Cabin Fever Reliever 2021 – Race Recap

The first race of 2021 is in the books!

The overachiever in me was hoping to have run a little bit faster, but I also realize that this is a solid 5K time with virtually no 5K specific training. Most of my training has been strength-based and getting me ready for the marathon, so I can’t be too bummed about my time.

Going into this race, the nerves and anxiety were a little bit higher than usual. I almost felt out of practice after not racing all winter. I was fortunate enough to be able to run three races last year, but in some ways it seems like I haven’t raced-raced since November 2018 when I ran NYC Marathon since all of 2019 I was pregnant and then 2020 was. . . .well, 2020. I did my best to remind myself that I am just fortunate to be able to run a race in-person, run injury-free, and just putting myself out there is an accomplishment in and of itself.

The weather was cool but clear with temps in the mid-to-upper 30s with a slight breeze. I spent about 45 minutes warming-up for the race, stopping to cheer for Cullen in the kids race, and chat with a few friends. At 9:30a.m. the elite wave lined up (which I was a part of), and there were about 20 people in the wave, so I luckily had someone to run with most of the race.

After the gun went off, everyone (per usual) started out at a 5:30 pace. I did my best to dial it back but it was hard with all the excitement of the race and when you’re feeling so good. There was a gradual incline, a downhill section, and then another uphill portion all before we hit mile one. I clocked a 6:10 on the first mile, immediately knowing it was going to be tough to run close to my PR. I quickly turned that around and told myself I needed to stay in it mentally because I never knew what the next two miles could bring. The text from my coach the night before basically said, “At mile 1.5 you should be questioning if you went out too fast,” so I kept that in mind and continued to push until the next hairpin turn. (There were 4 of them in the race, which definitely messes with your cadence and pace a bit especially since a couple of the corners had gravel on them and were slick.) After that turnaround, there was a nice gradual downhill portion, so I made up some time with a 5:53 split. I knew I really had to keep pushing in order to get close to my PR of 18:30. Luckily at this time, another guy came up on me and we ran the last 0.75-1 mile together, which definitely helped. First we had to tackle another gradual uphill, a hairpin turn until finally heading down the hill again into the finish chute.

I never looked down at my watch at mile 3–I was too concerned about getting to the finish line, but I did clock a 6:01 that last mile. I ended up crossing the line in 18:47, 17 seconds off my PR. Part of me wants to write “just” 17 seconds, but anyone who runs these distances knows 17 seconds is a fairly sizeable time gap.

Initially I was pretty bummed about my time, but my coach reassured me that was a solid time for the lack of speed we have done in my training. I realize many people would love to be able to run this time. But pace is so relative as the pro marathoners run faster than this pace for an entire marathon!

At the end of the day, I am still happy to have gotten out there, run a race, and pushed myself. I do think I could have pushed myself just a tad more, but it is relearning to be okay with the pain and know it is going to come sometime during the race. I am already looking forward to redeeming myself in a few weeks and racing again at the end of the month.

Also, I can’t help but being so proud of this kid for running the kids race and placing 10th!