Firecracker 5K: Fast, Fiery, and Fun!

I ran my annual Firecracker 5K today. I have run this race almost every year since 2010, with my course PR being 20:28 from last year.

If I am in good shape, I usually try to set a course PR. It's always hot, hilly, and measures 3.17 on my watch, so it's not a good comparison to a Turkey Trot or other 5Ks I run. But it's a great year-over-year comparison. 

Background
With the move, my training took a back seat so I ran some less-than-stellar 5Ks earlier in the season. I ran a time of 21:04 in mid-May and a time of 21:02 at the evening track 5000m. After the track 5K, I knew I needed to focus on 5K-specific training if I wanted any chance at getting a course PR at Firecracker. 

My training consisted of hill repeats, track workouts, medium long runs, and Pilates classes. I was very consistent with all of these for the entire month of June. We had several heat waves in June, which made things particularly challenging, but I adjusted my expectations for paces and was able to complete all of my workouts. By contrast, we had freakishly good weather in June of 2024 with plenty of low-humidity mornings. 

Before the Race
I woke up at 4:00 naturally, having fallen asleep at 9:00. I had a few almond butter pretzels at around 5:45 and then started to get ready for the race. I got a new stars and stripes outfit for this race, even though I already have several of them, because I didn't want to wear the same thing as last year. I actually prefer last year's outfit, but it will make an appearance again in 2026. 

I decided to wear the Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB. I had done several track workouts in them and they had felt really fast. My paces in them had always exceeded what I thought I was running, so I figured I would try them out. I didn't want to wear the Nike Alphafly because those felt like too much "shoe" during the Track 5000m. I seriously considered the New Balance SC Pacer 2, but I had already run two 5Ks in them and I figured I would give the Brooks a chance. 

Wetting my hair pre-race

Greg and I arrived 50 minutes ahead of time. I had retrieved my bib in advance so I didn't have to worry about doing that. Our first order of business was to find the porta potties. They weren't where I expected them to be but it wasn't long before I found them. After that I began my warm up. I like to keep the warm up short for summer races so as not to get too warm before the race even starts. I poured water on my head to get my hair nice and wet. 

I took a Maurten gel 15 minutes before the start. Usually I take a caffeinated one, but I had run out of them unknowingly. So no caffeine for me! That's okay, though. I think my caffeinated gel from the Tracksmith 5000m contributed to my stomach cramp so it could be for the best.

Soon it was time to line up at the start. I lined up about 6-7 rows back because the race had a large competitive field and I thought that would be the right spot for me. In hindsight, I wish I had lined up closer to the front, but more on that later.

Goals and Strategy
My goal was to beat my 20:28 from last year. The weather was very similar - 74 degrees with lowish humidity. It could have been much worse this time of year, so I was generally grateful.

On my personal weather scale, I give this a 3 out of 10. For July, its probably closer to a 9 out of 10 but my personal race weather scale considers ALL potential weather, with low 40s being ideal. That's why this sits solidly at 3 out of 10. It might be great for July, but it's not great racing weather generally speaking. 

I had my splits memorized and I knew what I needed to do each mile to beat them. I had done a lot of mental prep to ensure that I would stay strong during that final mile and really push up the long hill.

Mile 1, photo by Cheryl Young

Mile 1
The race started and I tried not to get pulled out too quickly like I did at the track 5K. But that backfired because I think I ran the first minute at a 7:30 pace. And then I had to weave around many runners to get back on pace. I was passing people left and right for the entire first mile. Clearly I should have lined up closer to the front. My goal for this mile was 6:26 but despite how hard I ran to make up for the slow start, I couldn't get my pace below 6:30. Finally my watch beeped at 6:29, but I knew I had some major work to do for the rest of the race. 

Mile 2
I wanted this mile to be around 6:20. It's mostly downhill so it's easy pick up a lot of speed. It's also where the field starts to spread out so weaving isn't as much of an issue. I saw Greg at the beginning of this mile, and that definitely pepped me up. This is where I felt like the shoes were maybe stiffer than ideal. They have a firm ride, but I think I might have appreciated more bounce on the downhill. Usually this mile is a breeze but I felt like I worked extra hard here in comparison to previous years, but my watch wasn't necessarily reflecting that. My watch beeped at 6:24 which was nice and fast, but at that point I suspected my course PR would be unlikely. 

Approaching the finish

Mile 3
I had planned out my mental strategy in advance for mile 3. It's always the hardest mile with a killer hill. I told myself that this is where it really mattered and my job was to make it hurt. My job was to push as hard as possible no matter how hard I was hurting. I didn't think about what I wanted my split to be
because I already knew a course PR was unlikely. The best thing for me to do would be to focus on my form, stay mentally strong, and not ease up on the effort. I did not look at my watch at all during this mile. I was focused and dialed in. That hill seemed to go on forever and ever. I was happy to be passing a lot of runners during this mile, and that kept me motivated. I clocked in at 6:45 and then gunned it to the finish.

The last 0.17
According to Strava, I somehow managed to run this at an average pace of 5:49. That's kind of a long time to maintain that pace uphill! (Yes, the hill kept going). I think this is what I was most proud of. And it was faster than last year!

My official time was 20:39, which won me first place in my age group out of 81 runners! What a large age group field for a local race.

After the Race
I was very happy to be done, knowing that I had given that race everything I had. I wasn't sure if I could beat my 20:28, but I was happy to be only 11 seconds shy of that. It does make me wonder. . . how did I ever run that time!?

Laura and me - 1st and 2nd Age Group

But, given that I have been running this race since 2010 and I am now 46 years old, I am very content to have run my second fastest time. Considering I ran a time of 21:04 just six weeks ago on a flatter course, I think this is a huge accomplishment. It shows what consistent 5K training can do and it positions me well to start marathon training. 

