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Race the Bar 5k Recap (AKA: A Personal Worst!)

Do you remember a few weeks back, when I was all braggy about running in Florida in February/March? Sunny mornings around a lake with a light breeze off the water have turned, cruelly, into humid stretches of time where I am humbly reminded of my own limitations.

You guys, I see these gazelle-like creatures, men and women alike, who prance on my running route with compression socks, a soft glow of perspiration at their brow. It's beautiful. It's also a harsh reminder that I am not them. I am currently running in the thinnest, smallest items of clothing I can without offending anyone (shirt stays on, people). I dare not step outside without some awful visor or wide-brimmed hat. When I hop in the shower after a run, my face is a deep crimson that causes my husband to voice his concern for my general well-being.

Have I mentioned this is what happens after my easy runs, with a few walk breaks thrown in? Yeah. It's humbling.

Now, I'm not complaining. It's beautiful here, I'm not training for anything, and if "it's too sunny when I run" is my biggest thing to complain about, then obviously life is pretty freaking good.

I'm just creating a valid excuse to set the scene for my 5k recap, a race I did last weekend called Race the Bar. I didn't sign up for the race, because it was on a Saturday night and I knew I wasn't "race-ready" by any stretch of the imagination, but I had nothing to do that night and it was a mile away from home via my normal running route, so I showed up, got my shirt and warmed up.

Post Race: Pics or it didn't happen

It was 92 degrees at the race start at 6pm, but the course is fortunately 50% shaded and almost completely flat. Just to clarify, 92 degrees Fahrenheit. I wasn't gunning for a PR, of course, but somehow I assumed that if I wanted it badly enough, I could magically pull some great time out of my ass.

Spoiler! I did no such thing.

Although the results were posted up at the finish line a few minutes after I crossed, I've already forgotten the exact time. My Garmin says it was 29:49, so let's go with that. I distinctly remember being relived that the clock at the finish hadn't yet hit 30 minutes.  That translates to a 9:35 pace, which is almost a minute slower, per mile, than my marathon PR. (If you're not a runner, I'd just like to clarify that as a general rule, that should not happen. There is no one who should ever, ever have a 5k pace slower than their marathon pace. I just thought you should know that.)

However, there were upsides to this soul-crushing race.

1) I think the heat forced a lot of people to stay home or take it easy, because I managed to take first in my age group.  I feel obligated to also mention that there were only three women in my age group.

2) I didn't walk! Normally not something to be super proud of during a 5k race,  but I trudged on and refused to stop out of stubbornness.

3) My $30 entry fee went to a good cause - Florida Rural Legal Services.

4) I got a baseline! I plan to run several more 5ks, all really close to my house, this summer. So, the time to beat it 29:49. My plan to is not run in direct sunlight at 6pm. Seems like a solid plan so far.




Comments

  1. Haha, I had a similar 5k experience this weekend (although I had no good excuse for my poor time). It does suck, but at least you have a starting point for improvement! :) And you got back into racing, which is always fun.

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  2. Running in heat and humidity is horrible period! I give you lots of credit for getting out there and running it because I probably would have stayed home. You know you have it in you so don't worry about it!

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  3. Haha, I grew up close to where I'm guessing you are, and man, I could not WAIT to move away from that humidity. We are going back to visit in AUGUST, and I must have amnesia because I want to register for a 5k the weekend we're there.

    Congratulations, heat is a miserable beast!!

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  4. I just had a race like this but opposite conditions. Freezing cold, running into 40mph wind for 80% of the race, sleet in the face that hurt really badly. Worst 5k time since I started running 3 years ago. It happens. Be happy you got out there and did it. Not every day will be perfect :-/

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  5. Hahaha! This made me laugh... "Race the Bar... and we'll help you set it low for the rest of your racing season."

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  6. Ah the heat....it's my enemy here....but with humidity it is the worst. Here in the summer months I never chase the PRs and I stop running half marathons after first week of June until October usually.

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  7. Now that you are in FL you MUST consider running the Gate River Run 15K in Jacksonville. It's in March. It is THE BEST race ever.

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    Replies
    1. I'd love to! I've seen how much you loved it on FB! Plus, my dad lives near Jacksonville, so it would simple enough, logistically.

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  9. The heat really gets to me! I have a tough time running in it and would so much prefer the cold. Great job! 1st in your AG is something to be proud of :)

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  10. Um, 92 at the start. That is essentially running in a freaking sauna. Be proud that you finished without crying as I surely would have!

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  11. i would be dying of thirst during the whole 5k with that type of humidity. every 5k I run I feel like death because my body hasn't realized yet that I can't go out as fast as I think I can and I spend the last 2.1 miles rebelling / wheezing / hating life

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  12. 5km are the devil's work. 5km in 33 C (my brain does not do F)? I would collapse in histrionic heap approximately two minutes after starting. In fact, I think I did throw some kind of tantrum when I tried to run in Savannah at 5pm in September. So I say way to go!

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  13. Maybe because I lived in NC the past 18 yrs and now Im living in Kansas where we had the worse winter I've experienced, but I don't think i'll ever complain again about how hot it is outside. :) still it sucks a little bit. I thought you had stopped blogging! So glad you are back!

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  14. I hear ya! I ran my first 5k ever in South Florida in July. The temperature was 93 with a "feels like" of 105. Your time was much better than mine! ;)

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  15. You ran and you placed. That's all that's important!

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  16. Runners World has a good article on how to know your real time when you run in high humidity and high heat. I read it after my first horrific summer half marathon and I was feeling very down in the dumps. Good to know that had the weather been more optimum, I'd have been on target with my race pace. Weather happens.

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  17. I just relocated from England to Land O Lakes, Fl. I'm new to running and to being in this heat, but I'm slowly coming around. I have to run really early, which has taken a little bit of used to getting used to. Glad you're settling in well!

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