A Tale of Two Races

Greetings friends! So, I've been a tad concerned these past few weeks that I wouldn't be able to get back my 5k speed until sometime early next year. I've been running fewer miles, not doing workouts and to be honest, things have felt less than stellar lately. 

However, this weekend's races proved I can still run fast (for me anyways!) and I'm even wondering if I can still chase down my 2012 5k goal time of 21:XX. Here's how this weekend's races went:

Drumstick Dash
This was a much bigger race than I anticipated. Turns out, there were around 2,500 people! It was an unusually warm day for late November so I'm sure that played a part. Regardless, it was great to see so many people doing something active before indulging in a Thanksgiving feast :)

I'm the girl wearing the white compression socks :)

For some reason, I decided it would be a good idea to line up toward the middle of the pack at the start line. This turned out to be a really bad decision. I wanted to avoid getting sucked out at a too fast pace, but ended up doing a lot of dodging and weaving around slower runners. Although my pace was on track for a new PR, I ended up running 3.26 instead of 3.1, which definitely hurt my time.

Time: 23:01
Average Pace: 7:25
Overall Place: 106/2,501
Gender Place: 20/1,512
Age Group Place: 3/236

I did the math after the race, and realized had I just run the tangents, I would have hit my 2012 5k goal time of 21:XX. Ugh!! So frustrating, but it only makes me more motivated to race harder in these upcoming weeks. 

The Elf Run 5k Race
This was the second race in the Winter Run Series and I really wanted to run faster than I did at the first race and hopefully move up in the overall series standings. It ended up being a new PR by just a few seconds and I placed one spot higher than at the last race. Good enough for me!

It was a chilly morning and my feet were like ice cubes at the start of the race. I was forced to wear my running tights, which I can't stand because they always slide down on my hips. I decided to wear a pair of shorts on top for this race to help keep my tights up and it worked - but I ended up feeling really weighed down and bulky. There has to be a better solution . . . 

At the start of the race, wearing a pink headwarmer

Anyhow, there's not a whole lot to say about the race. It was an out and back course with a few small hills. It wasn't the most scenic course, but it did seem pretty fast! 

Time: 22:09
Average Pace: 7:08
Overall Place: 131/645
Age Group Place: 8/64

I've noticed the women in my age group are a lot faster this year. I'm getting my tail kicked at every race, so I really need to up my game if I'm to even place in the top 5 this year. 

Anyhow, that's the racing scoop from this past weekend!  

How was your holiday weekend? Did anyone else participate in a Turkey Trot or other race over the weekend? Also, what type of running tights do you wear? 

I'm beginning to think I better get used to wearing shorts all winter!

- ST