Race Day!

Let’s goooooo. The race went really well, way better than I thought it would, honestly. I hit my Strava 5K PR, which is sick. It’s probably not my overall PR since I only started using Strava in 2023, but I’m so hype. 

 

Anyway, 32:25 time, 10:05 pace. Much better than I expected, and I’m really proud of myself. I also got faster each mile, which was cool. The nice thing about running a race like this is that pacing is a lot easier for me when I can just go along with the pace of the pack. I noticed that I was running a bit faster than normal in the beginning, but it felt good, and of course I had adrenaline, so I wasn’t worried about burning out. I didn’t get crampy or out of breath for most of the race. Around the 2.3-mile mark, I started to get a bit crampy. I had planned to pick up my pace around then, but I decided not to since the cramp was getting bad. I honestly felt like I slowed down a tad after that, but looking at my splits, I guess I didn’t. Most importantly, my leg didn't bother me at all during the race. It was honestly such a non-factor that I didn't even think to mention my leg at all when I initially wrote my reflection on the race.

 

Anyhow, the end of 5Ks are odd for a few reasons in my opinion. One, a 5K is 3.1 miles, not 3 miles, but I don’t think I’m alone in mentally feeling like it’s 3. I knew I’d be tempted to speed up around 2.75 miles thinking there was only a quarter mile left, but there’s actually a bit more left at that point. Also, I’ve always had a decent ability to kick into a higher gear toward the end of a race. In track and cross country in high school, I always found a little something, and I knew I was going to today. I was able to get the cramp to calm down enough by the end (and I’m not sure it would’ve stopped me if I hadn’t), and I hit that last kick at the end. I ran the last .1 (well, .2 according to my Strava) at an 8:17 pace. And of course, since it’s the Big House 5K, they have the banner all the football players touch as they run out before games at the finish line. Getting to jump and tap that as I crossed the finish line was awesome. 

 

I’m writing this all about 80 minutes after the race, since I hung out in the stadium with my friends for a while after we all finished. I’m honestly not that tired anymore, and I wasn’t as exhausted as I thought I’d be at the end of the race, either. I’m pleasantly surprised I was able to run at just slightly over a 10-minute mile pace. And I really am very proud of myself, too. Sometimes it’s hard for me to take a moment to recognize that, especially since I’m not in physical therapy anymore and I’m recovered. But I really have come a long way since January of this year, let alone since February of last year. I’m also excited to take a bit of a break from working out now and give my body a true rest for a week or so, since I’ve only done that while sick for the past 6+ months. 

 

I started off this journey and project with no idea what the outcome would look like. I didn’t know how long it would take for my running form to be somewhat normal. I didn’t know how far I’d be able to run, if I’d even be able to run a whole 5K. I also didn’t know if I’d need another surgery, which was a possibility at the time I signed up for the race. Hitting my 5K PR certainly wasn't on my bingo card going into this project, and neither was running 6.1 miles a few weeks ago. But that makes me even more thrilled about both.