Leapin' Leprechaun 2013

After well over 2 years I finally ran my second 5k. I have been wanting a more representative 5k PR for years, literally. It used to be wanting something around 26-27 minutes. And then I kept not ever running a 5k and that goal as slowly gotten faster and faster.

I planned on doing this race way back when I first started making my training plan, it would give me time to work on speed before I really started focusing on distance and lost some of the speed. And why not run a race almost exactly a year after a ran my first half marathon?

Well, last year Michigan had unseasonably warm weather... this year... unseasonably cold. It was not awesome. It was about 20* and snowing. There was a bit of snow on the ground to slip and slide in which is always fun. Plus, remember when I said I don't run under 35*? Yeah, I don't like running in the cold. I feel like I spend the entire time trying to warm up... and then I am too hot... and then its over. But thanks to my friend, Sarah, just telling me to do it I signed up about 5 minutes before online signup closed and I was roped into just going for it. I was mildly freaking out.

Morning of the Race

On one hand I didn't want to over do it because I am not used to running in the cold... and on the other my track record shows that I don't really do 5ks so I wanted to make a worth while PR. Plus I was trained and already sub 25'ed on the treadmill. I had it in me.

Well, I did it. 23:51. Heck yes. Not only sub-25, but sub-24. I also got second in 20-24 year old females. Say what?!

I don't have my splits or anything... I turned on my Garmin, "low battery." Such a rookie mistake. I even got it out last night and thought 'oh I just charged that, its ready to go.' False. It apparently doesn't hold a charge. Noted.

I spent a lot of time weaving and trying to run on clear pavement which wasn't always possible. I did have my Garmin for about the first half a mile. I checked in on my pace and it was bouncing around 7:15-8:15 so that wasn't too helpful. Then it went dead and it was just me and pushing it as much as reasonable. I found the snow slippery but not too bad. It made my calves work a bit harder but I surprisingly wasn't afraid of falling.

I can't decide if I am glad I didn't have my Garmin for the race or not. Sometimes I use it as a motivator and sometimes it's a crutch. I think in the end it was good because I only went as fast as I was comfortable (extremely relative term). And didn't try to sustain a fast pace I saw on the watch even when my body is saying to slow down (so guilty of this in races).

Definitely glad I decided to go for it. So worth it. Now on to training hard for a half marathon PR in May!