fast women warming up and on the starting line. I wanted to podium, but my bigger goal was to set the state record for my age (41), so initially I prioritized pacing well over competing. I got out at a pace that felt sustainable for a 10k, which ended up being a 6:02 first mile. This course isn't an even pacing course due to the hills, but mile 1 is flat. I didn't look at my splits until afterward, but that was probably a pretty perfect start.

The course turns right just before the mile mark, and it's easy to see the runners in front of you. At that point I counted that I was in 9th female, but the majority of the women ahead of me were relatively close. My competitive nature kicked in and I forgot about my time goals and began chasing down the women in front of me. I'd moved up to 6th by the end of mile 2, which has some ups and downs but is a net downhill. My split was 5:54.

By the halfway point, I'd moved into the 3rd female position. Mile 3 has some ups and downs and is a net uphill, and my split was 6:11. The course used to have a clock at the 5k mark, and I kind of miss that but also kind of don't - in past years I'd always think, "that's my fastest 5k this season", and this year was the same!

Mile 4 has a long gradual decline, with some flats. It is usually my fastest mile, though this year I ended up splitting 5:56, so not quite. The women in 4th and 5th were right on my tail and I could tell they were friends working together. They passed me back just before the mile 4 marker, but I wasn't going to let them go and latched on.

I'm not sure where this is at, but the 
woman who was 4th is visible

Mile 5 in a long incline, a little downhill, then another long incline, and it's always my slowest mile of this race. I felt really strong and passed the two women back plus passed a couple of men, even though my split was only 6:18. The two women were not letting up though, and it wasn't long before they were trying to pass me back. I decided that if they beat me and congratulated me in the finish chute I was going to tell them I was old enough to be their mother, haha!

I wasn't fresh, but I had marathon strength and was able to put some distance on the two ladies in the final mile. I felt really strong and sure thought I was running sub-6:00 pace, but my split was 6:08. There are several little hills in the final mile and they add up! However, what I had was enough to maintain my lead on the next two women, plus the 6th woman who was right on their heels. I kept telling myself "Go, go, go, they are coming!" I really started pressing when I passed the mile 6 sign, which seemed earlier than in years passed - then when I heard my Gamin beep mile 6 probably 200 m after the sign I knew the sign was early and I probably still had 0.3 to go because my Garmin always reads long at this race [note to self: all of the mile markers seemed to be estimations, with mile 1 also being early].

When I saw the finishing clock I knew I'd better get in quick to get the state record. The record I broke was 38:24, so I had it by 8 seconds with my 38:16 but it's always hard to judge just how far you are from the finish line. My chip time was probably 38:14, but they only give gun time for overall winners, and gun time is used for records anyway.

Sure looks like 38:15 to me though!

I wasn't thrilled with my time, but I was thrilled with the state record and for holding my own with all of the younger ladies in that race! I never really understood why people were so into masters running and age grading times until recently. 5 years ago I'd have thought nothing about going head-to-head with a bunch of 25 year olds, but now I am pretty proud when I can.

I ran a 4 mile cool down - definitely the shortest I've ever run after this race - for about 13.5 miles on the day. I then enjoyed the rest of the day in Kansas City! I visited a restaurant and shops on the Plaza, Loose Park, and City Market before dinner with a friend in downtown Parkville.

Sidebar: I've been training for the Milwaukee Marathon for months, and on September 9 they cancelled the race due to the city not issuing the verbally promised permits. I did not see that coming! I scrambled to find another marathon that I would be excited about and could drive to on the same date, October 2 - I'd already done my 24 miler after all! After a few days of communication, on September 14 I was officially accepted into the professional field at the Twin Cities Marathon. I am thankful Twin Cities let me in at the last minute, and that I'm able to keep the same targeted race date!

Plaza Chiefs support

Loose Park rose garden

City Market

Riverside 5000

I've wanted to run the Riverside 5000 in Tulsa for years, which is ironic since I don't like 5ks or racing in hot weather! I was registered for the race last year, but it cancelled a couple of weeks before race day due to COVID. I went back and forth on running it this year because all of my local running buddies bailed on the trip and I was feeling pretty tired the week of the race, but decided to sign up two days before the event. My friend Liz was kind enough to let me crash at her house, which helped solidify my decision to go.

