A week ago today, I ran my longest race to date – The Delmar Dash 5 Mile! I was so fortunate to be able to run this race thanks to an entry sponsorship from Mindy at Just a One Girl Revolution!
I was also majorly lucky to start the race next to my dear friend Jen. I am so thankful to have this girl in my life! She is such a constant source of encouragement and support as I continue to set new running goals, tackling new distances and trying to build speed and endurance! [Jen ran an AWESOME race! She is such an inspiration to me. You can read her Delmar Dash recap, too!
A few notes about this super fun race:
- The course was very flat, through a nice residential area. It was a nice course, but I agree with Jen who noted after the course that the Delmar Dash is a race that I would be perfectly happy only running once.
- My favorite part of the course was that in a few places, children had written encouraging messages to the runners with chalk. So cute!!
- I didn’t make a public time goal, but I did tell Jen earlier in the week that I secretly wanted to finish in under an hour.
- I started out WAY TOO SPEEDY to start. When we were lining up, I stayed near Jen and Chris (her super speedy boyfriend) though I thought I should probably move to the back of the pack. Jen convinced me not to worry, and not to feel pressured.
For the first 3/4 of a mile or so, I stayed near Jen. I didn’t think much of it, and continued to chug along. Soon I realized EVERYONE was passing me. When I hit the first mile marker I looked at my watch to see that I finished the first mile in 9:40.
- I realized right then and there that I had to pull back and slow down or I wouldn’t be able to make it the entire 5 miles. So I did.
- Also, lesson learned: When you see a group of spectators along the course, if you yell “You Guys Rock!” as you run by, they will often cheer even louder for you! Such a great encouragement boost all around!
- When I hit 3 miles, I looked at my watch again and I was on schedule to PRed my 5K time!!! ahhhhh!! So exciting!!
- After that, I walked a lot more than I wanted to and had planned to with my DIY Interval playlist. Actually, I was "on schedule" for my intervals until a few yards before the 4 mile marker, in which case I realized that the Tour de Soft Serve I attended on Saturday + starting out super fast = the death of me.
- At this point, however, I was running near a very nice girl who wouldn't let me quit. We had both passed each other a few times in the mile prior, and when I started to slow to a walk she turned around and told me “Don’t Give Up!!!” As we continued running side by side, passing the four mile marker, we high fived and trucked along.
- I didn’t last too much longer before a side stitch caused me to slow down tremendously until I started to walk for 10-15 seconds. Overall, I took about 4 walking breaks in the last mile (about 10-20 seconds each) and sprinted my way through the finish line.
- I’m happy to report that my clock time was 56:57! Well under that secret goal of an hour! [I had forgotten to stop my watch time, sadly.] [Check out my friend Darlene’s recap – she caught me sprinting (and looking like death!) to the finish!]
- After the race, Jen, Chris and I headed to the Wine N Diner. I loved the mod podge of modern art, casual atmosphere, creative menu items, and wallet friendly prices!
I decided on the Hawaiian Burger. I am so glad I went with my gut when ordering this, as it was FANTASTIC! The burger was Coconut encrusted with Hot Ham, Pineapple & Spicy Aioli. It was the most meat I’ve eaten at one meal in a long time, and it really hit the spot after racing my heart out! Also, my burger was clearly just as happy to meet me as I was to meet it!
Now bring on that 10K! Just a couple of week left until I conquer a new distance! I’m running the Albany Spring-off 10K (sponsored by It All Changes!!) with a slew of blends on April 30th! I’m super excited for race day – it’s both my and Jen’s Birthday weekend and I can’t wait to celebrate together!!
