Two races in one morning. That’s a first for me.
The Alaska Distance Classic offers a 5K and 10K race, or you can ‘double up’ and do both. Per my coach, Nichole, I did both.
Me in the bright pink/orange buns!
9:00 a.m. 5K (race it)
9:45 a.m. 10K (run it as a workout)
I was optimistic going into this race. I had had a couple solid workouts and thought I would be able to come within 10-15 seconds of my 5K PR, which is 18:30.
I warmed up for about 30 minutes prior to the race starting, and it didn’t take long to feel warmed up since the weather wasn’t that cool.
When the gun went off for the 5K start, there was a nice downhill during the first half mile that of course made me feel like I was flying. I felt really good during the first mile and my watch beeped at the mile with a split of 6:00.
Mile 1 – 6:00
I was optimistic I could maintain this pace throughout the race, so I locked in at this pace for mile 2 as well.
Mile 2 – 6:00
The first two miles of the course are on an open road and only a few turns. The third mile went onto a paved trail with potholes, tree roots coming up through the pavement, lots of turns, mini hills, and blind corners. I think this really messed with me mentally because my pace really slowed down. There was also a considerable hill during the last third of a mile, which of course slowed me down. (Side note: why does it seem like when you run downhill, you might be able to bank 10-15 seconds, but when you run back up that hill, it slows you down by 20-30 seconds. Please tell me this is accurate assessment.) Anyway, my third mile was much slower.
Mile 3 – 6:23
Mile 0.10 – 6:07 average pace
Total: 3.10 miles | 18:59.8 (according to my watch) | 6:08 average pace
My labored breathing kicked in during the last 0.5 mile, so that coupled with the hill weren’t a good combination. I tried to power up the hill the best I could, but there wasn’t much left in my legs.
I was surprised my official time was 19:01. I had 18:59 on my watch, and I didn’t even stop it right as I was crossing the finish line. Even though I have done three other 5Ks this spring/summer, apparently this was the first time I officially ran the distance of a 5K as my watch had 3.10 miles on the nose and a new watch record.
In between the 5K and 10K I was supposed to try to run as much as possible. I only ran one mile because I stopped to catch my breath, get water, chatted with a few people, and then went to the bathroom.
The 10K started a few minutes late, but in no time we were off again. (It was definitely weird lining up again at the start line with some of the same people so soon again.)
I quickly settled into a comfortable pace and surprised myself with how consistent my splits were for the 10K. Nichole said I was supposed to target a 6:45 pace for this “workout.”
Mile 1 – 6:38
Mile 2 – 6:38
Mile 3 – 6:38
Mile 4 – 6:39
Mile 5 – 6:44 (at least half on a dirt/rocky trail)
Mile 6 – 6:35
Mile 0.2 – 6:35 pace
Total: 6.21 miles | 6:39 average pace
Results:
5K – 19:01 – 2nd place – 1st place age group
10K – 41:18 – 5th place – 1st place age group
Double up results: 2nd place for the women
The overachiever and perfectionist in me was hoping to do better on the 5K, but I was happy with how the 10K went. Nichole said this is a time of ups and downs. I really do believe I am more fit than this 5K showed, so onward and upward. I just need to be good about recovering so I can perform better on the hard days!
