Saturday morning I got up and met with my normal group of
Yankee Runners to finish 8 miles. This was the group's last run before the
Illinois Marathon next weekend. I'll be driving down the morning of the race and meeting up with other
Yankee Runners and running part of the marathon with
Amanda! I have some other friends that are completing the half. If you're running the race or are going to be in the area, let me know! I'd love to meet up! I haven't spectated for a marathon in a long time, and I'm very much looking forward to being on the other side of things this time around!
Saturday night my husband met up with some friends in downtown Chicago and I was looking forward to a night of rest, relaxation, and Parks and Recreation OnDemand.
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yogurt parfait dessert + Tom Haverford |
Then, I heard about a midnight 5k in Coal City and a few members of the
FN Run Club were going to do it. The more I thought about it, the more I decided that trying to run a 5k the same day you ran 8 miles probably wasn't a good idea. But I had the 5k bug... I went
RunChicagoSouth.com and looked up other 5ks in the area on Sunday.
I decided on the
Sheryl Garrett Lapka 5k in Lisle. It was an inaugural race so I wasn't sure what to expect. When first arriving, some of the volunteers working registration and packet pickup seemed a bit confused, but the race director knew what was going on (so that was helpful). There weren't many frills for this race, but all of the funds generated were going to ovarian cancer research. Before a small race, I always end up sizing up the competition--seeing who might be in my age group, who looks like they'd be super fast, etc. Am I the only one who does this? I hope not, lol.
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The beautiful scenery |
The race started right on time, 8:30 sharp and went around the Community Park in Lisle. The park was absolutely gorgeous and it made for some wonderful scenery. I started out and was going to try to maintain my PR pace of 7:26. There were a few other females that started with me and we stuck together through the 1st mile. Mile 1: 7:28. I was happy with that. I didn't start out too fast which was awesome. The second mile I started to pull ahead of those that were around me. I didn't feel like I was picking it up, but just maintaining. Mile 2: 7:27. I couldn't be happier with this consistent split! Who is this person running a 5k? Maybe I'm actually understanding how pacing works during a race??
After the mile 2 marker, I turned a corner and saw 2 other girls in front of me (they looked to be on a high school cross country team). They seemed to be keeping together and I passed them both, continuing my consistent pace(?!). About a 1/4 mile after passing them, there came a large section of spectators cheering me on. "First girl! First girl! Way to go!" I said "What??" with a huge smile on my face. Was I really the first female right now??
At mile 2.5 I tried to pick up the pace but my legs were tired. There was no one in front or behind me on the course so I was trying to dig for some motivation to pick it up. When I turned the corner and saw the clock, that is when it hit me.
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Yes, my legs really are that pale.
Source |
The clock was in the 22's! I would be able to break the 23:00 barrier! I kicked it out and tried to finish strong. Heading down the final stretch, more people were cheering "First Female Finisher! You've got this! Finish strong!"
Official time: 22:53 (7:23 splits). (My Garmin marked the course as only being 3.07 miles which is why my mile splits aren't consistent with my finishing time.) But I'm going to take this win and this PR and enjoy it! I am so beyond excited with this victory in so many ways. As it was a small inaugural race, they didn't announce the first female finisher during the awards ceremony afterwards, only the first finisher (let's be honest, I was kind of bummed about that). But they did have awards for the first 2 people in every 10 year age group.
I couldn't be happier with my time, and I was happy to have gotten out there to run this race! I met my goal, but I felt like I lost motivation part way through the race. I know I have a faster time in me, and that feels awesome. Have you ever felt that way before?
Additionally, they had some Honey Stinger samples that I grabbed as I have been dying to try this brand. I ate the Berry Banana Buzz on my way home. It was delicious! However, I tasted a lot of berry and honey, but not much banana at all. Left to try: Apple Cinnamon and Peanut Butter N Honey. I'll keep you posted when I try the others.
P.S. Have you entered by
Oiselle Raffle yet??