A Tale of Three 5Ks

I like to run far, but I'm not so good at running fast.  For that reason, I'm not much of a 5K runner, which made it especially weird that I recently had three 5K races within a span of ten days.  I did want to run one 5K before the end of 2015 as a sort of an evaluation of my progress.  A year ago I was struggling to go sub-30 on the 5K, and I wanted a yardstick by which I could measure my 2016 goals, so the 5K seemed like a good idea.

So I signed up for three.  Because...well, it just sort of happened.

Pewaukee Turkey Trot, Thanksgiving day.

I love a good small-town turkey trot.  There's something just plain fun about a no-frills race through a small town with a hundred or so other runners, and the Pewaukee Turkey Trot totally fit that bill.  Plus, the race started at 7:30 a.m. so it was clearly aimed at those of us who actually had stuff to do on Thanksgiving.  (Seriously, who can run at 11:00 on Thanksgiving Day?)

The course was a total mystery to me.  In fact, it was such a mystery that I very nearly didn't find the start line.  Nettesheim Park didn't come up in Waze, and it showed up on Google Maps in a totally different location.  I literally found the race start, parked my car, sprinted to packet pickup, pinned on my bib, and ran to the start line, and barely made it on time.  Totally my own fault, but big kudos to the folks working packet pickup for getting me in and out in less than 60 seconds.

The route was a little hilly and took us through some nice neighborhoods.  It was a gray morning and cool but not cold, which made for great running weather.  I went out a little fast in an attempt to get away from one runner who was running with her dog for the first time and having a hard time controlling him, and I paid for it later in the race when the hills came, but overall I did better than I had expected.  Age group awards were given out for 1st place in each age group in 10 year increments.  No award for me but I was very close.  Despite what Strava says, my official time came in at 26:14 which was a new PR.

Santa Hustle Milwaukee, December 5

This was a last-minute add-on to my race schedule, courtesy of Bibrave (I am a new Bibrave Pro, and received a comped entry to this race).  I had no intentions of racing this one, as my "goal" 5K was the following day, but I did want to enjoy it as a fun run.  The Santa Hustle promised aid stations with cookies and candy, and Christmas music along the route.  Plus, it offered some of the nicest race swag for a 5K:  a really cute red half-zip jacket (plus a Santa beard and hat).

Most runners wore the race jacket and hat for the run and it was fantastic to see this sea of Santas lined up to run along Milwaukee's lakefront.

There was a costume contest too, so aside from a few very well-dressed Santas I saw some people dressed as gingerbread men, Christmas trees, and a very enthusiastic Buddy Elf.  He was adorable.

It was chilly at the start:  the temperatures were in the 30s and being right next to Lake Michigan the air just felt cold.  But the sun was shining and overall the weather was nothing to complain about for a December day in Wisconsin.  The pre-race set up was great:  a giant inflatable Santa and other fun props for photo-ops, real reindeer, and some fun Christmas music.

The race had a corralled start, and because I planned on taking it easy and enjoying the run, I lined up with the 9:00 mile corral.  However, in spite of the corrals, my first few blocks were spent pushing through a crowd of walkers.  Oh well - this was just a fun run.  Eventually I made my way out of the crowd and settled into a 9-minute pace.  This was my first race with my new Garmin, and it was nice to actually know my pace rather than just feel it and hope for the best.

And because I'm never one to say "no" to a cookie, I did grab a cookie at the first aid station.  Do you know what it feels like to eat a cookie while running?  It feels like choking.  But I tried.  And I even took a mid-run cookie selfie.  Please appreciate it - it took a lot of work to get that picture.  :p

So obviously the Santa Hustle was more of a fun run/walk than it was a race, and the results definitely showed it.  My 9:10 pace merited me 4th place in my age division out of 139.  Huh.  I'm a little bummed on that actually - they had age group awards that went three deep, so I missed out on an age group medal by 10 seconds.  Judging by how cute the race swag was, I would bet the medals were adorable.  Who knew?  My time was 28:29.

I'd recommend this race as a fun thing to do with a group of friends before brunch, or as a first race for someone who just finished Couch to 5K.  This isn't a place to PR, it is a place to have fun (and there's nothing wrong with that!)

Last Call 5K, Waukesha, December 6

I had pinned my hopes and dreams, so to speak, on this 5K.  I knew the course well and frequent it often, as the race started just blocks from my house and ran along a small section of the Glacial Drumlin Trail, which I frequent.  The course was flat with no surprises, and the weather was predicted to be chilly but just fine for a run.

The Last Call included a half marathon that began at 9:00 and the 5K which started at 9:10.  I made a last-minute decision to run without music, regretted it, and ran back for my headphones which got me to the start just a few minutes before the race began, but that was fine.  It was better than standing around and freezing.  The field was small - maybe a hundred runners, and with age group awards three deep, I had a pretty good shot at finally getting an age group award.  But what I really wanted to do was anything under 26 minutes.  A time that started with 25:XX would be a victory in my book.

I started out at an 8:40 pace which was pretty good with the intention of pushing it after the turnaround.  I passed a few people along the way and stayed steady, with few people passing me.  There was one woman just a few feet in front of me the whole race that I was trying to catch up to but I felt like she sensed me behind her and sped up when I did and slowed down when I slowed.  I spent the last mile at just over an 8:00 pace but she still stayed out of reach.  The timing clock at the finish line was set up for the half marathon so I had to wait around for the official results to learn my time.  It was a short wait to learn that I came in at 25:25 - victory!  My time was good enough for 3rd place in my age group.  The woman I was chasing through the whole race took second in our age group, finishing at 25:24.  I thanked her for setting the pace and told her I spent a good 2.5 miles trying to pass her with no luck.

So now it is time for me to set my goals for 2016.  I will be running the Trailbreaker 5K on March 28 and I'll use that as the "starting point" for my 2016 race season, but for now I'd like to set my sights on finishing a 5K in 24:XX, which I think is very doable, possibly even by the Trailbreaker.

As for the rest of the 2016, I am currently signed up for no races.  I'm evaluating my options but I'll have to start finalizing plans soon:  two races on my list have registrations opening soon, and they both have reputations for closing quickly.  So whether 2016 is the year I focus on shorter, faster distances or whether I continue running my long, slow races is something I'll have to figure out soon.