I found Greg and a bunch of my friends and we exchanged race stories. It was really fun to see everyone and that's one of the main things I love about this race. It's a big one and so many people come out for it.

I collected my age group award and then Greg and I left the race to go have breakfast at a place near our house that we still hadn't tried. Afterwards, I decided to run home because I did not do a cool down at the race. It was a new experience to run for 13 minutes shortly after eating a full meal, but I did it!

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
I'm very happy with my effort at this race and the fact that I stayed mentally strong. My only regret is starting too far back (my chip time was 10 seconds slower than my gun time) and then having to run extra hard to make up for a slow start. 

I have a lot to be thankful for. I am healthy, I won first place in my age group, I got to see many of my running friends, I had Greg supporting me the whole time, and I ran my second fastest ever Firecracker 5K. Strava credits me with a time of 20:13 and even though I know it's not official, it's a confidence-boosting data point for sure. Of course Strava also told me I could have run it harder. . . 

This is one of my favorite races of the year and I am happy I was able to participate!

I beat the heat - again!

This morning I ran my 11th Firecracker 5K. I started running this race in 2010 when it first launched, and have run it most years since, with a few exceptions for injury and illness. I even ran the virtual race in 2020! The first time I ran this race back in 2010 my time was 23:21. Since then, I have gotten significantly faster.

If I'm in good shape, my goal is usually to set a course PR. My distance PR is 19:41, and it's not realistic to beat that in the summer heat. Turkey Trots are for distance PRs. Firecrackers are for course PRs. 

This year, the time to beat was 20:57 from 2022. Before today's race, I went back and read my race report so I would know what mile splits I needed to beat. 6:40, 6:28, 6:44. It seemed perfectly doable to beat these splits given my recent track workouts. But I run my workouts at around 6:00am in the summer, before it gets too hot. This race started at 8:00am.

Before the Race
I felt really confident going into this race. I slept really well the night before the race and didn't wake up in the middle of the night like I have been doing recently. The last time I ran a 5K, I ran it on several nights in a row of horrible sleep, so at least I had that going for me today. 

I ate a handful of almond butter pretzels two hours before the race and then got dressed. We left the house at 6:45 for a start time of 8:00.

We arrived at 7:05 and my first order of business was to find a bathroom. I had already picked up my bib a few days before, so I didn't have to worry about that. I always try and get my bib before race day if possible because it's one less thing I have to worry about on race morning. I can simply get there and start warming up right away. 

I saw my friend Laura at 7:30, which was right when I wanted to start my warmup. We ran about a mile and half together and then I took my Maurten caffeinated gel 15 minutes before race start. I drank a few sips of water and splashed water all over my back and chest. I ran a few fast strides and then headed for the start line. At the start, I chatted with a few other runners, some of whom I knew from Instagram. 

Race Weather
It was 77 degrees at race start with a dew point of 67 degrees. About 50% cloud cover. I debated not wearing sunglasses but ultimately I decided I wanted them. Even though the relative humidity wasn't nearly as high as it could have been, it still felt quite humid. I would give this a 2 out of 10 on my personal weather scale. 77 is a really high race temperature, but the 67 dew point saves it from being a 1. I was certainly at a disadvantage from the 71 degrees and even lower dew point from the 2022 race. As a tease, it was about 15 degrees LOWER than normal on Monday and Tuesday mornings. 

Mile 1: 6:27
My plan was to run this mile around 6:35, but with 5K races, I usually run purely based on effort so the goal pace is more of just an informational benchmark. It felt like the right amount of effort. Hard - but sustainable for 20 minutes. When my watch beeped and I saw my time, I hoped I hadn't gone out too fast, but my body was telling me it was the right effort. During this mile, I repeated one of my favorite mantras in my head: "Relax and push forward".

Mile 2: 6:23
This is a net downhill mile and it's always super fast. I could have pushed harder here, but I didn't want to go all out knowing that the third mile would be uphill. I wanted to save something for the last mile. Mile 2 is the calm before the storm. It's fast, doesn't hurt THAT bad and has a lot of shade. When I saw that my split was 6:23, I knew that as long as I didn't fall apart, I would get my course PR of sub 20:57. 

Mile 3: 6:40
This mile was so HOT! There wasn't as much shade as there was during the second mile and the uphill is killer. It's not all that steep but it starts at 2.5 and is one steady climb with no reprieve. It always feels super long and never-ending. I really powered through this with all the mental stamina I had in me. I reminded myself that it was less than 7 minutes and I could do anything for that amount of time. 

Last 0.16: 5:58 pace
I was really running out of gas here, and of course this section is a continuation of that hill. I was really surprised when I saw my pace afterwards. I would have guessed much slower based on how I felt. 

My official time was 20:28, which is a course PR by 29 seconds. 

After the race
It took me a looooong time to feel normal again. It felt like my heart rate was not coming down and I was still hurting for like 3 whole minutes after I was done. I ran that race HARD. The temptation was to sit down but I know it's better to keep walking around rather than to stop completely. 

I reunited with Greg, who had been cheering for me at around mile 1.2 and the finish. After I recovered, I had the opportunity to chat with some runners who recognized me from Instagram and that was really awesome. Two of them even told me that they registered for this race because of me! It feels awesome to motivate people to get out and run. 

I placed 1st in my age group and I was the 20th female finisher out of 652. There were 10 women who ran under 19:00. Very fast field today!

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
I really love this 4th of July tradition. 1500 people came out to run this race and everything was so festive. I got to see so many of my friends and talk about my favorite topic- running! I really love being part of the running community.

