Friday, June 15, 2012

Jim Gibbons 5k Race Recap

Alternative title: The PR that wasn't.

When I first met with Coach Britt a few weeks ago, we talked my goal races. The Jim Gibbons was on my radar as well as the RNR Chicago Half Marathon. Throughout my training, although I had 2 goals, my mental focus remained on my half marathon. When the Jim Gibbons race was approaching I thought a PR would come "easy" based on my training. Note: No 5k PR is ever easy.

Race day came and since the start was at 6:25pm, I had all day to be nervous about the weather, the course, and other things one is worried about during a 5k. After work was over (which felt like forever), I headed over to the blogger meet up spot with Amanda and Maggie. At the meet up spot, Lauren and Britt came out to cheer us on even though they weren't running the race. What fun blogger friends that just come out to watch you run! :)
L to R: Susan, Amanda, Maggie, Lauren, Britt, me

After the photo we headed towards the start. I did a few quick warm up laps behind the porta potties with Maggie before the race to try to get the heartbeat going. When the gun went off I was really focused on not going out too fast. The plan was to keep the first mile at 7:20. When my Garmin hit 1 mile, I was right on Target. At mile 2 I decided to pick it up. That probably wasn't the best idea and I probably should have tried to keep it around 7:20. I saw Britt at the turnaround which was really motivating. I waved and she snapped a pic of me going by.

I really like this photo. I feel I look how I felt at this point--strong and fast. My mile 2 split was 7:15. I continued to pass people that had originally flew past me in the beginning so that felt good, but I felt myself slowing down. I had my watch on average pace (not lap pace) so I don't think I really realized how slow I was going. I thought I had this PR in the bag. When I got towards the end and saw the clock, I thought there had to be a mistake. My average pace on my Garmin was equating to a PR?! I tried to kick it out at the end, but it was too late. Mile 3 was clocked at 7:32. As we all know, Garmins are not an exact tool. The reason why I thought I had a PR was that my average pace was below my PR pace. The distance on my watch was 3.14 which probably accounted for the weaving and wide course lanes. (Note: I should pay closer attention to tangents in 5ks.) My final official time was 23:02. Not a PR but close. Special thanks to Lauren who was near the finish line, cheering us through the final stretch.

The more I think about the race, I can't be disappointed in myself. I gave it a good try and it just wasn't my day. This wasn't my race (this time). That is the great thing about 5ks, there will always be more. I know I have a PR in these legs... Now it is time to refocus my energy and mentality into the RNR Half Marathon. The more I think about it, I feel this is where my heart has been all along. RNR, I'm coming for you!

The race course itself was a nice out and back. There was some gravel so it seemed a bit dusty the first mile when the super speedy folks were literally leaving u's in their dust. I loved that they had race-day packet pickup so I didn't have to stress about trying to get to whatever random downtown location days before the race. They changed the shirts this year to offer a dryfit gender specific option, but the shirts were kind of boxy and not very fitted/flattering. They were still better than a unisex shirt though. 1 post-race beer was included with our entry and we had a choice of Summer Shandy or Miller Lite. Hello Summer Shandy! To me, it was the obvious choice. They had a live band playing some fun tunes and some folks even brought a blanket to sit and hang out for awhile. It was a fun race and definitely family friendly. I continue to recommend this race as I think it is well run, well organized, and for a good cause.
Hanging out with the FNRC post-race
L to R: Me, Amanda, Wayne, Susan, Tony, Maggie

Now it is time to have some fun at the Warrior Dash this weekend! :) I'm ready to get covered in mud on a 90 degree day.

19 comments:

  1. Nice time regardless of PR or not! I'd kill for that time. I want to do another 5k minus Rex and see where I'm at ;)

    and so much fun that you got to meet up with other bloggers!

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  2. Damn Garmins, always ruining a perfectly good race!!! Good luck at Warrior Dash! I hope you guys have fun!!

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  3. Great recap and great race! 5ks are beasts. I much prefer half marathons to them. :)

    You looked so strong in the photo! I experienced the same thing with my Garmin In the 5k last weekend. I always have it on avg pace and was having trouble believing it was saying 7:40 for the 2nd and 3rd miles. I thought no way I'm going that speed, it feelt like 7:20, alas it was correct :) I'm thinking of making my garmin do half mile or quarter splits for the next 5k so I have a more accurate idea of my pace for next time. Im also super excited for RnR in a month.

    Congrats on a strong 5k!!

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    1. That is a good point for the Garmin. I feel with 5ks there is so much variance between miles it would be good to know what my split was at the 1/2 way point. I will have to give this a try next time. I think there are going to be a ton of bloggers at the RNR. Can't wait!!! :)

      Thanks!!

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  4. I know, right? Damn those Garmins! I think I need to change it to "lap time" for my next 5k.

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  5. Nice job Kelly! You are doing great on your 5k's! What I know is that you learn something from every race that will help you in the future! Yeah, garmins suck! haha!

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  6. That is still a VERY impressive time. You ladies are making me want to try running a 5k sometime :) (like a timed one) Good luck at warrior dash this weekend, i had a blast last year! :D

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  7. 5Ks are a beast! You ran a really strong race and great time!
    I need to figure out 5K tangents too. I have looked at my Garmin stats for 5Ks and thought "Damn, if I would have run the tangents that would have been a PRE by :xx seconds!" Sigh. It's really frustrating. But not for too long. 5Ks are my toughest race because they hurt so much so I don't feel too bad about them after. I just felt bad at my 5K goal race in Feb because I felt like I wasted Britt's time coming out (50 miles) to watch me run!
    It looks like you guys had a fun time :)
    (What is the new commenting system you are using? Can I no longer link back to my own blog? LOL)

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  8. Thanks! I agree, they are always tough.


    I don't know what is up with the comments section. It is the "new" Disqus 2012 platform but I just feel like there is too much going on. I'm going to change it back to the old way--I liked it better.

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  9. You should be able to link back to your blog now and "edit" your post. Sorry about that! :)

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  10. Thanks Sara! You should totally do a 5k sometime soon.... After your run all your marathons this year. :) I'm really looking forward to the Warrior Dash. I went with my friend Kate S last year and this year we have a group of 8 of us going. Fun times!!!

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  11. I apologize for being such a PITA :)

    I forgot to say, have fun at the Warrior Dash!!!

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  12. Haha you are not a PITA! It is a perfectly valid point. Thanks! I know it would be hard not to have fun at the Warrior Dash... :)

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  13. I am here in Chicago on vacation and ran this race yesterday. You beat me by a solid 3 minutes, so I too would kill for a sub-25 time. No lie, I was admiring your awesome purple socks yesterday, I just didn't know that it was you in front of me until I saw the pic on Britt's twitter feed.

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  14. Haha, what a small (blogger) world!! I got the socks from a Schwaggle deal a little while back, and they are from Pro Compression. I also have them in bright yellow. I am all about the brights this spring/summer. In my opinion, bright matches bright. :) Congrats on a great race! I'm sure you will break that 25:xx barrier some day!! :)

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  15. Rocking the Oiselle tank for a fast race! I find racing in the evening so tough to plan for. Sounds like you managed it perfectly!

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  16. Thanks for the socks details. I'm with you on the brights. I hope Pro Compression has them in pink :).

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