2nd2None 5k Race Recap

Race Info: I ran the 2nd2None 5k in Aurora, IL on April 26 (today). This race is put on by Communities in Schools and the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry. The race serves as a fundraiser for the food pantry so that they may continue to partner with Communities in Schools to provide meals for several Aurora-area kids over the summer months. The race has been held for several years, and this was the 2nd year that it utilized the same race course. New this year to the race was a 10k option and a kid’s dash. I signed up for the 5k, and I paid $30.

Packet Pick-Up: The race seemed to be a little bit more disorganized this year. I couldn’t find any information about packet pick-up, and I eventually just asked on their Facebook page. I was initially told a packet pick-up time in St. Charles on Friday evening and an afternoon pick-up time in Aurora on Saturday. However, by the time Saturday afternoon approached, I had gotten another email that had changed the Saturday afternoon time to a morning time. Not knowing what was right, I didn’t get to pick up my packet early. However, the lines for packet pick-up on Sunday morning were very short, and it was not a big deal.

The Swag: Everyone who pre-registered received a tech shirt. We also received a bag with some race literature, local coupons, and SmartPop (my favorite post-stair climb snack).

The Race Course: This was the 2nd year that the race utilized the downtown Aurora 5k race route. This route is fun because you get to run on Route 25 which runs through the downtown. After about a mile, the race takes to the Fox River Trail. The course had plenty of police support and volunteer support. The race ends in Riveredge Park (the new concert venue in downtown Aurora).

My Race: I went into this race with more mileage under my belt, but I also went into the race with a bit of a cold. I hadn’t run (or worked out) in 2 days (which is a rarity) because of it. For some reason, I felt a little nervous going into this race. I made my goal to finish under 27 minutes, and I was secretly wishing to get a PR. The race started off at 8 am, and we ran south on Broadway. At this point, I felt pretty good, and I thought that I could pull out a solid performance. About a half-mile in, however, I started feeling a bit blah, and I knew that I was slowing down.

This year, all of the mile signage was missing. I ran this race last year, and because of that, I had a little bit more of a feel of where I was at in terms of mileage. However, this was really frustrating because I still had a slight hope of a PR performance. Once the race turned north onto the Fox River Trail, I settled in more, but I was still struggling with my race. I really wanted to slow down and walk, but I knew that I had to just keep pushing forward (and knew that I was capable of it!). Once we began to head south back down to Riveredge Park to finish the race, I felt myself slowing down, and I knew that there was absolutely no way that I could go any faster. This was highly frustrating.

At the last 0.2 miles of the race, the course takes a small loop to tack on that extra mileage. At this point, I knew I had to grin and bear it, but I mentally did not want to do so! I had no idea what my time was, but when I caught a glimpse of the clock almost at 27 minutes, I ran faster.

I barely squeaked in under 27 minutes. Last year, I would have killed for a time like that, but this year, I just find it frustrating. I know that I ran this race while slightly sick, and I know that my mileage still needs to increase. However, I know that I am capable of so much more so I just felt a little bit frustrated.

Post-Race: After the race, I got water and sat down. After that, I walked around for a while, and I then checked out the food spread. The food spread offered mini-donuts, bagels, and bananas. This food spread actually satisfied a weekly summer Wednesday fantasy of  literally running to get those exact mini-donuts from my local Farmer’s Market and running back home…so yes, I ate mini-donuts after a race. (If you are ever near the Aurora area for a special event, you should see if Dick’s Mini-Donuts is there. They make such good donuts!)

Awards Ceremony: The awards ceremony took place at 9:30 after the 10k runners had all had a chance to finish. This was a very nicely done awards ceremony with Scott Mackay of 95.9 the River doing the announcing. The race uses CARA age groups, and plaques were given out to the 1st-3rd place winners. I won first place for my age group!! Everyone else in my age group was slow this time, but I’ll take a 1st place win especially since I was actually the 4th female to finish the 5k. (Say what?!)

Results: 

Time: 26:55
Pace: 8:41 min/mile
Age Group: 1/3
Gender: 4/97
Overall: 35/177

Slight critique: This was the first year where the race offered both a 5k and a 10k option. They still need to work out how they want to do this. They initially told the 10k runners to line up first, but it was a combined start. Because this race is not chipped time, every second counts. Additionally, they did get some weird results with the 10k because of the split and non-staggered start-time. The first place winner for the 10k almost didn’t get credit for it. Perhaps they should have a separate finisher’s chute for the 10k runners. I’m sure the race will get it figured out for next year, but it made me glad I didn’t do the 10k option this time.

What’s Next:
I’m going to continue to build my weekly mileage as I want to be back to 20 miles per week soon. I actually am currently not signed up for any more races. It’s extremely weird. It’s highly likely that once I finish this post, I will sign up for 2 more races next month. I love racing too much to stop, and it helps to keep me motivated when I don’t have the internal motivation to run.

View of the finisher’s chute and part of the trail

Waiting for the Kid’s Dash and Awards Ceremony

Because having donuts after a race totally makes sense. 😉 They were yummy!

Bagel line

Bananas

Kid’s Dash is about to start!

1st place for F20-24 age group! And yay for pea coats for after a race.