Surprisingly, I ran this race faster than both of my 5Ks in May: the Greenway 5K  (20:40) and the Lawyers Have Heart 5K (20:37). Both of those races have flatter courses the weather was much cooler. I have been consistently doing speed work and long runs of 10-12 miles so apparently it paid off. I ran 176 miles in June, which is a strong training month for me. 

Just like in Boston, I was able to "beat the heat" and run my fastest Firecracker ever! If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I am heat sensitive and the heat has always impacted me more than most other runners. This is the first summer where I do not feel like I am at a disadvantage against other runners. Sure, it's still hard to run in warm weather, but it doesn't suck the life out of me like it has every previous summer.  

In the spring of 2023, I mentioned getting diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and it's taken a full year for my doctor to get my thyroid levels in the normal range. I finally tested normal in March of this year. Typically with hypothyroidism you are cold (not hot!) and I was worried that treating my thyroid would make me even warmer. But it did just the opposite. Because my thyroid wasn't working properly, and hadn't been for many years, it wasn't able to regulate my temperature.

Last summer, my easy pace was around 9:00-9:15. This summer, my easy pace is 8:20-8:35 and it honestly feels easy. What a difference it makes when your body can regulate temperature! I used to feel completely drained when the dew point rose above 68. And now, I tolerate it pretty well!

Up Next:
I'll be keeping the training on the lighter side in July and then officially starting my marathon build up in early August. I am planning to run Indianapolis Monumental. 

Thanks to Greg for being so supportive!

Firecracker 5K: More Fashion Than Fit

Fashion was the goal in yesterday's Firecracker 5K! I've run this race almost every year since it started in 2010.  The only years I have missed were 2012 (illness), 2013 (injury), and 2016 (illness). In 2020 I ran the "Virtual" race which was a much flatter course and had an earlier start time!

If it weren't for tradition, I would not have signed up for this event. I hadn't been doing much speed work and my mileage had been low. Even though I wasn't fit, I could still have two other F's: Fashion and Fun. And for the "Firecracker FiveK" the F's made a lot of sense. This is just how I see the world- one big poem and play on words. Plus, I knew I'd probably be uttering the real "F" word a few times up that last hill!

Before the Race
I bought a new tank for this race to up my level of looking like an American flag. (Ooooh: Flag. Fashion. Fun. Firecracker. FiveK.) I matched it with flag shorts and flag socks. About two hours before the race I had a small handful of almond butter filled pretzels and some water mixed with Uppermost Hydration. This is my new favorite hydration mix because it also contains B vitamins and zinc. It has no sugar but yet tastes really good.

We arrived at the race about 45 minutes before the start. I already had my bib so I didn't have to worry about picking that up. Greg left his camera at home because I wanted him on video duty with my phone. I have so many race photos and I knew that Cheryl would be there taking them. I wanted to document the experience with videos. Greg is unfortunately still dealing with his groin injury and unable to run.

I brought my new ice vest with me in the hopes of lowering my core body temperature before the race. This had been recommended to me by my coach years ago and Oro Sports sent me this vest last winter to try out. It sat in my closet until yesterday. If I had been truly committed, I would have worn the ice vest in the car on the way there and made sure I had it on for at least 30 minutes for maximum impact. But instead I used it during the warm up only. It was cooling but also heavy so not something I would run with on a regular basis. But the pre-cooling is what's supposed to bring your core temperature down for 45 minutes. Verdict: I will definitely be using it for pre-cooling for 30 minutes before hot races and long runs if I get up early enough.

I took a Maurten caffeinated gel 15 minutes before the race and a few chugs of water. I warmed up for 1.7 miles and felt ready to go. Because I wasn't going to race hard, I decided not to line up towards the front. I lined up about 20 rows back figuring that would be about right.

I made sure to double knot my shoes and tuck in the loops. This worked and my shoelaces did not come untied during the race like they had during my previous two races. 

Race Weather
The temperature was 75 degrees and it was mostly sunny. It was also quite humid although I don't remember the exact dew point. There were a few shaded portions of the course but otherwise the sun was probably the biggest culprit. On my race weather scale I give it a 3 out of 10, and that somewhat takes the time of year into consideration. If this had been an early fall race I would have downgraded it to a 2 out of 10. As I said earlier, I have run this race many times in the past and yesterday's weather was typical. We lucked out in 2021 and 2022 with lower humidity- those were probably the two coolest years. 

Goals and Mindset
The main goal here was to keep up with the Fourth of July tradition. I had nothing else going on yesterday, so why not go out there and have some fun? I could have chosen to race at 100% effort to get a "baseline" level of my current fitness, but it wasn't worth it in the heat. Instead, I decided to run it as a "tempo" run around half marathon pace effort. I didn't have any target pace or time in mind and I decided not to look at my watch. (Of course whenever I decide not to look at my watch, I hear people around me yelling out their paces to the people they are running with. "Okay Katie, we are running a 7:15 pace, right on target!")

Mile 1:
I know this course very well and I was prepared for this uphill mile. I had underestimated where I should have lined up because I found myself passing people left and right. I did not want to go out too fast, but if I didn't pass other runners, I would have been stuck at my easy run pace. 

Mile 2:
This was the beautiful downhill mile! And finally I was where I wanted to be in the pack and there was no more crowding. Part of this mile was shaded and it felt drastically different from the first mile which was mostly sunny. I stayed relaxed and reminded myself to maintain tempo effort. I did feel like I could have tapped into a higher gear, but with an up-hill final mile I did not want to crash and burn.

Mile 3:
This mile was killer! I told myself to maintain my pace and rhythm, which meant I would have to increase my effort on the long hill. But that last hill is fun. I love passing people on it. So many runners lose loads of time during the last half mile of that race, but I had started conservatively so I had lots to give.

