Another Harvest Festival 5K Race

Every year I run our local 5k race. Last year I actually won first female overall. So needless to say I felt a little pressure this year. 

It is super close to where I live
so I didn't even show up until 9am to pick up my bib. The race was at 9:30. When I came to pick up my bib the race director said to me another runner made the comment," I didn't see the winner from last year". He replied, "don't worry she'll be here." Great, I thought to myself I already have a target on my back. 

We all lined up at the start and soon we were off. There were a few guys in front of me that just took off and I knew there was no way of catching them. 

So far there was only one lady ahead of me the first mile. I thought well maybe she will tire and I'll get to catch up to her. Well after the first mile, two other ladies passed me. At first I thought they were running together, but then one of the ladies continued on while the other one stayed back. 


I knew there was no way of catching the leader now but was hopeful I could pass these other two. Just passed the second mile I saw my family and it gave me the boost I needed and I was able to pass the one. I could still see the other lady probably 100-200 yards ahead of me and was trying to wait until the very last stretch to give it all I had to pass her.


 I guess I didn't have much left in the tank because unfortunately I was unable to pass her so I finished 3rd female overall and 1st in my age group. In the end it really didn't matter because the lady that was ahead of me luckily wasn't in my age group. 


Later that day the race director texted thanking me for running and teased better luck next year. No one has beat the course record for females since 1992 and that was 17 minutes and some change. I was giving it all I had and still got a 5k PR of 20:33. That's a 6:39 pace. There is no way I would even come close to breaking that record. Too bad, because every year the course isn't broke it goes up a 100 bucks. He just started becoming the race director so next year cash prize is $200. Maybe I should start training for shorter races🤔  -L







19 comments:

  1. That's still an incredible finish time! I've gone back to several races, hoping to defend a previous AG win or PR...only to be humbled LOL The thing is, I've actually run subsequent races faster, but there have been others there running even faster. As long as I'm happy with my OWN performance, I'm good ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep. That's a good way to look at it. I still PR a 5k so I can't be upset with that.

      Delete
  2. Congrats on your PR! I always say it depends on who shows up--looks like those fast ladies gave you a push!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You did an awesome job no matter where you came in. And you definitely have some speedy runners down there!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yay on winning your AG! I love how you used the competition to push harder. Your finish time is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What an incredible finish time and PR! You definitely gave it all you had out there on the course.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I tried. But you always second guess yourself afterwards and think did I really?

      Delete
  6. Great job, Lacey! Congrats on your AG placement and amazing PR!

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's a great pace and congrats on the PR! Fun that you're a local celebrity! 17 minutes? Sheesh. I still want to break 20 as an adult!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yea I don't think I'll see that number ever again and that's ok.

      Delete
  8. Thanks! I felt like I was sprinting the whole thing. Short distances can be tough!

    ReplyDelete

Fairytales and Fitness is a personal blog authored and edited by us, Meranda and Lacey. The thoughts expressed here represent only our own and are not meant to be taken as professional advice. Please note that our thoughts and opinions change from time to time. We consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind in an ever changing society. Any thoughts and opinions expressed within our out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those we may express today. Some links may contain affiliate links. Some links are just to pages we'd like to share.