Saturday was spontaneous race day. Truly, those are the best races. Little to no preparation, no freaking out beforehand and if the weather sucks - hey, I just don't go! Plus, this 5k was less than 15 minutes from home at the Chatsworth Black Bear Festival. There was a one mile option (I think it was a fun run) and a timed 5k. I haven't actually run a 5k distance race since....May of 2011. My PR from that race was 27:10, but I knew that my running had improved quite a bit since then.
The other awesome thing about this race? It started at 1:30 in the afternoon. Hallelujah. When was the last time you woke up on a Saturday for a race without an alarm? Fantastic. Unfortunately, that also meant it was a little warm and the sun was out in full force, but I don't think it ever got above 65 degrees so not much to complain about there.
Tim ran this one with me, which was really great. He hasn't been running much lately, but the opportunity to run a small town race where almost everyone is guaranteed a medal is simply too good of an opportunity to pass up. (Spoiler alert: we both got trophies. Boo-ya.)
So....the race. I warmed up for about 2 miles with easy jogging and threw a few strides in there because I'm pretty sure I read that once in Runner's World. Clearly it must be important. The race itself was gun-timed (as opposed to having a chip) so I started up pretty close to the front - the row behind the speedy high school cross country boys. There was a high-school aged girl in front of me with a dog, and I immediately tried to classify her.
Was she a girl with a dog going out for a fun jog? Or was she a Kara-esque runner with Peanut, a dog who could outrun me any day of the week? Thankfully, she was the former. Whew. I immediately fell into pace behind the first-place woman, and just tried my hardest not to let her get too far ahead of me. Unfortunately, I let the gap grow, so she finished about 30 seconds ahead of me. But...that means I was second overall woman!
Cue disbelief. I know you're all thinking it. I'm proud of how I've gotten faster over the last couple of years, but I'm no second place finisher, right? SMALL TOWN RACES. It's amazing. For $20, I got a really nice long-sleeved shirt and a freaking trophy. And a PR. All in all? Not a bad day.
Final time: 24:30
Splits---Mile 1: 7:33, Mile 2: 7:58, Mile 3:7:55 Final 0.1 Mile: 1:04 (Garmin ran a little long)
Overall, I'm really happy with this race. I know that having someone faster in front of me to chase really helped - she came in about 30 seconds ahead of me, but I know I pushed myself more because of her. I plugged my recent half-marathon PR into a few calculators to see what my estimated time should be, and it said around 25 minutes - so I count it as a success to be faster than the prediction!
Do you always register in advance for races, or do you just show up the day of for smaller events?
Have you ever used race time predictors? (Like this ONE?) Have they been accurate for you?
They have been a pretty accurate guide for me, but obviously they don't take everything into account. I'm especially curious because when I enter some times (like my recent half marathon time) it says I could run a 4:03 marathon - and that would be freaking amazing.
The other awesome thing about this race? It started at 1:30 in the afternoon. Hallelujah. When was the last time you woke up on a Saturday for a race without an alarm? Fantastic. Unfortunately, that also meant it was a little warm and the sun was out in full force, but I don't think it ever got above 65 degrees so not much to complain about there.
Tim ran this one with me, which was really great. He hasn't been running much lately, but the opportunity to run a small town race where almost everyone is guaranteed a medal is simply too good of an opportunity to pass up. (Spoiler alert: we both got trophies. Boo-ya.)
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| This might have been the one that was "not blog approved" |
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| Oh, right. Here's the good one. |
Was she a girl with a dog going out for a fun jog? Or was she a Kara-esque runner with Peanut, a dog who could outrun me any day of the week? Thankfully, she was the former. Whew. I immediately fell into pace behind the first-place woman, and just tried my hardest not to let her get too far ahead of me. Unfortunately, I let the gap grow, so she finished about 30 seconds ahead of me. But...that means I was second overall woman!
Cue disbelief. I know you're all thinking it. I'm proud of how I've gotten faster over the last couple of years, but I'm no second place finisher, right? SMALL TOWN RACES. It's amazing. For $20, I got a really nice long-sleeved shirt and a freaking trophy. And a PR. All in all? Not a bad day.
Final time: 24:30
Splits---Mile 1: 7:33, Mile 2: 7:58, Mile 3:7:55 Final 0.1 Mile: 1:04 (Garmin ran a little long)
Overall, I'm really happy with this race. I know that having someone faster in front of me to chase really helped - she came in about 30 seconds ahead of me, but I know I pushed myself more because of her. I plugged my recent half-marathon PR into a few calculators to see what my estimated time should be, and it said around 25 minutes - so I count it as a success to be faster than the prediction!
Do you always register in advance for races, or do you just show up the day of for smaller events?
I like to always register in advance, but I really hate paying for a race and then backing out of it for whatever reason. So for smaller races, I'm happier to just show up on the day and pay right there.
Have you ever used race time predictors? (Like this ONE?) Have they been accurate for you?
They have been a pretty accurate guide for me, but obviously they don't take everything into account. I'm especially curious because when I enter some times (like my recent half marathon time) it says I could run a 4:03 marathon - and that would be freaking amazing.
I love small town races! Some of ours have $$ on the line for placers, so it's fun to win those.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the awesome new PR!!!
NICE PR! I totally think a 4:03 marathon is well within your reach.
ReplyDelete2nd place!!! Can I get a "Wut, wut!!"
ReplyDeleteYou rock, sister!!! And AMAZING time!!! I've never seen the race time predictor before, and it is amazing!! Apparently I am blazing fast for long runs that I have never attempted before. I should just put them as my PR and pretend I ran them. That sounds great.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the PR and second place female! That is a huge trophy! Love small town races! They are so much fun.