I crossed the finish line with an official time of 23:15. I was not surprised by this and didn't care at all that it was 2nd my slowest time ever on this course! I had zero ego going into this race and I had accomplished my goals of staying strong, having fun, and being fashionable. 

My splits were 7:23, 7:11, 7:24, and 7:24 pace for the final 0.17.  Nice and consistent!

After the Race
I cooled down for just over 5 minutes which was shorter than intended. But it was so hot! I then checked the results and learned that I placed second in my age group. That was quite a shocker because this is a competitive race and I didn't expect to place at all. We stayed for the awards and I won $20 to Potomac River Running store. Then we chatted with our friend Kathy for awhile. That's the best part about local races - the social aspect and getting to see friends.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
My main takeaway is that I love being able to check my ego at the door and race "for fun". This does not mean that I am going to stop training and stop trying to race at my full potential. It just means that I will embrace all the seasons of my running and not shy away from experiences just because I'm not in race shape. This race was all about maintaining a tradition, doing something fun on the fourth and seeing my friends. 

I also learned something that I plan to experiment with in the future. Usually when it's above 55 in a race I wear a sports bra only (no tank). The thinking was that the less material, the better. But I couldn't resist this flag singlet so I wore it anyway. Before the race I had gotten the tank top went by shoving ice into my bra. So the tank top was wet around my core area. While running, it felt nice to have the cool wet material against my skin. This could mean that running in just a sports bra is not as "cooling" as running in a wet tank top. I will have to play around with this in training to see if I want to do it more in races. I'll also experiment more with the ice vest beforehand.

I'm happy I did this race and I am proud of my effort and my mindset. 

Firecracker 5K Report: STRENGTH!

Sometimes in racing, things work out better than expected, and that was true for me today!

I ran the Reston Firecracker 5K, which has become an annual tradition for Greg and me. We ran the inaugural race in 2010 and most every race since. One reason I love running the same 5K year after year is to see improvements and set course PRs - even in the heat!

Since 2010, I have run this race every year except for the following:

• 2012 (mono)
• 2013 (stress reaction in shin)
• 2016 (mono)
• 2018 (mono)
• 2020 (we did the virtual, which was a different course)

Looking at this makes me realize that mono has interfered with this race 3 times! And last summer I was coming off of an injury so it was more of a tempo run. So before I go any further I will say how thankful I am not to have mono this summer.

Why don't I have mono? I have cut back my weekly mileage into the low 40s. This is low for me, even in the summer. I am only running one hard workout a week and my long runs are no longer than 12 miles. I have been super focused on hydration and drinking water + electrolytes all day long. As a result, my immune system has been happy. 

Given that my weekly mileage has been lower than it usually is in the summer (I tend to be in the low 50s) and I have not been running as many speed workouts, I was not too optimistic about running my fastest ever Firecracker 5K. I was definitely going to TRY, but similar to the 10K I ran last fall, I knew that if I was going to PR, it would mean recruiting a ton of mental strength. Being stronger mentally could mean a faster time, even if I wasn't as physically fit.

The time to beat was 21:16 from 2017. 

Before the Race
I woke up at around 4:30 without an alarm, after having slept a solid 8 hours. My sleep was really great both last night AND the night before. My FitBit indicated that I got a high amount of deep sleep and REM sleep. 

Two hours pre-race, at 6:00am, I had a Maurten Solid and some almond butter filled pretzels. Maurten Solid is a good pre-race breakfast because I am usually not hungry for much real food at 6:00am. I must have gone to the bathroom like 8-10 times (not an exaggeration). It's just amazing how my digestive system always knows that it's race morning and easily empties everything it has!

Greg and I got dressed in our matching outfits and left the house at 6:50. I wore my adidas Adios Pro shoes instead of the ASICS Metaspeed Edge that I had worn in my previous three 5Ks. Why? Because the Adios Pro was white and red, and the ASICS was bright orange and yellow! Matching was a priority for me today! We had picked up our bibs on Saturday so that was one less thing to worry about. We arrived at the race and started our warm up at 7:25. 

One thing I learned from the Lawyer's Have Heart 5K that I ran a few weeks ago was that I needed a substantial warm up. That race felt super hard to get into at the beginning, so we warmed up for 2.3 miles + a few extra strides. (The warm up for the previous 5K had only been 1.5 miles). 

At 7:45 I took a Maurten caffeinated gel. I like to take these 15-minutes pre-race so the caffeine hits just when I need it. 

Race Weather Scale
As for my race weather scale, this one is tricky. It was 71 degrees, sunny, with low humidity + a light breeze. Objectively, any race that is over 70 degrees would get a no more than a 3 out of 10. BUT - given that we are in the middle of the summer and it's almost always humid, we really lucked out. We couldn't have asked for much better weather on July 4th, so maybe it would be a 9 out of 10 given the time of year. So, balancing the 3 and the 9 - I give this race weather a 6 out of 10. At 71 degrees, it felt much better than my previous two 5Ks that were very humid with temps in the 60s. 

Race Goals
My goals were:

• Set a course PR (sub 21:16)
• Run the last mile faster than 7:00 (I had never done that before)
• Focus on actually running- not the Garmin
• Stay mentally strong up that final hill

Greg and I finished the warm up about 10 minutes before the race start. That gave us enough time to grab a sip of water.

Mile 1: 6:40
My plan was to go out hard, but not too hard. Since I wasn't planning on looking at my Garmin, I didn't have a particular goal in mind for this split. I wanted it to feel hard, but not all-out. I told myself before the race that in a 5K, mile 1 is supposed to feel really hard, so don't worry about bonking.

Thankfully, there was less weaving in this mile than I expected. It's a large race and usually people bolt out of the start line like crazy, and then I am passing tons of people halfway through the first mile. That didn't happen - most people seemed to be able to maintain the pace they started at with a few exceptions. Greg was way ahead of me, but that was no surprise. When my watch beeped at 6:40 I realized it was much slower than my first mile in 2017, but I didn't judge. 

