Tag Archives: 5k

10.29.13
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Race Report: Go Commando Clarksville 5k – October 19, 2013

What a race!

Amanda and I arrived in Clarksville the night before the race and picked up our race packets at the Wilma Rudolph Event Center. Then we joined my parents for a nice carby dinner at Olive Garden. Mmmm, pasta and breadsticks!

olive garden chicken parmesan

Carb time!

We got up at the awful hour of 5:30 the next morning. (I really shouldn’t complain about that, since that’s the time my next race STARTS.) We got dressed, downed a cereal bar, and headed out to Liberty Park.

Since the 5k was entirely inside the park, that meant that you had to park in one of two designated parking lots about a mile down and then get shuttled to the start line. It was a little chilly, in the lower 50s and overcast, as had been predicted, but we waited for the shuttle and arrived at the park just as the half marathoners were taking off.

Amanda had worn pants and a tank, but it had started to sprinkle, and she decided the tank was a poor decision. So we went inside the event center to the expo and bought her a nice long sleeved shirt instead. Then we had our final bathroom break, met up with Jessica, and gathered at the start line.

I’m used to races starting about 5-10 minutes after they say they will, so it was a surprise when the gun went off about 2 minutes early. I didn’t have a real time goal for this race, figuring I’d come in around 35 minutes like the Oktoberfest 5k. My main goal was DO NOT WALK.

go commando 5k start

And we’re off! Can you spot me?
Source: ClarksvilleNow.com

For the first half to three fourths of a mile, I jogged next to Amanda and Jessica. They typically run around a 13 min/mile, and I didn’t want the mistake of starting off too fast, so I stuck with them. However, after that, I settled in to a nice pace around 11-11:30 min/mile. And I stayed there.

There were three points on the course where you loop back and get to pass all the people running behind you. I was running with them through the first of these, but on the second, I passed them and they were running together. I waved and continued on, probably just a minute or two in front of them at that point.

About a mile and a half in there was a water station. I grabbed some Powerade and tried to chug it down as best I could without walking and without spilling it all over myself. I succeeded at not walking through the water stop, but failed at not spilling the drink. Most of it went all over me, but it was a downpour of rain by this point, so I didn’t really care. I was just glad that I had decided to go with long sleeves.

The third loop back was just after the start of the third mile. I was feeling strong, so I picked up my speed a bit. I kept an eye out and saw Amanda, but Jessica wasn’t with her.

Here I am looking way too happy to be running in a cold downpour:

I passed through the water station again without grabbing anything as I was only about a quarter mile from the finish at that point. I was still feeling pretty strong, but going up to the finish line was virtually the only uphill in the race. I pushed through and sprinted through the finish line with an official time of 35:15, two seconds faster than I had done in Seattle. Except this time it was better because I did the whole thing WITHOUT WALKING. Yay!

go commando 5k finish line

Crossing the finish line!

I grabbed a glazed doughnut and a banana and stood by the finish line waiting for my friends. Jessica came through about five minutes after I did, and Amanda followed about three minutes later. Woohoo!

After checking our official results and taking a photo, we went inside to relax our legs a bit. We ended up over at a chirpractor booth, where Amanda and Jessica had their upper backs and shoulders worked on, and I got him to use the Stick on my legs. Hurts soooo good! I felt like a million bucks after that. I think I could have run another 5k at that point, ha!

clarksville chiropractic

Amanda getting worked over by the chiropractor.

We headed over to Blackhorse for a celebratory lunch, then Amanda and I headed back to Nashville.

Despite the rain and chilliness (it dropped about five degrees between the start of the race and the finish!), it was an awesome time with great friends. While staying with them for some of the first mile might have slowed down my overall time, I’m glad I did because it’s a lot of fun to be able to talk and laugh while racing. Now to push Amanda a little more to get her up to my speed… 😉

As always, here’s my quarter mile splits. Go go, negative splits, by the way! Mile 1 was done at a 12:38 pace, mile 2 at 11:08, mile 3 at 10:15, and the final 0.1 at 9:10. Yep, I shaved off about a minute each mile!

