Great Race Challenge (5K & 10K) 2021 Recap
These past two years have been incredibly challenging. Spring 2019, I was in the best shape of my life. In Summer 2019, I had some personal and professional traumas (if you know me, YOU KNOW) that meant that, while I kept running, I had to stop lifting for a long time. I was able to get back to a gym around mid October 2019 but then everyone knows what happened in February of 2020. I’ve managed to keep running, but I have definitely lost a lot of strength (and confidence). My virtual races have been slow and felt like a struggle. I’ve done… fine at the few in-person races I’ve done, but not amazing. So, when I signed up for the Great Race Challenge (5K at 8am and 10K at 9am), I was somehow both optimistic and had low expectations. I wanted the best! I thought it was possible! But I was really worried about letting myself down. I had a goal for the 5K: sub 24:03 so I could get the lower seed in the Manchester Road Race. It was about 20 seconds faster than my previous fastest 5K, so it was definitely a stretch.
I did it. Carrying ten bonus COVID and stress-induced pounds, I cut my 5K pace by 40 seconds. The race itself was almost a blur because I was just trying to go as fast as possible. I did 6min/30s run/walk intervals, which worked out ridiculously well. The one “hill” on this race is my least favorite part of the 10K and always my slowest mile… and it didn't disappoint on the 5K! It was my slowest mile by 1:20. When I finished, I wasn’t sure of my exact time, but I knew when I crossed that I was sub-24 and I grabbed my medal and then started crying. Unfortunately only for a couple of minutes because I had to get my ass to the bus to head back to the 10K start line.
Apparently, sitting on a bus for 15 minutes after going all out on a 5K is not great! I didn’t have high hopes at all for the 10K and got started pretty slow. I spent the time in the corral just trying to get my muscles to loosen up a bit. It worked well enough because, by some miracle, I also PR’d my 10K! Only by about 4 seconds, but still a surprise to me since my last fastest was the same race in 2019. It’s definitely given me some hope that all the slow miles I’ve put in over the past two years haven’t been for nothing! Also I have to shout out Monday Night Track with City of Bridges Run Club and my coach, Cat Bradley.