Mile 2: 6:28
This is a fast mile. The first and last miles of the race are net uphill, which means nearly all the decline in the race is during this mile. I was really good about not looking at my watch during this mile. I knew that a pace that looked too fast would freak me out and a pace that looked too slow would discourage me. And I didn't have a target. I just ran. 

Mile 3: 6:44
Now it was time to rally. It already hurt so much, but I told myself I had less than 8 minutes to go and I could do anything for that amount of time. I had practiced this moment in my head several times throughout the past week. When you get to mile 3, be super strong. Run hard even when it hurts really badly. Since I had pre-conditioned myself to think these thoughts, they came easily. There wasn't any negativity.

I glanced down at my watch about a quarter of the way into this mile, before the hill started. The pace was 6:50. And that was on a flat surface. The goal was to run a sub 7:00 mile and the rest of the race would be uphill so I told myself that I could do it. I needed to rally. So I drew energy from the runners around me. As I ascended the final hill, which is about half a mile long, I repeated over and over again "strength, strength, strength!" I thought about all my strength training sessions and really focused on using everything my body had to push up the hill. I looked down at my feet and noticed I was "bounding" up the hill, so that also felt like a good work to repeat: Bound, Bound, Bound! 

And before I knew it, I had run my fastest final mile ever on that course - a 6:44 up the hill!

The finish
As I approached the finish line, I could not believe my eyes. The clock read 20:xx. NO WAY! Could I actually get under 21:00? In the Firecracker 5K? Seriously? I ran my heart out once I saw the clock, finishing in an official time of 20:57. A course PR by 19 seconds! HUGE! 

This is the feeling that motivates me every day in training. To feel the satisfaction of all that hard work paying off. Going into a race, giving it everything I have physically and mentally, and having it all come together. I would have been elated to shave just a few seconds off of the course PR, but a sub 21:00 on this course was not something I would have thought attainable today.

Greg ran a time of 19:50. He still had his marathon fitness in him and he ran a really smart race. We paced our races similarly, with the first and last miles being about the same, and the middle mile being significantly faster. I came in 3rd place in my age group and 22nd out of all the women. This race is super competitive. The top seven women finished under 19:00. 

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
I am really, really happy about this! After having been disappointed with my previous 5K performance, this was a nice comeback. It's also a testament to going into a race really fresh. Low mileage, only one speed workout a week, lots of hydration . . . sometimes less is more. Particularly in the summer.

I was really happy about my final mile, too. I had never run that last mile quicker than 7:00 because of the hill profile. And when I looked at my Garmin early on in the mile, the pace had been 6:50, so I must have sped up as I went up the hill.

This course PR will be hard to beat in future years because we lucked out with the weather. But I was happy that I could take advantage of a nice summer morning to run really fast! 

Firecracker 5K History

Year	Mile 1	Mile 2	Mile 3	Final Kick	Time
2010	7:30	7:06	7:43	7:37	23:21
2011	7:12	7:03	7:20	6:34	22:41
2014	7:14	7:02	7:26	6:37	22:54
2015	6:57	6:45	7:10	7:16	22:05
2017	6:27	6:32	7:04	6:39	21:16
2019	6:43	6:27	7:02	7:07	21:26
2021	7:15	7:07	7:06	6:58	22:37
2022	6:40	6:28	6:44	6:31	20:57

Large races are back, and so am I!

774 people came out for the Reston Firecracker 5K this morning. That's by far the largest race we've had locally since last March! It was a festive morning with beautiful weather, and I was extremely grateful that I was able to keep up with the tradition.

I've run this race every year since it started in 2010 with three exceptions: 2013 (injury), 2016 (mono), 2018 (mono). I even ran the virtual Firecracker last summer! It's hot and hilly, but a lot of runners come out for it so it's always fun! Thankfully I am far enough into my injury recovery to be able to run a 5K.

Before The Race
I had no idea what to expect out of this race. I knew that I was not going to run race effort. So far, the

longest I have run without stopping for a walk break is 15 minutes. I have not run faster than an 8:00 pace since the marathon in March. I thought it would be a good idea to run it at a medium effort, increasing to a hard effort at the end if I felt good. And definitely no looking at the Garmin! The whole thing would be run based on feel.

Two hours before the race I had half a serving of the Maurten Drink Mix 160 to top off my carbs and electrolytes. I didn't eat anything. I foam rolled and used a massage ball on my glutes, quads and hamstrings. I made sure everything was really loose. 

Greg and I arrived at the race shortly after 7:00. We already had gotten our bibs so there wasn't much to do other than use the bathrooms and walk around. At 7:40, I had a caffeinated Maurten gel and we started our warm up. I also did some drills and glute activation exercises. We ran into Hannah, Alex and their daughter Luna and it was nice to see friendly faces! The warm up was only 0.75 miles. After all, it would be a new milestone just to run 3.1 miles nonstop, so I didn't want to wear myself out during the warm up!

It was around 67 degrees with about 25% cloud cover and a light breeze. The low humidity made it feel heavenly and I was actually chilly before the race started. This was probably the nicest weather this race has ever had, and of course I was not in shape to really race it! 

I was thinking I would probably run somewhere in the 25:00's. If I was having a good day, then the 24:00's were possible. I've been averaging around 8:30 for my training runs so with a little extra effort, I thought I should be able to get under that.

Mile 1
Greg and I planned to run the whole thing together, and I would set the pace. We started farther back in the

Photo by Cheryl Young

corral than we should have, so there was a lot of weaving in the first mile. I knew I needed to take it easy during the first mile, so I started out at what felt like marathon pace effort-- something I could sustain for a very long time. As we progressed through the mile things got a little harder, but totally manageable. 