ReplyDeleteI use the race predictors but usually they aren't exactly right. The only thing that has been close is based on my 5k PR, it predicted pretty close my 10k and 15k races. But I wonder if I didn't know what my "predicted" time would be, would I have run that time (or slower or faster!)
Way to go! I think after my next (last?) marathon I'm cutting long distance for a while and focus on getting faster over shorter distances. That pace calculator says based on my recent half I could hit pretty close to my marathon goal, so I'm hoping it's right!
ReplyDeleteGood job on not letting the dog beat you :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Congrats on your great PR!! I love small town races I always have the most fun at those.
ReplyDeleteWoohoo!! What a fancy trophy! Congrats, speedy pants!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Great time and so great to come in 2nd woman overall! It certainly helps having a pace bunny to chase!
ReplyDeleteDude, kick ASS.
ReplyDeleteI wish races here started that late, and had so few runners.
I had a dream last night that I was running a 5k, only it was in little circle, so everyone had to run the circle like 20 times, and there were only a handful of people counting. Running dreams are weird.
Wow, congrats, what a nice surprise! I like the IDEA of spontaneous races, but as they usually happen early in the morning, oftentimes I can't get myself to wake up for them. There's a lot of "You're not signed up, you're not going to lose money if you don't go, you should sleep more!!" But hey, if there were more 1:30 races I'd probably go for it!
ReplyDeleteThat's an AMAZING time! Congratulations on your new record!
ReplyDeletegreat job!!! I usually sign up in advance but lately I have been just winging it. I signed up for the half tomorrow on Tuesday....but in all honestly I am doing it for fun.
ReplyDeleteHoly COW, Girl, that is fast!
ReplyDeleteGlad you and Tim had fun time and both got trophies, too. How kewl is that!
DAYUM girl! That's awesome!!! You've gotten SO MUCH FASTER than when I first started following you. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteI've used the race calculators before... using my 5K PR from a couple of weekends ago, it said I should run a 2:04 half (I ran a 2:07 the next weekend), and a 4:20 marathon! Clearly, the geniuses behind the calculators are on crack.
Congratulations!!! Also, I have to say...your husband looks an awful lot like Eric Church in those pics...may be the glasses but I definitely see a resemblance!!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat job, speedy girl! That is one big ass trophy. I would display it on my coffee table if I were you.
ReplyDeleteI'm running a small town trail race tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed for undeserved swag!
you are fast!!! congrats on the PR. I sign up ahead of time always...I try to pay the lowest $ possible...! but for small local races (very few in my town) I wait because they dont increase the fee until race day!
ReplyDeleteI did no know husband have the right to blog approve pics...dont tell Bill about that one... :)
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! nice pr :) and so cool that you both got trophies.....I laughed so hard at that pic of Tim ;)
ReplyDeleteNice PR Vanessa! You are getting faster and faster!!
ReplyDeletenice new PR! congrats!! and huge trophy :) and yes, love the small town races. i try and sign up ahead for races-i’m too type A.
ReplyDeleteWow great job and good time! I usually always register ahead of time because there's always a cut off date to get the shirt and for the cheapest price.
ReplyDeleteBut I live in Charlotte and most of the races are pretty big.
great job to you both!!!!
ReplyDeleteI did my first small race this summer and they are such an ego boost-- love them :) PS Awesome PR! Nice job!
ReplyDeleteCongrats girl! I've never done a 5k at 1:30 in the afternoon but wish I could find one at this time! Love running in the afternoon after a giant breakfast and lunch, and maybe a pot or two of coffee.
ReplyDeleteWOOT WOOT for PR's!!! way to go, V! :) that's a random start time, but i'm all for sleeping in. ;) and i need to say double props for two things: 1) YAY for a warm-up with strides! 2) super smart to tuck in behind her...all about drafting baby. ;) love those PR's!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! That's a super impressive PR. I ran a half last weekend and let McMillan's predictions go to my head - I tried to get the 2:02 he predicted, went out too fast, and died in the last third.
ReplyDeleteWhoah - that's awesome!!! Congrats on not just a PR, but a really great PR! You should be proud of what you've done over the past couple of years and that kind of 5k time deserves an award - congrats! A 1:30 race time - that's so random, ha ha, I love it!
ReplyDeleteWoo hoo! Congrats on your PR and trophy! That's awesome, and good job to Tim too. I like to register ahead of time unless the race is super small and there's no chance of it selling out.
ReplyDeleteVery cool! A PR and a trophy! Congrats!!!!
ReplyDeleteI use the McMillan and it always seems pretty right on to me. I think using it to span the spread from a 5K or a timed mile to a marathon is a stretch though. It assumes relative fitness and endurance on par with what you exhibit at the shorter distances.
Mega congrats! Just wait and see how fast your run your marathon! :D Love the photo of Tim! LOL
ReplyDeleteLATE TO THIS...but congrats'ing none the less.
ReplyDeleteCONGRATS on your PR and your award!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWOW! Super awesome 2nd overall! Congrats!!!! Small town races ROCK!
ReplyDeleteAnd so cool that it started so late!!!
Awesome! Congrats to both placing! I love smaller races!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your new PR and being second woman overall! I was hoping you would get in a 5K this fall. You're so speedy!
ReplyDeleteThat is a FAST 5K, Vanessa!! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteI've always registered in advance for races. I've actually never even thought of showing up the day of! Maybe I will try that with some smaller races in the spring ;)
Hope you're having a great day so far! Happy Halloween!
Amazing job at the race! That is a huge PR. Your hard work has definitely paid off.
ReplyDeleteThose time predictors never work for my races. And I love the idea of a race not starting at the brink of dawn.
Congrats!