Bolt Run 5-miler

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Last weekend I ran a local 5-mile race put on by the Tampa Bay Lightning called the Bolt Run.  They offered both a 5k and a 5 mile option and I opted for the 5 mile.  All runners were offered a free ticket to a Tampa Bay Lightning game which I thought was really cool!

 

The race started at 7:30 and I was able to sleep in until 6:30 and just jog to the race start as my warm-up since it was so close.  I wish all races were that convenient!  It was a smaller race, with a little over 400 runners for the 5 mile.  I’ve never run a 5 mile race before so I wasn’t really sure how to pace it.  Going into the race, I was thinking I’d aim for between 7:45 and 8:00 minute mile splits, or faster if I was feeling good.  The course was an out-and-back along Bayshore Boulevard, which was nice because I run there frequently so I have a good sense of how much longer I had to go the entire race.

 

I ended up starting towards the front and trying to keep up pace with the fastest females at the beginning of the race.  My Garmin wasn’t working completely since the race went under a tunnel and it lost signal a couple times, so I don’t have the exact splits but the first mile was somewhere around 6:45.  I was a little nervous that I had just run a 6:45 mile and had to run 4 more, but all I could do was keep at it so that’s what I did.  The middle miles were pretty uneventful.  At some point during the last mile a man came up beside me running pushing a stroller with TRIPLETS.  I thought he was just a random guy running along Bayshore until I looked again and realized he had a race number on.  There was no way I was going to let someone pushing a stroller beat me so that definitely gave me a boost to pick up the pace.  (And I beat him.  Also I was wearing a skirt.  So he was trying to push a stroller of triplets and be all bad-ass by actually running a good pace, but he ended up getting beaten by a girl in a skirt.  Oh well.)

 

I ended up finishing the race in 36:41, a 7:21 minute/mile pace, good for 6th place female and 2nd in my age group!  I was more than happy with the results, I really had no idea I could push myself that hard.  I’m sure I can go even faster with some more speed incorporated into my training. so that’s the plan.  I am also going to re-evaluate my goal setting because I really crushed my time goal in this race, so clearly I am capable of more than I think.  Next up:  a 10k next weekend!

 

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Suncoast Classic 5k

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Today’s Workout:  Suncoast Classic 5k in St. Petersburg

 

So far today has been full of firsts for me….

My first time running a 5k since college.

My first time going to a race completely solo.

My first race with my Garmin.

AND….

My first time placing in my age group!

I have no pictures to prove this race happened, so you guys will just have to trust me on this one.  I got up at 5:30 today and headed out around 6:30.  The race started at 8:30 and was about a 30 minute drive.  I got there with plenty of time to spare, and stayed in the car for a while to keep warm.  I had checked the weather on my phone before leaving Tampa and saw that it was supposed to be 55 degrees and sunny in St. Pete, so I decided to wear capris and a t-shirt.  I was originally going to wear under armour under my t-shirt but I figured if it was going to be 55 that would be overkill.

Bad decision.  As soon as I got out of the car it started to rain and it felt like it was definitely below 50.  I ran about a mile warm up, and by the time I finished it was raining even harder.  And it was cold rain.  There was still about 15 minutes to the start when I finished my warm up so I ended up freezing cold by the time the race started.  Luckily the rain let up but it was still raining lightly when we started, and there were puddles everywhere.  It took me at least a mile to re-warm up, and even then my hands and arms felt numb.  I guess I really need to toughen up because living in Florida the past two years has turned me into a big baby when it comes to cold.

I started towards the front (it was a smaller race, a little under 500 people overall) and went out a lot faster than I’m used to.  I glanced down at my Garmin a few times during the first few minutes and it said I was running in the 6:30-6:45/mile range.  I slowed down a bit and hit the first mile marker at 7:20.  I was pretty spent after the first mile, so I slowed down just a little more and ran mile 2 and 3 in 7:29 each according to my watch.  My watch also seems to think I only ran 3.07 miles…whoops!

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The course was well marked and would have been scenic had it not been for the rainy, cloudy skies.  We ran around a small lake in the first mile and then along the water for the rest of the time. There was a 180-degree turn around before the 2nd mile which I’m usually not a huge fan of, but the race was small enough and we were spread out enough by that point that it wasn’t an issue.   There were close to zero spectators along that course, but I can’t say I blame them given the cold weather.   Overall, it was a well-organized, no-frills race and a great way to get in a fast 3.1 miles.  (Or 3.07 miles, depending on who you ask).

After the race I grabbed a banana and a bagel, bee-lined for my car and proceeded to blast the heat the whole way home and take a super-hot shower the second I walked in the door.  Despite the chilly and rainy weather, I really enjoyed today’s race and killed my goal of 7:30-7:45 pace.  According to the official race results I finished in 22:46, 7:20/mile, good for 61st place overall, 9th female, and 3rd in my age group!  Yes, it was a smaller race, but I’ve never placed in my age group before and I’m pretty psyched about it.  Too bad I was so cold that I didn’t even stick around to get my medal!

I will update my upcoming races page later today.  I can’t wait to see what I’m capable of incorporating speed work into my training and focusing on faster, shorter distances!  Next up on the race calendar:  the Bolt’s Run 5-miler next Saturday.  Bring. It. On.

Silly Garmin

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Yesterday’s Workout:  4 miles, super fast according to my Garmin.

Today’s Workout:  45 min bike, easy

 

My silly watch seems to think I ran a 6:05 mile yesterday for the second mile of my 4 mile run.

 

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I looked at the map for that portion of my run and it also thinks I ran into the water.  A few times. Oh well, I guess technology isn’t perfect.  I did some searching on the Garmin forums and the consensus seems to be it’s just a random GPS error (might have picked up some old satellite locations or something like that?) and it should be a one-time thing.  I do appreciate that it told me I ran a 6 minute mile instead of a 12 minute mile though!  I am fairly certain that the other 3 mile splits are accurate so I’m happy with those, and really hoping I can run somewhere around 7:30-7:45/mile in tomorrow’s 5k.  (Oh yeah, I’m running a 5k tomorrow morning!)

 

This morning I hopped on the bike while I watched this week’s episode of Nashville.  I’m a sucker for  television series that are really just soap operas that happen to air in prime time, and I love country music….so Nashville is really a home run for me.  (Speaking of TV drama, if the other 4 people who still watch Grey’s Anatomy are reading this, please tell me you agree that the writers have seriously gone off the deep end?)

 

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Now Dominic and I are off to St. Pete so I can pick up my race packet and (more importantly) go out to lunch at an awesome vegetarian restaurant we tried last time we were there (also for a race, go figure!).

 

I’m realllllllly trying not to set any huge goals in tomorrow’s race because it’s been so long since I ran a 5k, but I will definitely be disappointed if I run any slower than 7:45/mile.  If I’m feeling good, I’d like to be closer to 7:30/mile pace.  I think that’s definitely doable.  It’s going to be cold (high 61, low 48), which I’m definitely not used to these days but I’m hoping that won’t affect my time.  It’s been a while since I’ve ran a short, faster race so I’m excited!