Last Saturday I ran the final 5K in the Athlete’s Closet Winter Series.  After a lackluster finish at this event in February my goal was to beat my previous course-best time of 23:47 from January.  I worked hard during the weeks leading up to Saturday’s race and I was fired up and ready to run FAST!

Unfortunately I did not get a chance to better my official course time.  Just before the race began the race director announced that the course had to be cut short due to snow and ice on a section of the road.  😞  On the bright side, he reminded us, we’d all get automatic PRs for running a 5K “minus a little bit” so at least I had that going for me! 😉  Ultimately the shortened course really wasn’t that bad but I’ll admit, I was sad to miss my chance at an official course PR after a month of hyping myself up!

Even with a short course I could still try to run my fastest pace of the series.  I couldn’t remember exactly what a sub 23:47 5K translated to in terms of pace so I focused on trying to stay in the mid-7:30s.  The first mile ticked by feeling relaxed, controlled and, dare I say it… easy in 7:22.  7:22!!! Whoops, a little TOO fast.  But I felt good so I rolled with it.  The second mile chirped by in 7:47 and I reasoned that I was pretty much on target with an average pace right around 7:35.  With less than a mile to go all I needed to do was hang on…

According to Garmin I slowed down a ridiculous amount on the final uphill stretch (I think that’s a technological glitch… I have no recollection of that!) but I still managed to squeak through the finish in 21:48.  The race distance was 2.85 miles and my average pace was 7:39.  Was that good enough to beat January’s pace…..??  It turns out that YES, it was!!  If the course had been the full length and IF (big if) I had kept up the same pace, I was on track to run a 23:42 5K… 5 seconds faster than my January time on this course!  Woohoo!

Seconds before crossing the finish line.  I think I’m preparing my fingers to turn off my watch.  Photo credit: Athlete’s Closet.

My finish time was good enough for 10th place overall, 3rd place woman and, for the 4th time in the race series, 1st in my age group. 😄

Before the race I promised myself that if I ran fast I could buy my first-ever pair of trail running shoes.  I think 7:39 pace qualified as fast so a few hours after the race I picked up these beauties:

Brooks Cascadia 9s.  They’re last year’s model which means that they were on sale!  I took them for a spin on Sunday at Ridley Creek State Park and they were nice and comfy despite the treacherously slippery slush and snow.  My GSP trail-trotting buddy approves!

Trot trot trot

Piper approves of my new shoes

The next race that I’m registered for is the final Pickle Run on March 28th.  I have a feeling that that won’t actually be my next race though… I’m pretty sure that I’ll be signing up for either a St. Paddy’s Day 5K this weekend or a 10K trail race on the 21st.  Or both.  We’ll see!  😄

Miles since last post: 62
Days since last post:  13
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.84
2015 MILES: 329.2

Past Races:
•  February ’15: Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/7), Pickle Trail Run #2 (2/21)
•  January ’15: SRA New Year’s Day 5K (1/1), Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/3), Pickle Run #1 (1/17)
•  December ’14: Jingle Elf 2 Mile (12/5), Brian’s Run 5 Miler (12/7), Athlete’s Closet Holiday 5K (12/14)
•  November ’14: Trinity Berwyn 5K (11/1)  [PR], Metal Run 5K (11/8), Seven Summits Turkey Trot (11/27)
•  October ’14: Martin’s Run 5K (10/5), Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/18), Bark in the Park 5K (10/25)
•  September ’14: Talk 5K Trail Run (9/13), Run A Muck Trail Race (9/20), Haverford Township 5K (9/27)
•  August ’14: Riddlewood 5K (8/3), Radnor Red Steeplechase (8/17), Pickle in the Streets 5K (8/28) [PR]
•  July ’14: Cam’s ‘Moonlight’ 5K (7/10), Swarthmore Independence Eve 8K (7/18)
•  June ’14: Radnor Conservancy 5K Trail Run (6/1), Media 5 Miler (6/20)
•  May ’14: Elwyn 5K (5/3), Run for Victory 5K (5/18) [PR], Rocky Run 5K Trail Run (5/30)
•  April ’14: Las Vegas Security 5K (4/3/, Rick’s Run 5K (4/19), St. Tim’s 5K (4/26)
•  March ’14: Athlete’s Closet March 5 Miler (3/1), Color Out Cancer 5K (3/30)
•  February ’14: Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/1)
•  January ’14: Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4)
•  December ’13: Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14), New Year’s Eve YMCA 5K (12/31) [PR]
•  November ’13: Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2), Turkey Trot 5K (11/28)
•  October ’13: Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19), Oy Vey 5K (10/27) [PR]
•  September ’13: Run-a-Muck 5K (9/21)
•  The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)