On July 19th I lined up for my first live 5k in 5 years, the BRRC Women’s Distance Festival. Even though I am marathon training right now, I wanted to run this at a hard effort to practice pushing myself in a race. Well- this certainly was a hard effort that required alot of pushing! Between the heat and the hills I ended up running my slowest 5k ever. I’ll share a quick overview of the race, my experience, and some takeaways.
BRRC Women’s Distance Festival
The BRRC Women’s Distance Festival is held by the Baltimore Road Runner’s Club and is a part of the Maryland RRCA’s Women’s Distance Festival Series. It took place at Meadowood Regional Park along a looped path. I’ve run there a bunch of time so I was familiar with the course.
There was alot that was appealing about this race: local, easy logisitics, inexpensive, and small. However, I knew it would likely be really hot with an 8am start time in mid July. Also, the course has a substantial hill. I wasn’t sure how many times we would run it or which way the course would loop.
Race Morning
With an 8 am start time and short drive I had plenty of time to prepare in the morning. I drank coffee, ate a pop tart and banana, and got my kids situated. I left a little before 7 so I could get my bib and warm up.
After few days of bad air from wildfire smoke we were back to the normal range that morning. The weather was typical- high 70s but very humid and sunny so felt like it was in the mid 80s.
Picking up my bib was super easy, and since there was a parking lot right outside the park I went back to my car to leave by premium there. Around 7am I ate a honey stinger waffle and then had a gel around 7:45. (I really had no idea how to fuel for a 5k since it’s been so long and I was running much later than I’m used to).
I did a warm up that included a 15 minute easy run and some strides. At 7:50 I found the start line. The path is fairly narrow, so I wanted to get up front so I wouldn’t get boxed in. The race was not chip timed. There were a couple of women who looked very fast who lined up in the front, but no one else wanted to be up there.
BRRC Women’s Distance Festival
The course started right before the hill, and we would do 4 laps of the .8 mile loop, finishing .1 mile before the start line. This meant we would be running the hill 4 times.
The first time running it wasn’t too bad because I was just starting out. I think I may have gone out too fast, but it was hard to gauge my effort running a 5k on a hill. I felt like I got into a better rhythm on the back end of the hill, and hung out in 4th place for a bit.
Each loop was significantly harder than the last, mainly due to the hill and knowing I would have to do it again. On the last lap I strongly considered walking the hill, but I knew I would regret it. A few of us passed each other during the last mile and I was pretty sure I was 6th.
While I didn’t have a goal for this race, I really wanted my pace to be under 8:00min/mile. I didn’t think that would an issue until I was actually running in the heat and going up that hill 4 times!
I actually don’t think this map does a great job portraying the elevation. Each loop was a steep uphill, steep downhill, then a longer stretch of downhill followed by a longer stretch of uphill before hitting the steep uphill again.
I finished in 24:42 (according to my watch) which was 7:48 pace for 3.16 miles. My slowest 5k time ever! Official time ended up being 24:44.
I walked around, got a cool towel, and then did a cool down jog. The race director had mentioned that there would be age group awards but I had to get home to get the kids to swim lessons. I later found out I was 1st in my age group.
Race Reflections
While I didn’t specifically train for this race I was hoping to do a little better. I know that the course made it especially challenging. We had 220 ft of elevation gain for a 5k. But it was a good effort and I got to practice racing without it being a full marathon with more pressure.
I used to be able to bust out a 22 minute 5k with no training, but I guess I am getting older and that just can’t happen anymore!
The good news was I wasn’t really sore the next day and was able to pick back up with marathon training.
What I wore (affiliate links):
Brooks Lux Tank
Brooks Hyperion Elite 5
Brooks 3 Pocket Sports Bra (discontinued)
Oiselle Shorts (very old- discontinued)
Balega Running Socks
Have you ever run a 5k during marathon training?
You may also like:
5k Tune-Up Workout
Fast-Finish Focused 5k Workout
Couch to 5k Training: How to Successfully Train for Your First Race
Now it’s time for the Runners’ Roundup! Link up your running and fitness posts below! Join myself, Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner and Runs with Pugs to post your favorite running tips, experiences, race and training recaps, workouts, gear, and coaching ideas.
Considering you were first in your age group I consider that a success. Those hills look hard! And a steep downhill isn’t as good for your pace as you think it might be. Plus, your training over the last few years has been focused on long distance so it makes sense that your 5k speed has slowed down.
It would be interesting to actually train for a 5k (like after your marathon) and just see what you can do. I’ll bet you’d be surprised and happy with the results.