Is it conceited if I change the name of my blog?: Skyline 5K Recap

Alright, so it's no secret that I'm hard on myself sometimes. However, for some reason, I feel like I can consider this race somewhat of a turning point. Now, I may fail miserably at Twilight next Friday (I wouldn't be me if I didn't throw in some self-doubt), but after three sub-22 5K's in a row, I'm really starting to like this distance. I commented to a few people on Saturday in conversation (we were actually discussing 5Ks, I didn't just walk up to anyone that would listen and start this topic) that in my limited race experience, I really think that 5Ks are the hardest to strategize. Every mile is crucial. You start too fast, the last mile is sheer hell. You start too slow, you're not happy with your time because you just can't make up enough for the lost seconds. Improvement is measured by seconds. If you lose your concentration or let a negative thought get too prominent, the next thing you know, you want to walk in a distance that most of us would consider a warm-up. I used to hate 5Ks. I still get nervous as hell about them, but I think that's part of the appeal.

Now, let me back up, maybe I just feel this way because a) I just got a shiny new PR and b) of all the 5Ks I've run, Skyline remains one of my favorite courses in Charlotte. Sure, the first mile climbs for close to 100 feet, but if you can pace that mile right, you're set up for a good time. It was a PR by over a minute for me last year (23:37) and my first 5K running sub-8 pace. For someone like me that has had a tendency to die on the last mile, this is a pretty solid course.

April was a pretty busy month of racing for me. I raced three times...Bulldog 5K, Museum Mile and Skyline. I blew a mile repeats workout the week of the Museum Mile due to the heat and last week opted for a tempo run with the Thursday CRC crew from Dowd. Well...a tempo for me, anyway. Conversational pace for them. Caitlin graciously offered to help pace me and she was really awesome, encouraging me to relax and giving me some breathing tips. It was a crazy humid morning so although I hadn't felt great and 7th St. nearly sucked the life out of me, I got it done. I hope to hang with that crowd for more tempos in the future...those are WAY harder for me mentally than a track workout with built-in recoveries.

Thankfully, the humidity lifted and Friday and Saturday were two of the most gorgeous days I can recall in recent Charlotte history. The red singlet has served me well as of late (also took my hair a shade brighter red on Friday) so I went with it again, as well as my trusty bandanna. Added to the race outfit were my new Tifosi shades I won at the Inside Out Customer Appreciation Day. I'm not gonna lie, I felt kind of badass. (And the interminably witty Stan added to that feeling later in the day by deeming me Red Lightning.)

Laura offered to drive and she and I warmed up together before it was time to line up. I got a good spot reasonably close to the front, spoke to a few people I knew around me, and then got a hilarious surprise when Fred Wood introduced himself and told his son that his goal should be to kick my ass. Well, what the hell? I asked the kid (who I'm guessing is about 12?) what he thought he could run and he said he didn't know. Bring it, kid.

I resisted the urge to go out guns blazing because I knew I'd be in for a miserable race if I went too fast in the first mile. My breathing felt great but I kept telling myself to hold back although a few glances to my watch told me I was keeping a solid 7ish pace. There's one little stretch on 7th where it flattens out a bit and I used it to make sure I was relaxed and to recover a bit before tackling the incline up to Showmars. I actually passed several people that sounded pretty miserable on that climb and I was happy to note that I felt pretty good. First mile: 6:59. Perfect. Also, was great to see Lauren and Jay and Megan on the first mile. It really means a lot to me to hear my name being called while racing!

The slight incline down 7th was nice although I didn't feel as good as I would have liked turning onto 5th. I had also settled into an interesting pack. At this point, there weren't any females within striking distance and I was clueless who was behind me so I kind of settled in with a couple guys that looked like they were probably around their 40s. Note to self: 40 year old men are my competitors. I ended up pouring a little water on myself at the water station and kept pushing. Held on the second mile for 6:55.

Looking back, the next half a mile was the hardest part of the race for me but also the part I'm most proud of. I was by myself for the most part and I start to feel some doubts creep in. Why do I do this? This doesn't feel good. Even if I slow down, I'll still have a pretty good time. You know, the usual. But I learned an important lesson during those few moments of doubt because I looked at my watch (yes, I know I wrote in my last blog that I do that too much in the last mile of a 5K) and realized I was still holding sub-7 pace. No, it didn't feel great, but you know what, it was totally bearable. And I knew Elizabeth Ave. wasn't too far off and that I'd be fine once I made it there. So, that's when I started bargaining with myself...hold this pace to the next side street. Hey, there are some people cheering...look fast, pick it up a little. I'm not usually one to berate myself during a race, but the biggest motivator I came up with was...'You're on PR pace and you are FINE. Do NOT f*ck this up.'

That got me to Elizabeth and I was a happy girl. I knew at that point a PR was waiting for me. I saw Jay and Megan again and while I'm sure they got to see me make some pretty ridiculous faces, I was ok with it. It was time to finish up a 6:52 last mile and kick. And kick I did. (Relatively, of course.) My Garmin measured both the Bulldog course and Skyline course at 3.14 miles. At Bulldog, the last .14 was at 6:36 pace. At Skyline, it was 5:55 pace so I'm happy with that. Garmin had me at 6:53 average pace for the 3.14 but more importantly, official race results had me at 6:58 average pace with a new PR of 21:38! I ran my first sub-7 5K and was 15th female overall and 5th AG at a Grand Prix race!

Of course...now I'm just going to want to run even faster than that.

But...dare I say it? I don't think I consider myself slow anymore. I might keep the blog name but hey, I'm open to suggestions...