Mile 2
Mile 2 is mostly downhill. It's always the fastest mile of the race by far. I decided to coast along and let gravity do its thing. The effort level was a little harder than marathon pace as I gained confidence that I could push harder and still be ok. We passed many runners and nobody passed us. I made sure to stay focused on my form, to run with my glutes and to drive the knee forward.

Mile 3
This mile is always killer. From about 2.5 until the finish, it's one big long up hill! I had to really work to get up the hill without slowing down. And as we closed in on the final uphill stretch I gunned it and sprinted to the finish. It was so fun to be chasing down a finish line in a large race setting. Oh how I have missed that feeling!

I was shocked when I looked at the clock and I saw that the first two numbers were 22.  WHAT?! I had no idea we were going that fast. I totally expected to see something in the 24s!

When I finally looked at my Garmin I saw I ran a time of 22:37, which matched the official results. Good enough for 5th place in my age group, and I wasn't even racing at full effort! My splits were 7:15, 7:00, 7:06, and a pace of 6:51 for the last 0.18 according to my Garmin. I was really surprised, especially since I could have raced that much harder than I did. That felt like marathon pace for the first mile and then a tempo run for two miles.

We didn't do a cool down, but we did walk around the race for a little while and socialized with friends. We then had brunch with Cheryl who had been there taking runner photos. I have her to thank for the photos in this blog.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
This was a really good run for me. And it's totally shocking that I could run that fast when I haven't run anything faster than 8:00 since March. Even more shocking that I did it without a ton of effort. It definitely wasn't easy, but it felt totally controlled and manageable.

I don't have any speed work on the schedule for the next two weeks and I am totally fine with that. July is all about building my base back up so I can begin marathon training by mid-August. The woman who has been my strength training coach for the past year is also now my running coach! It just made sense to have one person managing my running and strength. My previous coach was amazing and I advanced so much under him, so it was not an easy decision. But after 7 years, I figured it might be nice to change things up a bit and experiment with a different approach. She also coaches under Greg McMillan so I will remain a McMillan runner!

I'm very thankful that I had a pain-free run and that I continue to progress. This is all very encouraging.

Firecracker 5K: Hot, Humid, Hilly. . . but Healthy!

Yesterday morning, I ran my 7th Firecracker 5K. For me, the biggest accomplishment at this race is getting to the start line healthy. I had mono in 2012, 2016, and 2018, and I had a stress reaction in my shin in 2013. I would love for this race to be a tradition, but my health issues have prevented me from running it multiple times in past years.

Staying Healthy
This year, I made a concerted effort to not get sick. That included seeing a "diagnostic specialist" doctor to get to the root cause of my heat sensitivity/immune system issues. It also included dropping my speed work down to just one day a week, and limiting the long run to 90 minutes. Typically, I run 2 speed workouts per week and my long runs are 2 hours, even when not training for a marathon.

The diagnostic specialist ran a bunch of tests on me and found that I have hypothyroidism. One of the tests also showed that my "Immunoglobin A" was outside of the normal range, which can indicate a sub-par immune system. Finally, two stress tests (blood + saliva) indicated that my cortisol levels are higher in the evening, which could be contributing to me waking up in the middle of the night, which I do almost every night.

So, I am taking supplements to treat all of this, including the hypothyroidism. I've also cut out all caffeine, including chocolate. And, I am drinking only one alcoholic beverage per week.

Finally, we had the benefit of May and June not being ridiculously hot and humid every day, and that has helped. In June, I adjusted my schedule so that the speed work would fall on the coolest morning. As a result, I've never done a speed workout in anything over 70 degrees. Until today.

Race Plan
The Firecracker 5K is known for always being really hot and humid. After all, it falls in the middle of summer! This year, it was in the high 70's, cloudy, with a dew point of 71. That means the humidity was somewhere around 95%. It was very muggy.

My plan for this race was to run it at about 90% effort, as opposed to the 100% I would typically strive to put out. I wanted to run strong, but without killing myself and putting my immune system at risk. A few days before I got sick last summer, I raced a 5K in 66 degree humid weather. I ran it extremely hard at the end because I was fighting for first place female. Afterwards, it took a full 10 minutes to feel somewhat normal again. I had been dizzy, my heart was pounding, and I had definitely over-exerted myself. I didn't want to make that same mistake again.

I decided I would run by effort, and look at the Garmin for informational purposes only! In terms of time, I had run 21:16 in 2017, back when I had three months of 5K-specific workouts under my belt, and I ran at 100% effort. I didn't expect to be anywhere close to that, so I was thinking I would be doing well to squeak under 22:00.

Before the Race
I wasn't at all anxious about this race in terms of running a particular time. I was more anxious about the potential of the race making me sick. Therefore, I hadn't even gotten my typical pre-race breakfast at the grocery store: a bagel with peanut butter. It just totally slipped my mind because it didn't feel like a race! I ended up eating some pretzels with peanut butter instead.

Greg and I arrived at the Reston Town Center at around 7:15 for an 8:00am start. I had already picked up our bibs because I work in the Reston Town Center, and bib pickup was right next to my office! We had a little time to spare, so I showed Greg around my office, which he hadn't seen yet.

We did a shorter than normal warmup (12 minutes) because it was so warm and humid. We then returned to the car where I stuffed my sports bra with about 10 ice cubes from a cooler. Greg and I also each got an Energice out of the cooler and brought it to the start line. Energice is like those Flavor Ice pops, only it has B vitamins and electrolytes. Normally, I would have this as a post-run treat, but I read somewhere that having a frozen drink right before a race cools your core.

