I Run for the PR and Also for the Hill of It

As I wrote earlier this week, I was quite nervous going into this weekend’s Run for the Hill of It 5 Miler. This heat has made me extremely sluggish the last two months. In addition, as this was my first opportunity to set a new PR for a distance, the pressure was on. Sure, I could have relaxed my expectations considering the heat, but that’s just not me. Though I would never wish the stress I put on myself on anyone else, the pressure that demands perfection, it certainly does lead to success. Which brings me to my race recap for this weekend’s event:

SAY HELLO TO MY NEW PR!!!!!

If you can't see through the obnoxious glare it says 41:35!

Take that 5 Miler! I crush you!

That’s right peeps! I set a new PR for my 5 mile distance and I beat my old record by a whole minute!

Leading up to the race I was extremely nervous. I had 3 levels of goals:

1. Finish with at least an average 9 min/mile. I sustained this over 10 miles at a race, so I can do it over half the distance right?

2. Match my current PR, the only PR I have for a 5 mile distance, at 42:33. Possible, however, running that race was an incredible accomplishment. It would be very hard to beat.

3. Beat my current PR. This was my ideal goal, but I honestly didn’t think I’d be able to achieve it.

The morning of the race I couldn’t keep any food down and I barely drank anything. I knew going in that the shady course through the woods would prevent some of the scorching heat that was already rising. This was comforting. I also knew, however, that even if the heat didn’t reach its full potential on the course, the humidity sure would. My co-worker Julia and her husband Steve were joining me for the race. Mike sat out again to his unhappiness and played photographer instead. The race was a 2.5 mile out-and-back on Forbidden Drive, a beautiful trail path along the Wissahickon Creek in Fairmount Park.

Pre-race with Julia

First time testing out the Minimus Trail on actual trail. Also, compression socks for an extra leg boost!

The Philly Phanatic gets the runners pumped up

And we're off!

When the gun went off myself, Julia, Steve, and 300+ other people tore down the path. A half mile in I glanced down at my Garmin only to find that my lap pace was at 7:51. That’s got to be wrong, I thought. There’s no way I’m pulling a pace with the number 7 in front of it. It continued bouncing around between 7:51 and 8:05. It was only when I hit mile marker 1 and my watch said that I had just run an 8-minute mile that I really started believing the numbers. First thought: OMG I just ran an 8-minute mile! That doesn’t happen very often. Second thought: Shit, there’s no way I can sustain this for another 4 miles. I’m totally screwing myself and I started out too fast!

I decided to focus on a man in green about 5 feet ahead of me. I thought okay, just keep this guy in your sight and use him to keep you going. Slowly my confidence began to rise as the race went on. I arrived at the 2.5 mile turn around only to see the split time clock reading 20:05. That’s right, I sustained an 8-minute mile over 2.5 miles! Goal number 3 was seeming more and more realistic!

On the way back I kept the man in green in sight, however he was about 20 feet away instead of 5. I was starting to wear out from both the humidity and lack of energy. When I’m not feeling well during a race I go through a 3-step checklist to address the problem, looking at legs, breathing, and mental state. 1. How are my legs feeling? Fine, no problems there. Feeling strong. 2. How is my breathing? It could be better. It feels a little stressed. Need to take slower, deeper breaths and recover. 3. How’s my mental state? Getting better and better. Still not in uber-confidence mode, but only improving as time goes on. I dumped a total of 3 cups of water on my head during the entire course, which kept me feeling cool despite the rising humidity. My Garmin started fluttering up to 8:30 lap pace on the way back, sometimes going as high as 8:50, but I kept my spirits up!

With less than a half mile left I saw a hill coming up. I don’t remember going down that on the way out! What the hell! Get outta here! Despite this surprise, I kept trucking along, knowing full well that I could beat my PR if I kept up the pace. As soon as I got to the top of the hill I saw the finish line. I sprinted, as fast as my body would allow, across the finish line, utterly exhausted, on the verge of puking, and overwhelmed by my victory. I even teared up a little (there’s no crying in running!).


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I promise you I'm sprinting, not just flapping my arms like a chicken and skipping across the finish line

Check me and my new PR out!

After I caught my breath I waiting for Julia to finish so I could be obnoxious and yell her name at the top of my lungs. Steve had finished long before, in about 36 minutes. Did I mention he’s in his 60s? Yeah, he’s ridiculous. At my age he was running 5 milers in 26 minutes, which definitely could have scored him top finisher if not top placer. He did come in second place in his age group. Not too shabby! He went for a 2 mile cool down run afterwards. Like I said, ridiculous.

Julia crossing the finish line. Mike tried to snap Steve crossing, but he's too damn fast!

All in all it was a fantastic morning. The only thing that could have made it better is if Mike could have run. Patience! He’ll be back before he knows it. We’re hoping to run two more races with Julia and Steve in September. They are 5ks, which is a distance I’ve been shying away from as my ultimate goal is to be an ultra runner. However, I’m also curious to see just how fast I can get. I’m in my mid-twenties so there is still time to improve!

Also, may I just point out that I don’t think its coincidence that I re-added speed work and set a new PR in the same week. After a month of feeling super slow, going fast again this week felt really good and made me feel really capable. Speed work is must from here on out! No more over-sleeping! Get to it girl!

5 miles leaves room for ridiculously oversized celebration cookie!