Mile Markers: 5K Race

Mile Markers: 5K Race

I raced a 5K last week, which is something I’ve never done before. I completed a couple 5K runs in college, but I certainly didn’t race them and they may not have even been the full 5K distance. My first real road race was a 10K back in 2014, and I have race mostly marathons and half marathons since then. 

The 5K hurt, but in one of those way that we runners find is also quite fun. It was a huge mental shift to run a 20 minute race versus a 95 minute or 3.5 hour race, in both an enjoyable and challenging way. 

Mile Markers: 5K Race

Monday: 4 miles easy

After a week off of running, I was ready to test my foot. It had been pain-free and not tight for a couple days. Sure enough, the week off of running (plus icing and taping) did the trick for whatever tweak there was. I ran four miles comfortably and my foot remained pain-free throughout the rest of the day. 

However, Ollie’s feet were not pain-free. All the beach time had blistered up his paws, and he chewed on them and made them worse. He ended up with a collar, some medicated foot soak, and a week off of running, hiking, and long walks. Apparently, Ryan was the only one of our family to make it out of June without needing a week off of running. 

Mile Markers: 5K Race

Tuesday: 6 x 400 m (5 miles total) and Pilates

I’ve done several short interval workouts leading up to this 5K and I have noticed a huge difference in my running economy. These 400m felt pretty good – the worst part was the humidity. My first five quarters were on a flat loop and logged in 1:36-1:39; the final one was on a part of the race course hills and logged at 1:43. 

Mile Markers: 5K Race

Wednesday: 6 miles and strength training

My run was simple out-and-back 5 miler. I kept the effort easy and relaxed. 

Immediately after my run, I took out Charlie for his run. Charlie ran his first mile after his back injury! The inflammation had subsided and the vet cleared him to gradually return to activity. Charlie pranced with joy the entire mile. Ollie, meanwhile, was devastated that he didn’t get to run and ramed his cone into me repeatedly. 

I opted out of any heavy lower body lifting to rest my legs before the 5K. I stuck to mostly upper body and core exercises, completing bodyweight walking lunges TRX rows, barbell military press, eccentric pull-ups, lat pull-downs, side planks, and kettlebell deadbugs. I really like those kettlebell deadbugs, probably because they are as if the kettlebell and Pilates were combined. 

Thursday: Rest day

Friday: 3 mile easy run

This was a short shake-out run the day before the 5K. I ran mostly through the bog, which was super muggy. 

Recently, we subscribed to Imperfect Produce, which delivers a customizable box of produce to our door each Friday. The produce is either surplus or store rejects due to aesthetic defects (scraps, too small, too large, etc). I love it because it’s a convenient way to purchase a large amount of produce and it reduces food waste. 

Mile Markers: 5K Race

Saturday: 5K race (4.5 miles total)

I ran the Run of the Mill 5K. If you are familiar with the Mill Creek area, you will know the terrain is not flat; it’s just varying degrees of hills from gradual inclines to the monster hills on the aptly named Seattle Hill Road. The first mile of this race is uphill, the second mile is rolling, but the final mile rewards you with a downhill. 

I warmed up with 1.5 miles easy before the race. The 5K itself went by quickly. I ran a chip time of 20:59. I thought I had run a 21:01 based on my Garmin and I was excited to see a 20:xx time on the official chip results! 5Ks are hard and the last 1/2 mile really hurt. This was a fun race! 

Mile Markers: 5K Race

I’ll have a full recap up later this week! 

Sunday: Rest day

Our newest homebrew was finally ready to drink. We used a pale ale recipe from our local brew shop (Micro Homebrew) and the result was incredibly delicious. We finally figured out how to avoid the slightly banana-y taste that can come with some homebrews. 

Mile Markers: 5K Race

Linking up with Weekly Wrap

[Tweet “A 5K PR, homebrewed beer, and more in this week’s #weeklywrap via @thisrunrecipes #running”]

How was your week in running?
Do you subscribe to any CSAs or produce boxes? 

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18 Responses

  1. Congrats on a solid race! I a few years ago my town did a race series that was mostly made up of 5k’s. It was the first time that I really raced and actually kind of grew to like the 5k for all of it’s lung burning glory. And now I haven’t run one in 3 years. Lol!

  2. Awesome job on the 5k woman!!! Those short distances are so tough, especially in hilly terrain.
    Poor Ollie looks SO sad 🙁 You all have had a rough month!!
    So glad at least two of you are back on the mend!! And it seems like you’re not sweltering in humidity like we are on the east coast so enjoy it.
    And cheers to your first drinkable home-brew of the season!

  3. Congrats on that great 5k! In December, I raced a 5k for the first time in years and it was a lot of fun to go all out like that! You are right, the last half mile should hurt and it does!

    Poor Ollie! I hope his paws heal up quickly. It’s not fun being in the cone of shame!

  4. Well done with your race. I avoid 5ks and 10ks as I never really feel I get going (plus I’m pretty slow, so then people shout you can do it and you want to invent a t-shirt that says, “I know, I run marathons, just slow”. So I’m in awe of your ability to race short and long!

  5. Congrats on a strong 5k! Don’t you love a downhill finish? The 5k races are generally really fun around here but you are so right — they hurt! But, at least they are over quickly. I hope Ollie is better now so he can get back to his training. Thanks for linking!

  6. congrats on the 5K!!!! It really is so interesting to run a 5k when you are used to running longer distances. it hurts SO BAD which gets so confusing because it’s “only” 3.1 miles yet they kill and then you decide it was fun once it’s over lol. I ran one last fall and im not sure im rushing to run another one. HA

  7. Congrats on the 5K! We get our CSA from a farm run by university agriculture students. It’s a great deal since I get student pricing, but it’s also one of the better CSAs I’ve participated in.

  8. Congrats on a great 5k time. That’s so speedy! 🙂

    And thanks for mentioning Imperfect Produce – I need to check it out.

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