My first race of the 2024 season was a solid effort and more of a hard training run than a true race. I am mostly okay with how it went, but I do have a lot of work to do yet! It seems my season-opening race is always a bit of a rust-buster (I can only think of one year where you first race of the season was a strong performance.), but I did place 2nd in my age group (see the picture below for my prize–haha!) and ran some really consistent splits:
Mile 1 – 6:37
Mile 2 – 6:34
Mile 3 – 6:37
Mile 4 – 6:37
Mile 5 – 6:48 (longest hill)
Mile 6 – 6:36
The Hot Dash 10K took place almost two weeks ago already, and I am finally just getting around to writing a blog post recapping it. I’m not even sure how many people still read this blog as it seems like blogs are dying, but I do enjoy having this diary to look back on, and I do look back on my times/performances often and reread my race recaps for the big events.
Anyway, I went into this race planning to give it a good effort, but I knew temps in the low 20s would not bode well for running fast. I am not a cold-weather runner–never have been, and while I will continue to run year-round, my body doesn’t feel great in it. My muscles always feel still and tight, and they never truly warm up. So I told my coach, Nichole, that I wanted to train through this race, use it as a hard effort, and bust a little bit of rust. So going into race morning, I was barely nervous (never the case when it is a race I care about!) and left for the start of the race with minimal time to spare. I had a hard time finding a parking spot, jogged the 0.8 mile to the start, picked up my bib, dropped my items at the bag drop, and then got into the start corral. Not my typical race routine. Ha!
Surprisingly, I felt okay when the gun went off and quickly settled into a pace that seemed do-able for 6.2 miles. Going into the race, I thought I would be able to run around a 6:30 – 6:40 min/mi pace, which as you can see I successfully did.
The day was beautiful with little wind, a lot of sunshine, but cold. I dressed perfectly in a Swifty long sleeve, lululemon Fast and Free windbreaker, Tracksmith tights, thin neckwarmer, along with a Skida headband, and thin mittens.
The course had some hills with a total of 200 feet of elevation gain, which I definitely noticed coming from somewhere much flatter. Where I live in southern Minnesota, there are not many hills, so I don’t get a lot of elevation gain on my daily runs. (I wish I got more!) But surprisingly, I felt really strong on the hills and was often able to pass people or hold people off. I give my strength coach, Maria, the credit for this for pushing me in our strength sessions.
I ran hard but not max effort during the race. Like I said, I wanted to use the race as a solid effort but not spend the entire next week recovering. I was sore for a couple of days, so I know I gave it a good effort, but I didn’t feel like I was dying during the race.
The last half mile or so of the course was my least favorite. After we crossed the Stone Arch Bridge, we turned left and ran towards the finish line. Someone did warn be about the cobblestone in this area, but I was surprised how difficult it was to run on. I really had to watch my footing as there were large gaps in between the bricks, and I could have seen myself twisting my ankle. They were also uneven and not ideal for running fast on. (I would have hated to be a 5K racer running even faster!)
When I crossed the finish line, I felt spent but not totally dead. I said hi to a couple of people, but I have to admit it is weird being in a much larger running community now where I don’t know many people at the race I go to. The Anchorage running community is, of course, much small, and I was so plugged into it. My family wasn’t at the race either, so I gathered my things, ran my cool-down, and then headed home.
So that’s a recap of my first race of the season. I know this race wasn’t a true reflection of my fitness, but I also have a lot of work to do! I have one more 10K at the end of the month, but I might have to find another 10K later this year to see what I can really do when I’m in shape.
And this weekend I have another race coming up: Goldy’s 10 Mile. I am going to give this one more effort, so it will be fun to see what I can do. I believe the course is fairly hilly, and I know my fitness is not at it’s peak after a week of sickness + winter running but maybe I’ll surprise myself as I had a really good workout on Tuesday this week.
I still read and appreciate blog posts (especially race recaps). I find that I also refer back to my own posts for reference, so kudos to you for continuing to write. Thanks for sharing with readers, too!
Yeah! So glad to hear! At this point–after blogging for 14 years–it would be kind of sad to stop!