one afternoon while chris and i were at sports basement we stumbled on a flyer that walnut creek was having a turkey trot. if you signed up that day you got 20% off your purchase… how could we pass that up?
i hadn’t done a 5k in over a year. september 2008, the first week of my first round of pfitz training for CIM was my last 5k. i ran it in 23:09 and it’s been my PR for a while now. i KNEW i could run faster than that now, but i was also hesitant to really race this all out so close to CIM (10 days but who’s counting anyways), especially since i raced last weekend. i decided to just sign up and could get a hard effort in a race setting, and get the 20% off of course.
this was the first time i had done a race so close to home and wow that was nice! chris and i woke up around 6, took our time getting ready and drove over to a park we park at all the time. it was about 2 miles from the start so we jogged over to get some warm up miles in.
i had 8 miles with 3x1600m scheduled for the day, and although a 5k is not the same as 3×1600 (5k being harder on your body since there are no recovery breaks between intervals) it would definitely work as a substitute. i planned on not going “all out” since i didn’t want to do anything to jepordize my legs for CIM, but i did want to cross off another 2009 goal and get under 23 minutes, which i thought i could do without being “all out”.
we got to the race about 20 minutes before the start and it was announced the start would be delayed at least 15 minutes, boo. our warm up was quickly fading as we stood there shivering waiting for it to start. it was in the upper 30s so i went with capri tights, gloves and long sleeves this week (thinking the long sleeves would also help keep me from going “all out” since i tend to get hot when i race), and i was really glad i had long sleeves on while we waited. eventually they started the 10k race and then the 5k race was 10 minutes after that.
there were no timing chips at this race, but i started my watch right when i crossed the start line just so i could have a more accurate time. we were pretty close to the front, so there wasn’t much time in between anyways. i felt really good as soon as i started running but just was cruising along. we had to climb an overpass in the first mile which helped keep the legs holding back a little.
mile 1 – 7:25
we did a really sharp turn just after mile 2 (there were way too many sharp turns in this race, annoying!) and then went down a street and into a school track that i run on sometimes. we had to do a weird loop around it and then another sharp turn and then we were exiting the school at mile 2.
mile 2 – 7:17
my garmin had been right on the mile markers both miles. we had to climb the same overpass, but the harder side during mile 2. uggg what is with races putting the hills in the later miles? i was chugging along and passed a couple people up it, then let my legs go free on the way down while i caught my breath. we had to run past where we would turn into the finish line and run down the iron horse trail and do another really sharp turn to come back. i passed a couple more people here and saw chris and gave him a wave. we were entering the park where the finish line would be and i saw the mile 6 marker for the 10k. i looked down and saw my garmin was only at 2.75 or so miles and thought, “either this is going to be the longest finish line ever or a really short course”. the mile 3 marker came soon and then i could see the finish line up ahead. i gave it a little sprint, since i wasn’t really expecting it to be there already and stopped my watch… yay finish!
.9 of mile 3 – 6:33 (7:15 avg)
right after i crossed i looked at garmin and we were way short. 2.9 miles is definitely not a 5k!
garmin:
2.9 miles/21:15/7:19 avg pace
official results:
3.1 miles/21:21/6:52 avg
overall: 55/1033
female: 10/634
age group: 4/143
top 10 female!!! and yes 4th again, BUT this age group was from 18-29 which is a huge span. if it would have been the standard 25-29 age group i would have won!! the 3 girls that beat me were all 21 
definitely happy with the results.
chris and i jogged back to the car for 2 cooldown miles and 7 total for the day.
so i don’t really think i can count this time as my PR… it should be more in the 22:40s since my pace was 7:19. BUT that is still breaking 23 minutes so i definitely will count this as knocking off another 2009 goal.
i really am happy with this race, i ran it just how i wanted to and paced myself well. i never felt like i was going all out at all, just putting in a hard effort, but i know i could go faster. it makes me want to do another one sometime in the near future to see what i could really do. i am going to use this to give me some fuel in shorter races for 2010. i think i can start to see some goals forming for next year!
i am realllllly excited now for CIM next week. this was the last speed session so from here on out will be pretty much easy paced except for a couple of goal pace miles next week… i feel ready.
i hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving! i know i have SO much to be thankful for this year.
Sounds like it was meant to be, that the course didn't want to over do anything. Congrats on a PR, or at least a fantastic new goal!
I feel the same way, can't wait to run another one. Also, I feel my body is much stronger now – no soreness after today's race. Great job on your part with this race. I can;t believe CIM is so close! You are on a roll!
whoa…CIM is so close..You are going to rock it..
Awesome job!!! Congrats on the PR and happy Thanksgiving.
Kate
00kate.com
That counts as a PR! Think of all the times Garmin has the course too long…
Great job on the 5k! I think you should count it.
