Donut Dash 5K

One might assume that a late August 5K in the Washington DC area would be warm and humid. But
amazingly, the Donut Dash last Sunday was 58 degrees with low humidity. It must have been among the coolest mornings this area has ever seen for August 31. 

The weather was so good, I'll start out with my personal weather scale. The race gets a 10 out of 10. There was almost no wind, and while I usually consider 58 warmer than ideal for racing, it was perfect for a shorter distance, especially since I was already acclimated to the heat. And the low humidity was hugely helpful too. 

Before the Race

I switched up my pre-race routine a bit and instead of having my normal almond butter-filled pretzels, I drank half a packet of UCAN energy drink. I figured the UCAN would sustain me longer. Before leaving the house, I laced up my New Balance SC Pacer shoes, which I had determined were my favorite shoes for the 5K. But then I looked in my closet and I saw that the Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB matched my shorts so perfectly. I had worn these shoes in the Firecracker 5K and they worked well there, so I figured I would swap them out because I simply could not turn down wearing a pair of perfectly coordinated shoes. 

Another point of coordination was my outfit. I wore leopard print shorts and I had a leopard print leg bandage to wrap. Why the bandage? That's a topic for a blog I plan to write soon. But as long as I needed to wear bandages around my lower right leg, I made sure to coordinate them to my outfit! So the leopard print bandage matched the print of my shorts, and the Brooks Hyperion Elite matched the color scheme. I was delighted by this!

Greg and I drove to the race, parked near the start and I picked up my bib. Everything went very smoothly. I saw a few friends at packet pickup and we chatted briefly. 

Then I warmed up on the course for 2.4 miles and I had a caffeinated Maurten gel 20 minutes before race start. 

Goals and Strategy
I am in the midst of training for the Indianapolis Monumental marathon, so this was not a goal race for
me. My purpose was to practice racing, have fun at the race, and get a solid speed workout in. Time-wise I wanted to set a course PR. The Donut Dash is run on the Fairfax Corner course, which is used in the Frosty 5K, the Veterans Day 5K, the Run Your Heart Out 5K and more! I had run this course in 8 different races over the years and my fastest time on it was 21:01 from last December at the Frosty 5K. My goal was to beat that time. 

I looked at my mile-by-mile splits from the Frosty 5K and my pacing strategy was to run slightly faster for each mile. Running under 21 minutes on this course would be a huge accomplishment because it's very hilly. 

Mile 1
I started out a little slower than most of the runners around me and then passed many of them during the first downhill. The race starts downhill and it's easy to go out way too fast. I felt strong and fast but kept the pace controlled. The time to beat was 6:33 and I did so in 6:31. That was only two seconds faster than December, so I didn't have a lot of room for error. 

In terms of placing, I wasn't exactly sure how many women were ahead of me, but I knew it was at least three. I wasn't running close to any women as the mile finished out and whatever place I was at that point would be the same place I finished in. Unfortunately my leg bandage slid down my leg during this mile which was a little annoying. It was fine to have the wounds uncovered because they had mostly scabbed over, but I wished I had made the bandage tighter. The main purpose was to keep them protected from the sun to prevent scarring.

Mile 2
This mile was hard but I focused on staying positive and mentally strong. I focused on my form and my rhythm. This mile is rolling hills-- never flat. It seems to go on forever and the hills feel way too long. I passed a few guys during this mile, but no women. My Frosty split was 6:39, so I was delighted to clock in at 6:35. I was now six seconds ahead of my December time. But I was by no means "safe".

Mile 3
This mile is killer. The final hill of the run feels long and steep and comes at a time when you are already exhausted. I expected this to be a huge struggle. However, I was pleasantly surprised! For the first time, this hill did not seem so massive or steep. I am not sure if it's because I live in a hillier area now or if the Pilates classes have made my legs stronger. It was definitely challenging but not quite as painful as I remember it from my previous 8 races. My December split was 6:52 and I clocked in at 6:45. A full seven seconds faster! 

The Finish
I gained another 2 seconds on Frosty in the final kick, and crossed the finish line in an official time of 20:46.

I beat my December time on this course by 15 seconds, setting a new course PR!

• I placed 1st in my age group (45-49) out of 54.
• I was the 5th overall female finisher out of 439.
• I placed 20th overall out of 790 runners.

After the Race
I was thrilled with my performance! I got my medal and then reunited with Greg and my friend Laura, who had come out to cheer for me. After a quick chat, I ran a cool down of just over a mile. Then it was time for donuts and the awards ceremony. They wouldn't have a "donut dash" without offering donuts as the finish line food! I won a gift certificate to my local running store, which covered about half of my race entry. 

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
This was a good speed check! The Frosty 5K was about 10 weeks before the One City Marathon and this Donut Dash was about 10 weeks before Indianapolis. I'm 15 seconds ahead, so I think a PR is realistic for me in November. Of course you can't base your marathon time on a 5K, but it's a good data point. I like to race regularly (once a month) to practice pushing hard and flexing my mental muscles. 

Most of my time savings came on the final hill, which shows my legs are stronger than they were in December. That could be from Pilates, from training on hilly terrain, or both. 

The Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB performed really well. They are a fast shoe and they are a contender for my marathon along with three other shoes. Most importantly, they matched my outfit perfectly!

The weather was gorgeous and this race was the perfect way to spend a morning outdoors.

It was awesome to spend time with my friend Laura post race and it meant a lot that she came to cheer for me. Greg, Laura and I enjoyed breakfast together at one of my favorite local spots.