On Saturday I ran the Rosemead 5K. This race was about a 20 minute drive from my house and it was very easy to get to. It was a very small race (and by far the smallest race I have ever run) as they were only letting about 400 people sign up, however it had 181 finishers.
The great thing about this race was it was cheap(I got a special email paying $17 with processing fees) so I figured why not run on the Fourth of July, have a good time, and get a shirt instead of just running around my neighborhood for a good workout???
The final race instructions were not sent out until the day before and it noted that the streets we will be running on will close at 6 as well as check-in starting at 6. I spent a bit of time trying to figure out where to park since I would need to cross the blocked off street to get to the parking they suggested. I made the decision to park north of the course by a school so I can easily get out when I was done.
So I decided to get up at 5:30 and head out around 6 and hopefully get there to park by 625 and getting my stuff and make it back for the start of the race promptly at 7. The plan worked! I got down there really fast (15 minutes!), but it also took a long time to get all checked in: almost 20 minutes. One thing I would highly recommend for the future is to have a small registration the day before even if just for a few hours: it would allow for people to get their bibs, shirts, and bags and sleep an extra 30 minutes, which is always helpful!
I got my goodie bag and shirt and bib and headed back to my car to put up myself, get my bib on and get myself ready. I made it back to the start area around 6:45. I did a quick potty break, some stretching, quick 3 minute warm up (I think I need a longer warmup in the future), and more stretching. We did the National Anthem and the firemen sent us off right at 7am.
The course was very flat, and a bit boring as it was all residential. However, I had never actually been to Rosemead before so it was a new experience wanting. While running, the sun was out in full force and it was very humid and I totally forgot my hat! Next year, I would definitely recommend wearing a hat and also carrying water because I could feel my body overheating a bit. They did have one water stop half way through which was very helpful.
Right before the halfway mark is where I had the biggest issue of the whole run. I started off very strong and felt great (8:56 average pace) but then I had a huge falter. I finally figured out how for my Garmin to give me intervals and also mile splits (which I will write a post about tomorrow!) when I felt the vibrate for the 1 mile, I stopped to walk. Not until 30 seconds later when I got the walk interval, I knew I had walked too early! That extra 30 second walk break is most likely what cost me a PR. I definitely learned to stay abreast on what the vibrate is (and will keep monitoring to see if I can change how it vibrates for mile check ins).
Mile 2 was 9:55 pace (the slow down from my unexpected walk break and also the water break. I slowed down a bit to ensure I was taking in water). I knew the end was getting near so I kept pushing and ran 9:21 pace for Mile 3. For the final .03 I ran it at a 6:57 pace!
This is the issue. The course was .07 short! I am not sure if it was my garmin or if we were short or if I really just ran the tangents. There were one turnaround at the end so I wonder if that was shorter than it needed to be.
Anyways I finished in 28:25 and finished 71/181 and 5/25 in my age group! (one minute off of 3rd place).
I am overall happy with my performance. I wish I had not walked that extra bit. In the future, I would probably shorten my walk breaks by 2-5 seconds because that little bit can definitely add up and it is always good to push yourself!
Even though my runs have sucked lately, I definitely think I am getting stronger as I definitely was hot and tired but did not feel as bad as I did during my PR (it was also way more crowded). I enjoyed running in a small field as there was never course crowding or anyone in my way.
Afterwards, I went home, made breakfast, showered and did schoolwork before I went out for lunch and to celebrate the 4th.
Anyone else run on July 4th? When was your last run?
The great thing about this race was it was cheap(I got a special email paying $17 with processing fees) so I figured why not run on the Fourth of July, have a good time, and get a shirt instead of just running around my neighborhood for a good workout???
The final race instructions were not sent out until the day before and it noted that the streets we will be running on will close at 6 as well as check-in starting at 6. I spent a bit of time trying to figure out where to park since I would need to cross the blocked off street to get to the parking they suggested. I made the decision to park north of the course by a school so I can easily get out when I was done.
So I decided to get up at 5:30 and head out around 6 and hopefully get there to park by 625 and getting my stuff and make it back for the start of the race promptly at 7. The plan worked! I got down there really fast (15 minutes!), but it also took a long time to get all checked in: almost 20 minutes. One thing I would highly recommend for the future is to have a small registration the day before even if just for a few hours: it would allow for people to get their bibs, shirts, and bags and sleep an extra 30 minutes, which is always helpful!
I got my goodie bag and shirt and bib and headed back to my car to put up myself, get my bib on and get myself ready. I made it back to the start area around 6:45. I did a quick potty break, some stretching, quick 3 minute warm up (I think I need a longer warmup in the future), and more stretching. We did the National Anthem and the firemen sent us off right at 7am.
The course was very flat, and a bit boring as it was all residential. However, I had never actually been to Rosemead before so it was a new experience wanting. While running, the sun was out in full force and it was very humid and I totally forgot my hat! Next year, I would definitely recommend wearing a hat and also carrying water because I could feel my body overheating a bit. They did have one water stop half way through which was very helpful.
Right before the halfway mark is where I had the biggest issue of the whole run. I started off very strong and felt great (8:56 average pace) but then I had a huge falter. I finally figured out how for my Garmin to give me intervals and also mile splits (which I will write a post about tomorrow!) when I felt the vibrate for the 1 mile, I stopped to walk. Not until 30 seconds later when I got the walk interval, I knew I had walked too early! That extra 30 second walk break is most likely what cost me a PR. I definitely learned to stay abreast on what the vibrate is (and will keep monitoring to see if I can change how it vibrates for mile check ins).
Mile 2 was 9:55 pace (the slow down from my unexpected walk break and also the water break. I slowed down a bit to ensure I was taking in water). I knew the end was getting near so I kept pushing and ran 9:21 pace for Mile 3. For the final .03 I ran it at a 6:57 pace!
This is the issue. The course was .07 short! I am not sure if it was my garmin or if we were short or if I really just ran the tangents. There were one turnaround at the end so I wonder if that was shorter than it needed to be.
Anyways I finished in 28:25 and finished 71/181 and 5/25 in my age group! (one minute off of 3rd place).
I am overall happy with my performance. I wish I had not walked that extra bit. In the future, I would probably shorten my walk breaks by 2-5 seconds because that little bit can definitely add up and it is always good to push yourself!
Even though my runs have sucked lately, I definitely think I am getting stronger as I definitely was hot and tired but did not feel as bad as I did during my PR (it was also way more crowded). I enjoyed running in a small field as there was never course crowding or anyone in my way.
Afterwards, I went home, made breakfast, showered and did schoolwork before I went out for lunch and to celebrate the 4th.
Anyone else run on July 4th? When was your last run?
Small field!
all done!
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