Lady Track Shack 5k Race Recap

Yesterday I ran the Lady Track Shack 5k. I ran this race last year and enjoyed the course, so I knew it had to be my February race. While I was excited for the race, I was not super excited when my alarm went off at 5:15 a.m. The past couple of weeks Baby E has gone from a great sleeper to an alright sleeper. We are now getting up a couple of times a night to comfort her and most nights she ends up in our bed. This makes for a tired mama; however, after hitting snooze once, I was out of bed.

I quickly pumped, packed and got ready and was out the door by 6 a.m. The first time I walked out of the house I forgot my race packet, including my number. Luckily, I realized I was missing it before I got out of the driveway. Then it was a quick 20ish minutes to the race site. The good thing about getting to a race early enough to pump is that you get really great parking.

Once I was there I fished my bib out of my packet and took a look at the race instructions. Surprise...the start was at 7:30 a.m., not 7:15 a.m. which was when I thought it started. I hung out in the car for a bit then pumped and started walking to the race start. It had rained most of the week, so I was very happy the rain cleared for the race.

After a quick stop at the porta potties, I lined up toward the front of the 10+ minute mile group. This race made up for the lack of people at my race a couple of weeks ago. We were packed in there like sardines. I got my Garmin together, the national anthem was played and we were off.

Lots of Ladies

The first mile or so was a bit crowded and I had to do a lot of weaving in and out of people. This race has a lot of first timers and walkers. I don't mind them, but it does sometimes make the course a little narrow. I felt good and I hit the first mile marker at just barely over 12 minutes.

By the second mile the crowd thinned out a bit and I picked up the pace. I felt good and ran through the water station without stopping. There were a few small hills on this part of the course and I was reminded exactly how flat my neighborhood is. When I hit the 2 mile marker, I was under 12 minute miles. At this point I thought I could possibly crack that pace for the whole race. This was my tentative goal going into this race because it would be almost a minute faster than my pace for the Run Nona 5k.

The next three-quarters of a mile flew by, and then I started to hit a wall. I knew I was pushing myself, but I didn't realize by how much. I took an extra 30 seconds to walk and catch my breath. When I saw the clock at 3 miles it hit me that I may be able to finish in a little over 36 minutes. I got a burst of energy and sprinted to the finish line. My clock time was under 37 minutes, so I was excited for a 36-something 5k. I was even more excited when I looked at my watch and it said I was under 36 minutes.

I knew this was a bit off.

My official time was 35:48 (pace 11:31). It is amazing how much faster I am when I am not pregnant. My time last year was 44:13 (pace 14:13).

This was another great race and a huge PR for me. My February race is complete. Next up is the Best Damn Race Orlando Half Marathon.