Hey-o!
Last weekend I ran the 8th Annual Bras across the CAUSEway 5k. I have run this race a couple times in the past (previous recaps are here & here!) and I am so glad that I got to participate again this year. My original plan for the weekend was to go to North Alabama for the Monte Sano 15k, but as it does … “life” happened and plans changed. Life primarily being work deadlines and toddler sicknesses in this specific situation. I am typically a planner (or perhaps an over planner), but right now we are smack in the middle of the rolling with the punches phase of life. Sometime the punches hurt more than others and in this case, things definitely worked out for the better!
I was planning to go to the 15k simply because I thought it was the only 15k race in Alabama, making it a necessary part of my state record journey. However, I found one in April that is also an option. The timing will not be great, but at least there is still another opportunity! Instead of driving 10 hours round trip to run the 15k, I got to sleep in my own bed and drive just over 10 minutes round trip to run the 5k. Plus I was able to stay home with my little guy, who had to come home from school early on Friday with a slight fever AND I was able to get some work done Saturday after the race. Definitely a win, win all around!
After my first 5k record attempt was somewhat of a bust (the course was short), taking another shot at the 39 year old female Alabama 5k record was my primary objective going into this one. Of course, I am so glad that I was able to support such a great cause in the process! All of the proceeds raised by this event go directly to local breast cancer patients, helping them with things such as gas, groceries, copays, uncovered medical expenses, rent, utilities, etc. It was a beautiful day and there was a huge turnout (over 500 runners!), which was awesome to see!
I decked myself out in all pink and headed to the race around 7 a.m. on Saturday morning. Side note: I prefer having my family at races to support me, but the pre-race routine is less stressful if I go alone. I was flying solo for this one, so there was minimal pre-race stress! The temperature was fairly cool on race morning, but warmed pretty quickly. According to Strava, it was 63°F with a dew point of 53°F during the race. Those are the best conditions that I’ve run in in quite some time, so no complaints here!
The course is an out and back with a bridge just before mile one and just after mile two. The bridge isn’t very steep, with about 30 feet of elevation gain, but it is definitely noticeable. In chatting with other runners on the start line, I found a friend that was shooting for 18:30, which was basically what I needed for the state record, so I decided to work with him. The plan was to start out around 5:50 pace and see what happened.
The race start was unchaotic, which is quite rare. No one really sprinted out super fast or anything and everyone seemed to settle into their paces quickly. I hadn’t really thought about that until typing this out, but I do think that not sprinting off the line at under 5:00 pace helped me feel more in control during the entire race. I truly felt comfortable and in control the entire time, which was very nice. After running with a pack of two or three runners during the first mile, I broke away from the pack going up the first bridge and never looked back … until we turned around and ran back! Ha.
My first split was 5:52. At this point I was leading the race and I knew that I only had to run half a mile with a slight decline before turning around and being half way done. That seemed totally doable! Once I got to the turnaround, I got to start seeing all of the other runners, who were still on their way out. I absolutely love this during races! There was a lot of GIRL POWER at the race in general and everyone was super gracious with their cheers, especially when they realized a female was in the lead overall. I reciprocated with as many cheers as I could and basically just smiled the entire way back.
My second mile split was 5:49! I felt amazing and knew that I could hold on to something close to that for the last mile. The last mile of a 5k can be kind of miserable if you don’t pace yourself correctly, but can be kind of exhilarating if you pace yourself well. The line between pacing well and not pacing correctly is very fine and is sometimes hard to find until you are too far gone. Since I had just run 3 miles at 5:54 pace a couple of weeks ago, I had the confidence going into the race that 5:50 should be doable. The course was a little bit more challenging, but the weather was better. Part of me also wonders what would happened if I had pushed slightly harder, but of course that is all part of the thrill of the chase that keeps us coming back for more.
My third mile split was 5:50 and I kicked it in at 5:37 pace for the last tenth! My official time was 18:19, giving me the new 39 year old female Alabama 5k record by 0:23 seconds! It was a beautiful day to run and catch up with friends, old and new. I am so thankful to be out here doing this thing that I love so very much.
Next up: The Endless Mile in Alabaster. I am registered for the 6 hour event, but am running with the sole purpose of chasing the 20 mile state record. Talk to you guys soon!