It was a starting point for sure. Slower than I had secretly hoped, but I was glad to have run the 5K in less than 20 minutes.
Saturday, April 22 was the Alaska Heart Run 5K. It is the premier 5K all year for Anchorage drawing 4200 runners and walkers. The race kicks off the summer racing season and the most competitive runners come out for this race.
Stats from the race:
Official time – 19:51
4th place for the women
3rd place in my age group (30-35)
50th place overall
I said my goal was sub-20 minutes, but I knew I most likely would be able to run that. I was secretly hoping I would be able to run closer to 19:30. I ran the Heart Run in 19:30 6 months postpartum, so I reasoned with myself the if I was currently in that kind of shape, maybe this summer of racing wouldn’t be an entire bust.
I spent about 30 minutes warming up, and it was the perfect amount to get prepared to race. If I had been in better shape, I would have probably run more before the start, but I couldn’t risk warming up too much. I did a few striders before the start and felt warmed-up and ready to go.
When the gun went off, I knew I had to reign in the temptation to go out too fast. (I’m pretty sure we started out at about a 5 minute pace last year.) Within the first 0.25 mile, I took a couple glances at my watch to ensure I wasn’t running faster than a 6 minute pace and tried to keep it around 6:15/6:20.
I’ve run so many races over the years, I pretty much know how much I can push the pace even from the start. When I found my groove, I settled into my pace and worked to maintain that pace while occasionally glancing at my watch.
Mile 1 split – 6:21
Mile one ends on the top of the only hill, so that’s always a relief to get that out of the way. Then we turn around and head back down the hill. Mile two ends in no-man’s land, so it takes some concentration to stay mentally in it.
Mile 2 split – 6:20
I had my eye on the girl in front of me, and I kept hoping she would start to back off on her pace, but she never did. I willed my legs to run faster, but they just couldn’t catch her.
Mile 3 split – 6:24
This is when my really labored breathing kicked in, which is the sign I have pushed as hard as I can physically. We finish around a corner before running into the finish chute.
Official time: 19:51
My hip felt great throughout the entire warm-up and race, and I honestly didn’t even think about it. (I hate how hyper-aware an injury makes you.) I knew this was what I was capable of, but of course I’m still disappointed and frustrated that I’m so far behind where I was last year. But it is what it is and there isn’t anything I can do about it. Hopefully I can stay injury free from here on out. I’m ready to put some work in and get back to being fit and fast!
It is kind of funny how the field determines your placing. This year I was 4th place with a time of 19:51. Last year I was also 4th place, but I ran 1 minute, 21 seconds faster! In 2015 (when I was 6 months postpartum), I ran 19:30, was 7th place for the women, and 1st in my age group. It was a slow race for the women’s field this year for sure.
Happy Monday, everyone!
