Crafton 4th of July 5K Recap

I had originally intended to register for this race 2-ish months ago, and then it slipped off my radar & I forgot.Then, all of a sudden, I was up late Friday night & near my credit card (always dangerous) when I realized that it was almost 4th of July & I had promised myself I would run a 5K! So, I signed up, snagged one of the last t-shirts in my size & went to bed excited.

The race was on Monday, the 4th itself. Usually, I would taper for a 5K, because I run races to run well, not to just show up & derp around. But, this race was different. I ran 7.6 miles on Saturday + hiked another 4-ish & then biked 20 miles Sunday, followed by some sangria. All of this to say...this was not a well rested foot I was putting forward.

The course is about 5 minutes from my house, packet pick-up was super easy on Saturday & parking Monday morning was a breeze as well. I snagged a spot spitting distance from the start line, even though I showed up a casual 25 minutes before the start.

While I knew the course would have a hill or two, I did not realize just how hilly it would be. In fact, I kind of thought that the initial hill would be the only hill, & that the rest of the course would be flat, followed by a steep downhill. Oh, how I really should have looked at the course map!

The elevation map lies. There we several sharp, steep uphills, and a few more gradual climbs. All to fry our legs for the short steep downhill at the end, that had me running a 4:23 pace for a few short strides. Jessie run fast, say whaaaa?

My main goal, having signed up last minute was to run a consistent race. In the few 5K's I've raced it has been a fly & die sort of race, where I spend the whole last mile trying not to puke. Instead, I wanted to focus on keeping my paces clustered together.

Mile 1 : 8:35

I started out at a comfortable pace and tried to hold it there, even as people passed me. I locked in on a woman moving about my pace in a purple tank top a little ways ahead & made it my goal to stick with her. I made it up the first hill, the one I knew about, no problem, just in time for a second hill.

Mile 2 : 9:11

That second hill was followed shortly thereafter by a 3rd hill. The top held flat ground which I was grateful for. I kept Ms. Purple Tank Top in sight. We passed through a water stop set up on a whim by a local church & grabbed a sip of water. There was a short steep downhill and I passed Ms. PTT. I'm a little bit like a freight train on the downhills. She sped past me on the next uphill though. 

Mile 3 : 7:59 

(+17 seconds for the remaining .05)

Oh boy was I glad fort this last mile. There were volunteers at every intersection & even some folks sitting on their porches cheering. We had a slow, low grade uphill before we made the turn into the final stretch, a steep downhill. Once again, I got moving, I recorded a record 4:23 pace for a few strides. I leaned forward & let gravity take me.

I rounded the corner & could see the finish line...a young girl passed me, sprinting, I tried to catch back up, but I was too late.

Finish time : 26:13

My Garmin & my official chip time were exactly the same, which made me happy.

I checked the results after & saw I had finished 2nd in my age group. I grabbed some water & a piece of cake, 'cause, ya know, I had just run a 5K & checked the results again a few minutes later, just in case someone faster had finished after me, but nope, still 2nd in my age group! Yippee!

Still chasing that sub 25:00 5K time...and maybe even a 1st place AG win!? But in the meantime, I'll take it!

What's your next race?

Did anyone do a 4th of July race?

What was the best part of your weekend?

Linking up with :

Holly & Tricia for Weekend Highlights 

+ 

 Marcia x Patty x Erika for Tuesdays on the Run