Sunday, March 6, 2016

Race Report: Run Pink Pensacola 5K


So, it's official now.  I'm a real resident of FL and I have the driver's license to prove it!  I recently moved to Perdido Key, which is in Pensacola, and I haven't even been here a week, but I love the area already!  It's beautiful, has a vibrant down town, and I can already tell that it has a tremendous endurance community.

I signed up for the Run Pensacola race series to find out firsthand what "We Run This City" is all about.  The race distances range from 5k to 1/2 marathon, and although I don't typically do that many 5ks (because they're so painful) I figured what the heck,  it'll be a good way to force myself to incorporate some speed work.  The first race of the 11-race series was this afternoon, with a 2 pm start time.

It was held in down town in a really cool area called the Seville Quarter.  I thought it was cute and had quite a bit of character.  I did about a 1.5 mile warm up, with some pick ups and drills to get my legs moving.  I lined up at the front of the starting line and the cannon went off (literally they shot off a cannon and it scared the hell out of me!)  The first mile was a breeze.  There was a slight tail wind and I felt great.  One of the golden rules of racing is "don't start out too fast," however I think this goes out the window a little bit with a 5k.  My first mile was 5:55, a tad faster than I was expecting.  As soon as the second mile started things started getting progressively harder.  The course turned back into the wind and I felt my legs getting tired.  The second mile was the worst, but I knew if I could get through it, then I could carry myself to the finish.  Once I hit mile 2, I knew I only had a little more than 6 minutes of pain left and each step was one step closer to the finish line.  The course was well-marked & I enjoyed the cheers of the people on the streets.  I got to "break the tape" when I crossed the line and my jaw dropped to see that I had run a sub 19!  I've never been able to break 19 minutes in the 5k, even when I was doing speed work.  My official time was 18:44, a new PR!!!  How exciting!  I honestly chalk this up to drinking a boatload of Beet Performer Beet Juice this week.  I moved from Panama City Beach to Perdido Key and had nothing in my refrigerator for the last few days except for 2 cases of beet juice, so I probably consumed an inordinate amount!  See my blog on beet juice for how it can make you faster & if you want to try it for yourself use the code "martine6" to get 15% off your order at amazon.

Congrats to all finishers and can't wait for the next Run Pensacola race!!!