I had never heard of Energice, but they reached out to me asking if I wanted to partner with them on an Instagram campaign and I agreed. They sent me a huge case of it, which I thought I would never use, but now I plan on having one every day. Anyway, the Energice is really tasty and refreshing and was a perfect way to keep my core cool right before the race started.

Mile 1: 6:43
The race started, and I focused on staying relaxed and keeping it easy. The first mile is mostly uphill, and my goal was to run the tangents and to keep the effort steady. Within the first few minutes, I had pulled in front of Greg. I could hear him breathing behind me for a bit, but I pulled away even more until I could no longer hear him.

Mile 1, waving to Cheryl Young

When I glanced down at my Garmin about four minutes into the race, I could hardly believe my eyes. I had imagined I was running a 7:00 pace, but I was way under that. As I said above, the Garmin was for informational purposes only and the effort only felt moderately hard, so I stuck with it. Usually in 5Ks I go out harder, but this felt one notch down from my usual effort.

Mile 2: 6:27
This mile is mostly downhill, so I maintained my effort and let gravity do its thing. I felt strong the entire time, and while I was working hard, I didn't feel like I was maxing out. When I felt my watch beep for 6:27, I was shocked. In my mind, I had thought this mile would be somewhere around 6:45. I was still ahead of Greg, but I knew the hardest part was yet to come.

Mile 3: 7:02
This mile is hard. There's a huge climb just goes on and on and on. I knew to expect it, and I vowed not to look at my Garmin. This was when the race finally started to feel like 5K race effort. Within one minute, I went from feeling awesome at a moderately hard effort, to fighting hard to "hang in there".

I began to hear Greg coming up behind me, and I knew he would inevitably catch me and pass me. He's stronger up hills than I am, and so when he passed me at 2.8, I decided not to try and follow. It wasn't really a decision, though. I wouldn't have been able to keep up.

Last 0.17: 6:55 pace
As I made the final climb, I stayed strong, but did not push to my max like I typically would at the end of a 5K. I think I probably had another gear, and could have dropped down into the 6:30's and shaved a few extra seconds off my time, but I was satisfied with my effort level at 90% so I just maintained it until I crossed the line.

Official time: 21:27 (or 21:26 if you look at the list version of the results rather than the individual

Final Stretch, photo by C. Young

version!) Greg's time was 21:14, so he gained a full 13 seconds on me in that last quarter mile!

I should also note that my Garmin credited me with a 21:00 5K. I'm not saying that the course was long, but it's interesting to know what I would have done if I had hit the tangents perfectly.

After the Race
Greg and I waited for our friend Hannah to finish, and then we did a cool down jog for about 10 minutes. After that, I went to go check out the results. Much to my dismay, I was not listed. I went to the results tent, and they said they got me crossing the start line, but not the finish line, so they had to check their back-up records for me. They eventually found me, and added me to the results. I was relieved that they had a back up timer, because it sucks not to get listed in the results!

We stuck around for the awards, and I discovered that I won first place in my age group! I was really surprised because this is a competitive race. So many fast runners show up. If you had told me at the start line that I would be winning my age group, I would never have believed it, based on who was lining up. I placed 16 out of 695 total women.

We then proceeded to brunch with Allison and Hannah, where I devoured an omelette, grits, and a huge coconut pancake.

Final Thoughts
I'm pleasantly surprised with my result-- I certainly did not expect to run this fast. Given my effort level and how it felt, I would have guessed I was running a 7:00 pace the whole time, but according to my Garmin, I averaged a pace of 6:45. I think several things contributed:

• I'm now acclimated to the heat and humidity (as acclimated as I can get. . . )
• My fitness level is strong, possibly helped by my recent strength training addition
• I didn't have cumulative fatigue from running a ton of workouts in the heat
• The ice down the sports bra + Energice pre race kept me cooler than I would have otherwise been
• The supplements I've been taking to help my Thyroid and reduce stress have been working

In 2017, I ran 21:16 at this race and I was disappointed with that time. Today, I ran 21:27 (or 21:26) and I'm thrilled. It's really all about perspective! I'm happy to be healthy and now I know I can run a strong race without maxing out at 100% effort level in the heat.

I won't be racing again until Labor Day, but I do plan to run a 20K in August as a training run.

Related Blog Posts:

Firecracker 2017

Firecracker 2015

Firecracker 2014

Firecracker 5K: Testing My Limits

Ouch. That was definitely a humbling experience!

This morning I ran my 5th Firecracker 5K in Reston, VA. This race is always brutal with the heat, humidity, and hills. I missed running it last year because I had just come down with mono (or some mono-like virus), and this year I was thankful to be running it. I also missed this race in 2012 because of mono, and in 2013 because of injury, so the most important thing was that I was healthy enough to race. My time in 2014 was 22:54, and in 2015 I finished in 22:05.

The timing of this race was not ideal. I flew to London last Wednesday for business, and then flew back on Friday. This definitely threw my body off schedule and resulted in a lack of sleep. However, I woke up on Saturday morning feeling refreshed, and I cranked out a set of 8 x 400m at 5K effort at paces that were faster than expected. I had been targeting 1:35-1:37 (6:20-6:28) and my splits averaged 1:33 (6:12). It felt like 5K effort and the fact that the temperature was in the low 70's and very humid was a sign that I was acclimated.

As for goals, I wanted to run sub-20:30, and ideally beat my time from Lawyers Have Heart last month (20:24), which was a flatter course.

I got another solid night of sleep on Saturday night, and felt great during the day, so I determined that jet lag would not be a factor in my race. I decided that I was really going to go for it. I am not racing again for another seven weeks, and after this race I have some scheduled recovery time built into my schedule. I decided that I would run the race based on effort (as opposed to pacing with my Garmin) and I wouldn't be afraid to go out hard. I was confident in my fitness and my ability to execute, so I was going to try and race this one really hard.