Though this was not my first time running a race in a ~100 mile week (that honor goes to the Run with The Wind 25k), it was my first time racing a 5k with this many miles on my legs. Although I know mileage slows you down, I workout with a lot of miles on my legs all of the time, so I rationalized that it wouldn't matter much and hoped to beat my heat advisory time trial time from 3 weeks before. The time trial was during a cut back week of 70 miles, but I hoped I'd gained fitness since then and expected I was capable of 18:15-18:30 in summer conditions. The race had prize money for the top 5 overall and top 3 masters, so my main goals were to get in the top 5 and win masters. For hot races I tend to prefer place goals, as realistic heat-graded times are never that motivating to attain!

When I warm up for short races I do a few minutes at tempo effort, and when I saw my tempo effort was getting me 6:39 pace pre-race, I was a little concerned - but I've had every combination of good/bad warmup/race, so I mostly brushed it off and lined up on the starting line with ice in my sports bra and shorts, trying to stay cool. It was around 78* with a 65* dew point, which is not great but I don't think we could have expected any better. 90* with 75* dew point would have been far worse!

I checked out the other women around me on the starting line and after the gun kept my eye out to see where I was at. Three women went out pretty quick, then when things sorted out I was in 4th. The course was out and back twice, meaning 3 hairpin turns but also meaning you could see where you were at every quarter of the race. At the first turn, I didn't have much lead on the 5th and 6th women, so I knew I was going to need to stay on it to meet my top 5 goal. The woman in 5th looked like she was likely in masters, so I was motivated to widen my gap on her.

The most common comment on this photo when I
shared it on social media was about the gas price

Like usual, I ran by effort and didn't look at my watch. I felt like I was pushing well and running hard, and if I'd had to guess I'd have said 5:50 pace. I am really glad I didn't look at my watch because I'd have been pretty disappointed to see 5:50 effort was getting me 6:10ish pace!

At the halfway turn around, I had a bigger lead on 5th but still not a lot - and I was working hard! I focused on the men ahead of me and trying to pick them off, and I successfully did for multiple men (I think 6). The course was marked each kilometer, so I also focused on pushing during the 3rd and 4th kilometers, since that was where I fell off in the time trial. I noticed that one of the lead women had fallen off the others and seemed to be slowing dramatically, so then I started telling myself to go get her.

Final stretch

At the final hair pin turn, I felt comfortable with my lead over the 5th woman, and tried to push as much as I could, with a small hope that I could catch 3rd. I closed the gap between us but she was still at least 15 seconds ahead of me. When I first saw the clock, it started in an 18, but then I saw that advance to 19 and was pretty disappointed. I ended up crossing in 19:19, but they didn't do chip time so my gun time is my official at 19:25. Results are here.

Awards

I think if Liz hadn't been at the race with me, I'd have wallowed about my time on my cool down, but instead we chatted the whole way and I stayed in a positive mood. We ran a little over 4 miles, then I picked up my winnings. I was pleased with my placings, so I had mixed feelings about this race, but I moved on really quickly from it and enjoyed the rest of my weekend - including a 20 miler the next day. It wasn't what I thought I was capable of time-wise, but it wasn't for lack of trying! I know the mileage slowed me down some, and of course the heat did too, but everything else was pretty ideal so I don't know why I wasn't better.

Not to be dramatic, but I've been wondering lately if my PR days are behind me. I'm currently training well, learning more, and giving running just as much as I ever have, but I'm not running exceptionally. Whatever the case with my performance, I'll continue to train and race because I love it - cheers to enjoying the process! - though I don't love the thought of slowing down. I am fully appreciating the masters division though!

Heat Advisory 5k, Miles from Mentor Time Trial Edition

Over the years, I've learned that my first 5k of the season usually falls short of expectations. I've often been unhappy with my first 5k, then went on to run a faster pace in a 10k a couple of weeks later. When I've raced two 5ks, the second has generally gone significantly better than the first. I'm not the only one who feels this way, so I decided to organize a 5k time trial for my running buddies on July 23 before we tackle a 5k race in August. I figured it would be a good rust buster, plus we like to do weird things like run 3.1 miles really hard around a cemetery at 6 a.m. during a heat advisory!

Pre-run pic

I estimated that I could run about 18:35, basing my guess on thinking I could run a smidge under 6:00 pace (6:00 pace is 18:39). The course we selected is a flat square that is approximately 1 mile that we do workouts on. It has no traffic because it's the road around the perimeter of a cemetery, which also seemed fitting since 5ks are kind of like death, right? Our plan was to run 3 laps plus however much farther was needed to hit 3.11. I programmed my watch to take 1k splits so it would beep when I hit 5k and I wouldn't need to look at it.