Fox Trot 5k Race Recap

After my last race 2 weeks ago, I became very lethargic, and it was hard to get motivated to go out and run. Consequently, I have not logged that many miles these past 2 weeks, and I was not looking forward to waking up early on a Saturday to race. However, I hate wasting money so race I did.

The race info:  This race took place in Batavia, IL. The Fox Trot 5k/10k is sponsored by the Batavia’s Mothers Club and is in its 15th year. It was about $25 to register for the 5k which is a great price for a local race.

Packet pick-up: Packet pick-up was offered in Batavia the Friday before the race from 5-7 pm as well as on race day from 6:30 am to 7:40 am. I opted to pick up my packet on race day. Lines were short, and it was very organized.

The swag: The race offered tech shirts to the first 300 registered participants. They also had information about other races, but they had this all set out on a separate table where you could pick and choose what you wanted to take. I knew about most of the other races that they were advertising so I just left that alone.

The race course: The race uses a popular Batavia 5k course. It started off near the Peg Bond Center which is a nice location with indoor bathrooms. The race course started off on a bridge over the Fox River and then onto the Fox River Trail. From there, you head north on the trail into Geneva, head west over a bridge, and head south back to Batavia. This is basically the same course I ran for the Party in the Park 5k race in May 2014 (and also confirmed that when I ran that race, the race directors mismarked the start/finish line and made that particular race longer than a 5k).

My race:  Because the race offered chip timing, I opted to be a little bit farther back than I have been at recent races to start. As I looked around, I started realizing that I probably should be a little further up than I was, but at that point, it was too late to do anything about it. As we started, I quickly realized how bottlenecked the course was to start. I have a tendency to go out a little bit too fast for 5k races, but for this one, I could not have done so even if I had tried. It took me about 0.3 miles to finally break through all of the bottleneck and run comfortably without dodging, weaving, or involuntarily slowing down.

As this was happening, I fully acknowledged that it was extremely likely that I would not have a repeat of my PR from 2 weeks ago, nor would I break my PR. I accepted this, and as I ran along, I just felt free.

I hit mile 1, and I realized that I had still run it at a 8:44 min/mile pace. I became annoyed with that, and while I knew breaking my PR was not obtainable, I wanted to go faster for the next two miles.

As I continued to run along, I felt very fairly strong, but I started to get really hot. The temperature had been 38 degrees at the start of the race, but the temperature increased by nearly 10 degrees throughout the race. I had dressed very comfortably for 38 degrees, but it was too much for 46 degrees. I decided that I just needed to get through it and accept that I’d be uncomfortably sweaty for a little while since de-layering was not an option in the middle of the race.

As I hit the 2nd mile, I realized that I had increased my pace quite a bit, and I knew that I just had to endure a little longer. Because the race offered a 10k option as well, the final race stretch let me know when I had 0.2 miles left and when I had 0.1 miles left. I had planned on taking off sprinting at the 0.2 mile mark, but as I ran that 3rd mile, my legs became to scream soreness. I knew that although my mind was willing to sprint, my body was not. I probably could have pushed it to do so, but because I have a concert later, I decided that it was not worth it to put my body through that when I wouldn’t even get a PR.

As a result, I settled for strong but non-sprint finish.

Post-race: The race offered water, bananas, bagel pieces, and nutrigrain bars. I gladly accepted water, and I decided to also have a little bit of a bagel. (Normally I don’t want food immediately after a road race, but today was an exception.)

Results: After waiting around for a little while, I went and found my results.

Time: 26:44
Pace: 8:37 min/mile
Age Group: 1/5
Gender: 14/116
Overall: 38/175

Awards Ceremony: This was the only lame part of this race. They made it seem like there would actually be an awards ceremony so I decided to stick around for it. It was very poorly done. They announced the top 3 finishers for females and males for the 5k and 10k. They started to announce the age groups, but then the person doing it realized that she was just supposed to announce the top 3 finishers. The rest would have to go to the tent to claim their prizes if they had placed in the top 3 of their age group. I did actually get to hear my name announced because she did so before she realized that she only needed to do the top 3 for each gender.

I was actually surprised to find out that I had finished 1st in my age group. I had initially thought this race used the 20-29 age group, and I was expecting a 2nd place finish for my age group. However, they went to using the CARA age groups which means that I won my age group for the first time ever in a 5k race. Yes, there were only 5 people in my age group, but I also finished 14th out 116 women. Therefore, I consider this a victory.

Post Race Thoughts: I need to continue to up my mileage. I know that my life circumstances lately have made it difficult to motivate myself, but I’m still making progress. With my 2nd race of the year (and of my road race season), I am still faster than I was at my peak last season. I think I also need to space out my road races a little more. Having road races every 2 weeks is going to wear me out if I continue. I think I may go for more 3 week gaps and maybe some 4 week gaps. Racing keeps me motivated when I have no intrinsic motivation (like right now) so I need to keep finding races! I only have one more actually planned!!

Upcoming Races:

April 26: 2nd2None 5k in downtown Aurora, IL

(I’ve got my eye on a few more, but I have only registered for that one.)

Proud of a first place age group finish!

View of the Batavia Riverwalk after the race