Go Commando 5k quarter mile splits

And the medals (yep, a medal for a 5k…I could get used to this) were pretty awesome. My favorite medal of the year!

go commando 5k medal

Maybe I’ll go for the half next year…

Shoes: Skechers GoRun 2

10.04.13
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Race Report: Fremont Oktoberfest 5k – September 22, 2013

After three sunny days in Seattle (I must’ve lucked out with the timing of my trip), I woke up Sunday morning to overcast skies and drizzle. The race wasn’t until 10am, so I took my time getting ready and (stupidly) ate a fiber bar for breakfast.

My bestie Sabrina drove us down to Fremont, and we parked and walked down to packet pick-up. They had a board set up with your name and bib number. Once you found your bib number, you got in the pick-up line to get your stuff: a neon green t-shirt, race bib, and shoe timing chip.

As I was putting on my bib and timing chip, I looked around at the other runners. Most of them were dressed much more warmly than me, with pull-overs and long sleeves dominating the crowd. I was wearing a skirt and a tank, of course. It was in the low 60s, so I had a hoodie on for warmth, but handed it over to Sabrina before the start, since it was not anything I wanted to run in.

before the fremont oktoberfest 5k

Tired but ready to start!

As I was waiting at the start line, a man next to me asked if I had run this 5k before. I said that I hadn’t and was actually from Nashville. He looked surprised and then said, “I’m from Tennessee too!” Turns out, he was also running on vacation from Johnson City. Small world!

Soon we were off. It had warmed up considerably and the sun was trying to peak through the clouds. I kind of laughed at all the people who were regretting their long sleeves and stripping off their pull-overs while trying to run.

I ran along at a pretty steady pace of 10:30 min/mile for the first mile, but by that time I was really wanting some water. I had (stupidly) failed to drink any that morning beforehand, and since the day before had been spent at on a wine tour and at Oktoberfest, I was probably pretty dehydrated. I had started to get side stitches, which, for me, is usually a pretty good indicator that I’m in need of water. On top of that, I think the fiber bar was making my stomach ache a bit. Usually a 5k will have a water stop every mile or maybe just one at the halfway point. I passed the one mile point with no water stop. I kept going. Shortly before the halfway point, I paused to catch my breath and hopefully try to see if there was a water stop ahead. There wasn’t. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hold my pace without any water, so I started doing run/walk intervals for the remainder. I knew it wasn’t going to be my fastest 5k, but I was a bit disappointed that it also wasn’t going to be my first 5k without walking.

I finished in a little over 35 minutes, which isn’t terrible. It was around what I was expecting to run, especially considering all the walking I’d been doing around Seattle and the imbibing from the day before.

My quarter mile splits:
quarter mile splits

Started too fast, eh?

They gave us a beer at the end, but I was way more interested in the water! So Sabrina downed half my beer and then we left to go check out the Fremont troll. 😀

Thrilled about beer, obviously.

Thrilled about beer, obviously.

the fremont troll

Fremont troll!

Shoes: Skechers GoRun 2

05.20.13
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Race Report: Law Enforcement Memorial 5k – May 18, 2013

Wow, what a race!

NIC team at the Law Enforcement Memorial 5k

Photo by Michael Reyes.

I woke up on race day around 6 am and got ready. I popped a couple ibuprofin before heading out, just to ensure that my still slightly sore ankle wouldn’t bother me.

I arrived just before 7 am. I picked up my bib number and goodie bag, then did a brief warm up jogging to my car and back a couple times before some dynamic stretching. I had decided to wear my new running skirt and tank, and I was glad for this decision. I’ve decided I adore running skirts, since they don’t ride up like shorts do. Plus it has two convenient hidden pockets for things like car keys; none of my shorts have pockets at all. I also decided to use my new Amphipod as my phone holder, instead of my armband. I’ll talk more about that thing in the future.