Starting line

We had 7 participants: Colin, Austin, Rebecca, Casey, David, Amy, and me. Christian (coming back from injury) and Elise (pregnant) were our race officials, and Austin's mom also spectated. Our starting line was a crack in the pavement that we also use for starting workouts! Really it all felt just like a workout, but I tried to amp myself up to run hard, after my 1600 m time trial debacle the previous week [the short: I ran it like a mile repeat, not like a time trial or race - then had a great 5 x 800 m workout afterward]. I was pretty discouraged from that 1600 m, mostly because I didn't push myself or make it hurt; I finished feeling like I could do it again x 4 after a 2-3 minute jog. I did learn that I have no idea how to race a mile! I hoped to run a solid 5k time, but mostly I wanted to work hard and finish knowing that I gave it my best on the day. While 5ks aren't my forte, I think I mostly know how to race one.

From the start, Colin was in front as expected, followed closely by Austin and then Rebecca. Casey was on Rebecca's heels and I stayed relatively close behind her. I didn't want to take the fly and die approach, and running with either of them at that point felt like it was a little too much, so I let them go and did my own thing. I saw Casey pass Rebecca around the mile mark, and I could tell I was gaining. I passed Rebecca around the halfway point and set my sights on Casey, but she looked really strong and I felt about average, not bad but not great.

Starting the third mile I was really working but I tried to keep the pedal on the gas. Casey had a GI emergency and stepped behind a tree briefly, at which point I passed her. I've run plenty of workouts with her when this has occurred and was well-aware that she'd jump right back in and likely run faster than she had been, so I kept telling myself not to let up because "she's coming!". I was able to maintain the lead through the end but only by a few seconds, and of course her moving time was less than mine. I told her she should count her moving time as her time trial time, but she told me I should take the female win, so I accepted that even though I never thought of this as a race. My time was 18:32.

Rebecca came in shortly after us followed by David and Amy, and we all ran several more miles (10 on the day for me). Elise set up a sprinkler in her yard, about a mile from the course, and gave us popsicles on our cool down.

Cool down

#jumpingjuly - kind of

I ended up appreciating knowing my 1k splits because they showed me where I need to push more, which to no one's surprise is the 3rd and 4th kilometers (see below). I am not sure how it took me 2 seconds to stop my watch after it beeped 5k, but with it set up this way I can see that on the time and subtract it accordingly. It's just a Garmin time anyway - we considered doing this on the track to have a perfect 5k, but ended up voting and road won by 1 vote.

Splits

I'm planning to race a certified 5k next month, and it's likely it will also be in a heat advisory, so this was good preparation! I ran this one better than I've run most first 5ks of a season, I think because I bombed my 1600 m the week before - similarly in summer 2020 I bombed a 2 mile time trial then had a great 5k time trial. So my lesson moving forward is: schedule a meaningless time trial for my first short race of a season! That seems very reasonable, and lucky for me I have a group of similarly crazy people who are always willing to do things like this.

Elise & Estes

Bill Snyder Highway Half

Have you ever run 12 miles into gale force winds? Because I now have!

Only a slight exaggeration. 😉

Miles from Mentor colors work well at K-State

This may be my shortest race recap in history - it's been a busy time and I don't have much to report on this one. Based on the women on the starting line and my non-peak state, I knew that winning masters was likely going to be the best I could come away with, and after mile 1 I felt my choices were to run all out and get 5th OAF and win masters, or to take it easier and potentially help a friend break 1:30, while still getting 5th OAF and winning masters. I chose the latter, also based on the 25 mph headwind and my residual fatigue from my sickly Boston.

Sarah (purple) and me (green & black rabbit) - she
came close to her PR even in that wind!

I was definitely trying to draft

Towards the end

Running 1:30:40 was harder than I expected, but having a significant headwind on a point-to-point course probably accounts for that! I love this race but even if I'd have run all-out I think I'd have come away with my slowest time on it (I was expecting 1:25ish without the wind). 

Finish in the stadium

My main reason for doing this race was a to take a little racecation, and I greatly enjoyed it with my friends Sarah and Sean - also kind of a going away party for Sean before he moves to St. Louis. My parents ending up meeting us in Manhattan, and there were a lot of memories and laughs for the weekend.

Awards with Coach Bill Snyder

Post-race with teammates

I raced in my rabbit gear but put on the
MfM singlet for post-race pics

I want to get back to where I'm confident I can compete when I'm on a starting line, instead of resigning to being unable to keep up with the other women who show up, but this wasn't the day for that. 

Results are here - I'm listed at 2nd masters but the OAF was also first masters so I got to move up.

K-State Insect Zoo

K-State Botanical Gardens

Manhattan Running Co.