Asheville New Years Resolution 5K Recap
Thought I’d write up a quick little recap of my race on Monday before Sunday’s big event
Pre Race
I’ve been experiencing all sorts of niggles and did very little speedwork lately so I didn’t have high expectations going into this race. Plus Asheville has a lot more hills than where I live so I knew that may be a challenge. My main goal for the race was just to see how my body would handle the miles. On the bright side, it was in the mid 30s which is a good running temp for me. I could tell the locals were cold though
I completed a 2 mile warm up and my body felt good so I was hopeful it would hold itself together for the race.
Before the race they kept making announcements for the 6 min milers to line up at the front. I’m not nearly that fast but the start was at the top of the hill so the closer you were to the front, the less hill you had to climb. I placed myself just slightly on the faster side than I would have normally to avoid any extra hills
One more thing I should mention is that obviously NYE was the night before and I drank one too many high lifes. My head was absolutely pounding
Mile 1
Just after the start line was a nice long downhill. I quickly got stuck in the crowd and became a little frustrated about the slower runners in front. In hindsight, it was probably in my best interest that they forced me to have a slow start. It also didn’t take long for us to spread out and for me to find my groove.
After the first half mile was a big uphill. I tried to keep my effort even, keep pushing but not too much. I was catching up with others and would start to settle in with them and then I’d remind myself that this is a 5K. There’s no time to settle!
Time - 7:52 (happy with that considering the slow start and uphills).
Mile 2
More hills. There was a water stop around halfway where the 10K went straight and the 5K turned. At this point, I had no idea where I was in the crowd but could tell that roughly half of the pack was running twice the distance.
A few more turns and I found a volunteer telling me I was Top 10
. I didn’t know if this meant I was 10 exactly or had some wiggle room but I was guessing it was very near 10.
These hills were really starting to wear me down but I kept going best I could.
Time - 7:49 - wow! That’s consistent!
Mile 3+
I was doing okay. Definitely feeling the burn. During one of the turns I made a quick glance back and could tell there was another female catching up. There wasn’t much I could do as I was already putting in good effort so I just tried to keep her in my sight as long as possible.
It really started to hurt with about half a mile to go but I guess that’s 5Ks for ya. I started counting down the seconds until I would be put out of my misery
.
With less than a quarter mile to go, I felt like I might get physically ill. No doubt that was partially due to the shenanigans the night before.
At this point I slowed down a bit as I realized there really was no reason to push. There was no one on my heels and I definitely wasn’t going to PR.
Finish - 25:55
Post Race
I definitely slowed down in that last mile but I would be curious what the GAP was. You can see in the chart below that there was way more ascent in that last mile so maybe my pace drop wasn’t as bad as it looked. Regardless, I was happy to call this race a success in that my body survived and didn’t feel any worse for the wear.
The results were available online so I quickly learned that I won my age group. Not too shabby
. We waited around for the awards ceremony where I received this calendar
Definitely would not have waited around in the cold had I known that was the award. But it was nice to cheer in the other finishers and the mugs filled with hot cocoa helped too. I’m a firm believer that every winter race should have finishers hot cocoa.
I actually didn't mind the barges, they were pretty all lit up during the races.
. The annual Santa run fundraiser was taking place and is one of my favorite runs of the year. AFAIK there is no clock so I wouldn’t call it a race. Just 600 Christmas fans supporting local causes. When you register, half the fee goes to a local charity of your choice. Obviously, I selected GOTR 
. Anyway, weather was windier and starting to snow so I decided more tempo miles were on the list. Here I am at the finish enjoying some delicious hot cocoa. The only disappointment is that there were no cookies but hard to complain when there’s full size candy bars. 
. Guess I better get back to that this week while I still can. 
. After swearing off ever running in a skirt again, I decided to give it another try. No issues at all much to my surprise. This one is too short to get stuck between my legs.
. I’m guessing it will flatten out and perhaps go back up again as I taper. 
. They do feel much springier than my last so I hope so. But really I just want to run far.
1500 miles!! The most I’ve ever ran in a year!! Coincidentally, I ran past this section of sidewalk with a motivational message:
. Regardless, I’ll be running through the most magical place on earth so I’ll have fun either way 
Take it easy and hopefully it will sort itself out by the weekend. Have fun on your 5k!