Congrats and Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving! Funny my 10k today was 6.1 miles…hmmmm
Great pace on the 5k. That sucks that it was so short though, I would be super annoyed, especially if I was on pace to beat a PR. Ugh. I've had a 5k be .03-.05 short, but .2 is pretty darn significant. Hope you had a great turkey day!
gosh can't believe that cim is sooo close! youre going to rock it!!
awesome job on the 5k. great way to start thanksgiving
happy thanksgiving & congrats on an awesome race. my garmin said 3.14 for my 5k today SO you can have my extra .04 to add to your short race! LOL
you are going to ROCK CIM!!!
One thing I can't stand is races tha start late! Really bothers me.
Your time was awesome. You are so fast.
Yahoo unleash the speed!! I repeat we would be amazing race partners…we are like seconds off in our PR's.. Crazy..you are like my time twin…well except for the Marathon…but I am way behind in that field.
Hugs!
Great job! And, Happy Thanksgiving.
Awesome job…all your ducks are lining up for CIM!
God Aron you are so freakin fast! I looked for you but obviously never found you. It was a little crazy and COLD but I had a good time even though the course was kinda weird. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
AWESOME job on your speedy race! AAAH your marathon is super close, so excitedddd!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING (late) too! Hope it was amazing
Another fast race, and another 4th place finish…you'll get top 3 soon! Enjoy your last week of taper before CIM!! It's getting close, but you're SO ready
Congrats on a PR at the 2.9 mile distance! haha.
Whatever the official distance was, that's a speedy pace!
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving…CIM so soon!
Congratulations! I did a 5K recently that was not a 5K either. It turned out to be 2.6 miles.
Congrats on the "5K"!
Even thought it was a short course, you had a strong & speedy pace! Great way to start the day. And congrats on top 10 females!!
Great job! I cannot believe it had been so long since you ran a 5K! Are you more into the longer distances? I think 5Ks are fun every now and then
It's just fun to get out there with other runners! Of course, I have had to cut back to save money.
I HATE sharp turns in races. I can always feel it in my feet!
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Short course or not you killed your old PR. Way to go Aron!
P.S. I'm counting this as your turkey trot time! You and Sarah (from glowblades) can go head to head.
short or not, great effort Aron! hope you have a massive PR at CIM!
my turkey trot was short too, but I think its cuz I "cheated"
I have been finding a lot of races to be a bit short lately though …
Regardles of the .whatever miles it was short – it was a great race and you know how much you have improved over your last 5K. Way to go!
Wow!! Speedy! Sounds like you had a great race. Congrats! Awesome pace.
Shucks, I hate short courses! Mine either seem to be long or just a tad under. You still had a great race though! Sounds like you are in great shape for CIM. Happy tapering and I hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving!!
Great job on the 5k Aron! I knew you were a speedy girl! Congrats and happy thanksgiving!
Nice! 21:21 is very impressive. It's a second off my PR and I nearly died running that race, while you seem to have managed to maintain your composure throughout. And jogged afterwards! Man, I could barely walk…
You are going to rock that marathon! Congrats, have a great weekend, and best of luck.
You are soooooooooo fast!!!!
Good luck at CIM!!!!
Hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving!!!
Good work! I bet that finish was a pleasant surprise…not that you should be surprised, you speedy girl, you
Sounds like fun. I haven't run a 5k in forever and have wanted to get back into some shorter races again next year.
Glad you had a great race and hope you had a happy Thanksgiving!!!
And yes, you SHOULD do Philly. You would LOVE it. It's a great BQ course too (hint, hint).
Congrats on the speed pace!! I think the PR counts for 5K as well. The course is measured through the middle if the road/path and if you are racing you are cutting the tangents and turning the corners tight thus Garmin is going to pick up actual mileage and not the course as they measured it. Just like how Garmin can be long if people start further from the back with no chip mat start or make a lot of water stops, or don't cut tangents well.
I would consider it a 5K PR and that you ran the course smart based on the distance you show.
Congrats!!
CJ
I had the same thing happen at the Turkey Trot I did! I crossed the finish line elated to to have hit 19:00 – a huge PR – only to see that the course was only 2.93 miles.
Congrats on a great race nonetheless!
So fast. We are ready!!!!
btw Jack thinks that you're 3:35 based on that time too (even adjusted for course length
)
Yay, what a successful Turkey Trot! I love that you and Chris do so much of your running and racing together!
dang girl! congrats on the pr!! i may have to start hatin' you now since you are seconds away from my pr with a "not-all-out" effort. NOT FAIR!
congrats!!!!!
Congratulations…you ran the perfect race. You are not only speedy, you know exactly how to run a race.
Great job and a great way to start Thanksgiving!!
I think you can totally count it as a PR. We've done so many course that were actually longer than they should have been it is nice to have a short one.
Thanks for this useful information that you have been shared to us readers. I am looking forward for your next post!
Colorado Mortgage