Race report from the Popsicle 5K in Mocksville, NC. 2/21/2015
Today I ran my best 5K time of 24:41. It felt amazing, despite the cold temps (28*… brrrr!)
I’m anxiously awaiting the race results (cuz I’m a RunNerd like that!) and pics of the race. I went solo, since hubby is traveling this week. My friend V watched the kids while I drove to Mocksville for the Popsicle 5K (a fun local race!) Honestly, I almost punked out. I felt guilty leaving the kids, bad for asking my friend to give up her precious free time, and I didn’t really want to face the cold air. I could have just stayed home, drinking coffee and snuggling with the kids. However, Asher finally slept thru the night the last TWO nights (hopefully I didn’t just jinx it!) so I felt pretty rested, despite the need for my Diva Cup if you get what I mean. And since I had spend $30 and felt decent, I went for it. Plus, the Run 2015 in ’15 group is very motivating, so I thought “if I go, I can post on the group forum later and get some kudos”–boy did I ever! Within an hour, had over 300 people give me a ‘like’ and 50 people commented some kind words! ahhh the group effect is so sweet! It was like a big warm hug from fellow RunNerds like myself… Thanks guys!
So I exited my personal pity party, got my head in the game, headed out and braved the cold. I’m very glad I did! I knew I could probably PR since I got close at the Mistletoe 5K in December, with a time of 25:11 (PR prior to today was 24:45, from Iraq in ’08). I’ve been very consistent with my training for the past 3 months, so I felt good about my chances at a personal best. But the cold… that could factor in. I hate having to wear a lot of clothing to run, but I wore my Under Armor tights, Reebok long sleeve shirt (pictured below… I love it!), Army Crew jacket (since my running jacket’s zipper broke… boo!), Nike running gloves, purple Brooks socks, Mizuno Wave Rider 18’s, and a fun blue hat from Germany in ’09 that Gabe says looks like Elsa (loooong before Elsa was popular, kid). Similar to what I wore last week when it was cold. Also wore my Garmin 210, race ID, iPod shuffle 🙂
I got to the Elementary school with plenty of time. Got my bib (#204) and stretched a little. Listened to some Al Pacino “Inches” speech that just so happened to come on my iPod. I needed that extra little motivation. Had my final bathroom break–no nervous stomach at all since this was a very small town race–and with 10 minutes, started my active warm up of lunges, leg kicks, and butt kicks. Did about a 3 minute jog to warm up, then lined up at the start behind the fast guys. I didn’t scope out the competition as I didn’t want to get psyched out. Goal was 8 min/mile pace, sub 24:45 finish.
Gun went off, and we headed out. The group immediately strung out, with about 6 guys in front of me, and 1 girl with a green shirt. She’s the one to beat… just stay behind her. I fell in line behind them about 30 meters back, and ran most of the race solo. 1 mile split was 8:05, so I was right on track. There were a few hills and turns, but the course went through Mocksville’s neighborhood & downtown area. I ran a slow mile 2 in 8:17. Mile 3 I started to firm it up, and when a guy passed me, I tried to hang with him, but couldn’t. But, legs and body felt strong and relaxed. Breathing was a bit tough, but I attribute that to the cold. I knew where the final turn was, and told myself to “drop the hammer” at that point. I made the final turn, and cranked up the speed (to almost a 6 min/mile, I later found out!) Mile 3 split was 7:33 and I sprinted the final 300 meters or so, watching the clock tick up to 24:41 as I crossed the finish. I knew I was the second female overall, and with a PR on top… I felt amazing. Took a few minutes to catch my breath, stopped for a photo with the photographer, and headed inside. Grabbed a cinnamon crunch bagel–thank you, Panera!–a cutie/orange and some water. Whew! Love the rush of a race!
Here I am, the RunNerd, after the race:
I got a popsicle for Gabe, and headed home feeling accomplished and strong. Asher turns 9 months this week, and here I am beating my times before I had kids. Not sure how it happened, but I know part of it is the confidence I gained with Asher’s birth. That might sound weird… but so much of everything that scares us in life is in our heads. Now that I know my brain is the first muscle I need to work out, I make sure that I visualize exactly what I want–what does success look like to me?–and I’ve stopped selling myself short. The old me might have said “I could never run my best on a cold day” or “There’s no way I’ll be fast again after having my second child.” Now I know those are lies. Your inner dialogue with yourself means so much, and literally powers (or in contrast, dampers) everything you do (or don’t do) in your life. Not to say I’m always positive and confident, but I sure as hell know that’s the way I want to be. That’s what I’m working towards.
Have a blessed day, friends!
[…] my personal best 5K time […]