Amanda and I at the Law Enforcement Memorial 5k

I had planned in my head that I wanted to try to run it in 35 minutes. I was thinking of aiming for a 12:00 first mile, 11:30 for the second, and 11:00 for the final.

The race started around 10 after 8. Amanda was pushing her son in the jogging stroller, so I knew I was going to eventually take off and leave her, but we ran together for the first tenth of a mile or so. I was trying to pace myself, but she was running ahead of me, so I started out faster than I had planned, around 11 min/mile pace. And then I just kept that pace somehow.

The first mile I ran in 10:57. I was pretty amazed by this. I took a slight walk break at the first water station to gulp down some fluid and then kept on running. At the start of the second mile, you loop back so you are passing everyone still on the first mile. As I passed people I knew, we all cheered each other on. After that, I was on my own. A hill loomed toward the end of the second mile, and I ended up walking a bit of it to the second water station. Here, I took a few sips and then dumped the rest on my very sweaty (it was cloudy but HUMID) head before starting to run again. I clocked in the second mile at 10:13.

The final mile(ish) was pretty hilly and I found myself walking up a few hills. It didn’t bother me, since I was way ahead of my goal time. I sprinted across the finish line with an official time of 30:03.

Law Enforcement Memorial 5k

Above you can see my overall pacing (and notice where my short walk breaks were). Below is a graph of my quarter mile splits, where you can see where I wore myself out a bit before the start of the second mile.

Quarter Mile Splits

Now, according to my Garmin data, the course was slightly short of a 5k. It was around 2.85 miles. Still, even if there was another quarter mile to go, I would have easily beaten my 35 minute goal time and my previous PR of 36:47. I was still so energetic at the end of the race that I felt I could have run another 5k, ha. I guess it was all the adrenaline?

Deb and I at the Law Enforcement Memorial 5k

Photo by Michael Reyes.

I broke a lot of my personal bests. I beat my previous 1k best by four seconds, coming in at 6:12. I also (crazily) beat my one mile time at 10:09. And I scored my best two mile time with 20:47.

Overall, it was a pretty amazing day, and I am so proud of myself for what I have been able to accomplish so far!

Shoes: Skechers GoRun 2

05.09.13
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My name is Jessica, and I’m a jogger.

But I’m aiming to be a runner.

photo of myself

I started seriously attempting to run in January 2013. After a couple failed attempts at Couch to 5k since 2011 (I never got past week 3 either time), I decided to just start at my own pace and not worry if I could make it all the way through a timed run.

Some background on me: Before this year, I was never able to run a mile straight. Before last fall, I was never able to run half a mile. In high school gym class, we were supposed to run half a mile every morning. Never once did I make it the whole half a mile. The only time I came close, I had a mild asthma attack. (And I didn’t know I had asthma and still didn’t get treated for it until a decade later.)

I “ran” my first 5k in 2011. It was the Law Enforcement Memorial 5k, which my company runs every year. It basically involved me doing a week 2 or 3 run of Couch to 5k and then mostly walking the rest of it. My time came in just below 50 minutes.

My second 5k was the Color Run in 2013, so it wasn’t a real race, but it was a lot of fun. However, I developed a terrible side stitch about 3/4 of the way through it and ended up walking much more than I wanted to. (I’ll do a full recap of it later!)

My third is coming up in just a little over a week, this year’s Law Enforcement Memorial 5k. I know I will not be able to run the whole thing (I’m just not there yet), but I hope to possibly PR. My training runs have me around a 39 minute 5k, but I would love to come in closer to 35 minutes.

What do I hope to accomplish? My first goal is to be able to run a whole 5k without walking. Then I would like to tackle a 10k. And then a half-marathon. I’m still undecided if I’d ever want to attempt a full marathon, but I have a while before I’m there yet.

As for the purpose of this blog, it is to share my journey and progression from jogger into (hopefully one day) a decent runner. I’ll share my training, my races, and anything cool I find related to running. Feel free to follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, or Twitter. As for running apps and sites, you can find me on Nike+, Strava, and Garmin Connect.