Flag Day 5K

A few weeks ago while trying to set up the next Girl's Night Out we chose June 13th only to find one of our GNO participants had a flag day race to do that night. With intentions of racing and going out for drinks with my gals afterwards I signed up. Well GNO got pushed back to the 20th and I totally forgot about this little 5k I had signed up for until oh Monday.

Crap. I took Sunday and Monday off running and ran light Tuesday on the track, but my legs still felt like toast from this weekends relay legs. Four runs totalling 23 miles on pavement/sidewalks over a 30 hour stretch will do that to you I guess. Despite getting a few full nights sleep I was still feeling like a zombie and feared as my best friend remarked that "I was indeed getting old if I couldn't recover from a 41 hour running/driving/drinking binge with one hour of sleep". So it was with trepidation that I made my way to the race last night.

Traffic was bad and I arrived later than planned. I walked about a half mile from my car up a monster hill to the packet pickup and start. They had fun mini flags and a cookbook in our goody bags and a nice cotton T (perfect for gardening!). My stomach was not feeling great but I was unable to find relief for it and made my way back to my car.

Out of clean clothes I was down to my red Boston running shorts and a gray cotton sports bra. Not ideal racing clothes and I had to put up with the over sized number bib on my shorts leg. I forgot to put on sunscreen but thankfully did not end up with a fun burn last night. I located BB and we headed out to warm up. We got in a little over 10 minutes and spotted the "Salty One" on our last loop. I was pretty sure it was her but waited for our second sighting before calling out her real name. I couldn't bring myself to calling out "Salty One" no matter how sure I was that it was her on the off chance I was wrong :)

B and I finished out our warm up and lined up. This was a no frills no chip race so I got as close to the start line as I could justify. My stomach was still feeling crappy but I was hoping for a strong race. My goal was to be around 7 minute pace since after the relays this weekend it is obvious I can hold that even under stress. Chatted with Salty a bit before they started into the pre race announcements. Her personality was polite and fun just like in her blog. I am glad we finally got to chat in real life.

The national anthem was sung into a microphone while the color guard held their flags and before you knew it we were headed off downhill. The hill was steep and I was a bit worried about my start line placement but only one runner went flying by me. I was in a decent size pack of girls all much younger than myself and was feeling strong. The first half mile or so I was forced to play dodge'em with a girl wearing an i-pod. I was more than a little frustrated. The girl would run in front of me then slow to adjust her i-pod. I would speed up to get around her and she would pick it up, only to dodge in front of me and adjust her i-pod again. I was seriously ready to elbow her. But I restrained myself and luckily she was not able to keep up and I was finally able to get past her when we came around the first hair pin turn.

The race started to thin out and I was now in a long line of runners with about 4 or 5 younger gals within my sights. As we neared the mile marker I heard the timer guy calling out 6 minutes and thought "Shit" way too fast. But his watch must have been fast as I took my split at 6:23. I didn't think I could hold that but I was fairly confident I wouldn't pay for that pace with the quick downhill start.

I kept the pace strong and I started to pass a few of the girls on the first uphill. It is always nice to feel strong on the hills. Obviously the suffering at Cinci has paid off as I felt strong on all the uphills last night. As we neared the top of the hill the top runners were passing us going back. The first woman was up with the top 5 guys. Can you say wicked fast? I looked for Salty but must have missed her in the crowd. As we came around the second hairpin turn the man yelled out that we had 1.9 miles to go. I did some quick math and figured if I could hold 7 minute pace I should be able to come in at 21 even, but it would be close.

We made our way back down hill and I got passed by a girl probably in her early twenties. She looked strong and I wasn't ready to pick it up that early in the race. I just held my pace and kept my eye on a few younger gals in front of me. I saw SG ahead at the two mile mark and tried to give a wave but the pace was forcing me to keep focused. I hit mile two in 6:51 at 13:14. The pace felt holdable and I was fairly confident I would come in right at 21 but knew I had at least one more hill ahead of me. I looked for my husband as we passed the finish line but didn't spot him. As we turned right and started to ease up hill I passed another young gal.

It was such a nice feeling to be the passer and not the one being passed. I was happy that I appeared to be running a smart race and had no intentions of dying. Once we turned onto the path (this was a nice sharp turn at a steep angle) I caught another female. I recognized the surroundings and knew that the steep hill wasn't too long and we would have a bit of a climb before making the turn back towards the finish. I stayed just behind the new girl and tried to pick her off but she picked up the pace. As we crested the hill I knew we were getting close and I just told myself to hold on. I knew I had less than 5 minutes. I spent the next 5 minutes attempting to pass but being cut off by this girl at every attempt.

We came out of the woods and then headed back down the initial downhill from the start. I started to quicken my turn over and let gravity do the work. The girl with me would glide into every spot I intended to run and finally started pulling away. I thought there was no way I'd catch her. As we neared the bottom of the hill someone yelled at her that if she cruised she could get 20:30. I wasn't so sure of that but 20:30 sure sounded nice so I picked up my pace considerably. I heard my husband yelling at me and realized I just might be able to catch the girl ahead of me. I turned it on as hard as I could and cruised by her just as the chute to the finish started. It is always nice to pick someone off at the finish, especially when your husband is watching.

The push gave me a post high school PR and is the second time since I was 16 that I have run under 21. The races official time for me was 20:44. My watch had 20:42, but I'll take it. I think I was 6th or 7th female overall but the girl that snaked by me before mile 2 was in the 20-29 group so my fast splits were only good enough for 2nd in my AG. Seems crazy to be in the top 6 or 7 and not get 1st in your AG. All the girls between myself and the top 3 were 29 or under. On a side note I found it interesting that every age group last night was split into 5 year groups but mine was 20-29. What's up with that?

Considering how toasty my legs felt before this and my upset stomach I couldn't be more happy. This has me a bit more confident that sub-20 is doable if I actually train and taper for a 5k properly. (Says the girl with an ultra and several marathons on her fall plate) I think this course was a typical 5K maybe trending towards fast with all the downhills but the turns and up hills slowed you down a bit. I absolutely prefer night races if I can find them so I'd definitely do this race again.