This was race #2 of three in three weeks. Yay. Remember that St. Patrick’s Day 10K I was supposed to run earlier this year but ended up bailing on? The organization that does that also does a halfway 5K race. So I signed up for the 5K…and since you get a reduced price for the 10K, I also signed up for that… #BeckyTakesOnStPatricksDayRoadRacePart2

I ran on Tuesday and Thursday last week, both on campus. During Tuesday’s run, I walked at 2.30-2.40 miles and stopped after I hit a 5K at 32:04 to re-tie my right shoe lace because my big toe was feeling a little numb. I also stopped to breathe for a few minutes. I finished out to four miles and was wheezing at the end. During Thursday’s run, I had to stop at 2.20 miles because my calves were killing me. I tried to stretch them out against a lamp post, and by the end of the run—I stopped at 3.45 miles—my calves were killing me and the inside half of my right foot was numb. Yeaaah, that’s probably not a good thing. I made myself roll out my calves later that night because I’ve been slacking at stretching post-run and rolling. So leading up to the race, things weren’t looking 100% promising.

I stayed in the middle of the pack in an attempt to slow down my first mile. Similar to The Big 5K, after the National Anthem was played, we were off.

Mile 1

I finished my first mile at 9:43, which is better than my other faster first miles at races. 9:43 is managable for me.

Mile 2

This mile was pretty much straight with a few rolling hills. I started to feel a little tired during this mile, and I definitely slowed my pace. I just kept telling myself to keep running and don’t stop. The sun was also starting to come out more during this mile, and I somewhat regretted wearing capri leggings. This mile was 10:10.

Mile 3

I ran all of the race up to 2.80 miles and would have ran the entire race had there not been a hill at the end. Why do they always put a hill at the end?! Folks, we gotta stop that. And this mile was 10:46.

Post-3 miles

I’m convinced this run was also 3.2 miles. Once I passed the mile three marker which was around the top of the downhill part, there was a green line across the path at the valley between the hill I just came down and the hill I’d have to run up to finish. I had started my running app prior to crossing the start line, and my total mileage says 3.28 miles…? My final time was 33:36, which isn’t a PR but not my worst race time.

I was 263 out of 400, 116 out of 219 females, and 69 out of 107 in my age group (although it was 1-39).

This race was also on the paths, so it was like small trap rock. I didn’t slip or trip or anything, but it was different than running on the road, which I’m used to.

After the race, there was food, which we both got. I definitely needed to eat since I only had a bagel and fruit around 10:00 a.m., and the race was at 1:00 p.m. I don’t like late race times. I got some pasta salad and pulled pork.

During the race, there were a few people on the paths, and they were probably like, why is there a pack of runners coming toward me? The weather was also really great, too.

Next race: This Saturday at 8:00 a.m.

PS: I ran yesterday, and it was probably my best run so far this year. The weather was PERFECT—sunny but windy and not humid—and although I was a little slower than I’d like, I ran all four miles on campus.