Race Recap: NYE Dash (Almost) 5k

Yesterday morning I met up with some friends to run the NYE Dash, a 5k supporting Project Open Hand. The race was limited to 200 people and was pretty... well, small.

Wave 1, runners who anticipated 8-minute miles or faster, lined up on the street (which was not closed to traffic, by the way). At the sound of someone screaming "Go!", we took off.

The first mile was downhill on JFK, so I started off in a hard sprint, thinking I could bank some time and go for a new 5k based on that mile alone. At one point I was in front of speed demon Katie and even said something like "I'm in the front!" while pumping my fists and turning around to look for her. She jokingly told me to shut up -- that I was running a 5k & shouldn't be able to talk.

Before I knew it, the frontrunners were turning around to run back up JFK via a very wet and uphill field. This mile seemed awkward -- I didn't remember reading that we'd be running through a field, but I guess that's what I get for not studying a course map. The grass was super slippery and I felt like my legs weren't even moving. At one point I looked down and saw 8:40 as my lap pace, and knew that this wasn't good if I wanted a PR.

We finished up the race with a lap around Stow Lake. I glanced at my watch on the downhill of Stow Lake Blvd. to recheck my pace and noticed my watch said I was at 2.75 miles. "Only a little more than a quarter mile to go" I noted to myself and tried to pick it up again. I turned the last corner and saw the finish line right in front of me... much too early.

Proof you can heel-strike in Newtons!

I stopped my Garmin at 2.87 miles and quickly chalked this up to being a short course because it was a low budget/charity race. Turns out that the frontrunner had taken the turnaround too soon and missed a small out-and-back that would have given us the full mileage.

I hold no hard feelings -- 5ks suck and there were libations for runners afterward. The sooner I got back, the sooner I could start drinking.

Courtney, Renee, Katie, Kabri, Cate, Alisyn & me post-almost-5k and pre-mimosas & beers.

2.87-Mile Splits:

Mile 1: 6:42!!

Mile 2: 7:50

Mile .87: 6:03 (6:55 pace!)

4th female...

Soooo, I get an automatic 2.87-mile distance PR and a 4th place finish for this short race. I am sure this would have been a 5k PR had we done the full distance (I am guessing I would have finished somewhere around 21:30ish), but what are you going to do? It'll just give me something to shoot for this coming year. :)

Happy New Year!

Katie (2nd female!) & me