Before the Race

Greg and I arrived 45 minutes prior to race start. We drank our UCAN and met up with a group of friends for a warmup. I felt pretty good during the warmup, but I could tell the humidity was pretty serious. It was 75 degrees, and I think the dew point was around 70. I was thankful for the mostly cloudy sky, and even decided I didn't need sunglasses. After a 2-mile warmup, Greg and I went back to our car.

Just like we did for the Twilight Festival 4-miler, we brought a cooler of ice to the race. The plan was to soak ourselves with ice cold towels just before the race. I threw a handful of ice into my sports bra, poured ice cold water over my head, and felt ready to race. We walked to the start line area, and I did a few strides. I've definitely improved my running economy and leg turnover during this training cycle, and the strides felt really fluid.

I reconnected with my friends at the start line, where we all sang the National Anthem, due to the PA

Hannah, Perry and Me before the race.

system not working properly. I waved to my dad and stepmother, who had come to cheer me on. Looking around the start line, I could tell this would be a very competitive race. It always is, and I had no expectation of breaking into the top 10 women. I lined up farther back than I typically do, considering how many elite athletes showed up and people who I knew were faster than me.

Mile 1
This fast crowd pulled me out pretty quickly, and I told myself to have the confidence to run by feel. This mile has a rolling elevation, but it's net uphill. If I were being conservative, I would have probably paced it for a 6:35, but that wasn't my goal today-- I wanted to take a risk and see what would happen. It was pretty crowded the first mile, as it always is during this race. I was feeling pretty good as I polished off the mile in 6:27. A little fast, but I didn't judge it as I glanced down. Maybe today would be the day that I totally surprised myself and even PRed on a hot, hilly, humid course!

Mile 2
While mile 1 and 3 are net uphill, mile 2 offers a nice long stretch of downhill. Whenever I have run this race in the past, my second mile has been the fastest. For the first half of the mile, I just cruised along down that hill at the same effort I had run the first mile. But about halfway through I hit a wall pretty hard. My legs felt good, but a wave of fatigue came over me and suddenly I lacked the energy to continue to push. I knew that if I didn't back off the effort a little bit, I would crash and never make it up that final hill. So I eased up ever so slightly so that I would have enough energy to surge during the last mile. Even still, I felt exhausted and tired and I wanted to quit so badly. When I clocked a 6:32 split, I knew that this was not going to be the day I had hoped for. Mile 2 was always much faster than mile 1. But I knew not to speculate and to simply focus on getting to the finish line as quickly as possible.

Mile 3
Thankfully, I was able to devote all my mental energy to powering through the last mile. I think that the "former me" would have sulked about the mile 2 split and potentially given up mentally. Instead I simply thought "ok" and focused on my form as I powered up the first hill. I knew I had slowed down significantly, but I still had enough energy to push and run to my max. My split was 7:04, which shows that I had very little left to give.

The Last 0.18

Photo by Cheryl Young

I wasn't surprised that when my watched beeped for three miles, I still had what seemed like forever to go. This course always measures long on everyone's Garmins, it's just something to expect. Even with the finish line in sight, all I could muster was a pace of 6:39. For the past six races I've run, they've all had a final kick at sub-6:00 pace. But not this one. I crossed the finish line, bent over with my hands on my knees, feeling like I might pass out. But I got over it quickly and was able to move on.

My finish time on my watch was 21:16. Ouch. I haven't run a 5K that slow since my mono comeback in November. This is almost a full minute slower than the PR I set in May. I don't question my fitness-- I do think I'm in excellent 5K shape. But I definitely underestimated how much the humidity would impact my race, and that was a mistake. It just goes to show how much execution matters in a 5K. Fitness will only take you so far.

After the Race
I caught up with Greg, my friends and my family and we briefly exchanged race stories before going back to the car for more ice cold towels and ice cold water. We all cooled down together, and I struggled through that immensely. I felt completely gassed. This race took more out of me than any other race this season. Including the 4-miler in 81 degree temps.

I looked to see if the results were posted anywhere but I couldn't find them. Greg found them just before the awards ceremony began and took a photo of them with my phone. My official time was 21:21, the same as my gun time. Crap! My chip must not have registered at the start line. The person who won 3rd place in my age group was just one second faster than me based on chip time, so I went over to the timing tent to get it sorted out. Sure enough, they told me that my chip didn't register at the start line. This is the second time this season that I've had this happen to me. This time, however, we couldn't use Greg's start time because I actually started two rows behind him.

Photo by Cheryl Young

I showed them my watch and they changed my start time accordingly. This happened just in time for a race official to walk me over to the awards ceremony and present me with the 3rd place age group award. I do feel badly about coming in at the 11th hour and taking the age group award, but I did rightfully earn it and I couldn't find the results posted earlier in the morning.

As I said earlier, this was a competitive field. The 10th place female ran a time of 19:06 and the winner ran 16:56. I was the 23rd female.

Final Thoughts
There are two ways to look at this race. I could look at it as failed execution. I went out too fast, underestimating the humidity, and paid for it later in the race. If I had started out slower, I probably could have run an overall faster time. My execution in 2015 was much stronger, with splits of 6:57, 6:45, 7:10. Based on the course profile, I think this type of pacing is ideal.

Or, I could look at it as taking a risk, and having it not pay off. I did take a risk because I wanted to test my limits and see what I was capable of. And the 5K is a good distance to test things, particularly when it's not "PR weather." So, now I know that if it's 75 degrees and really humid, I should go out slower. I also know that it's useful to look at the Garmin during the first mile to ensure that I don't get pulled out too fast. I've always thought this, but I figured I would take the opportunity to try not using it and see what would happen.

I had a really fun time getting to see so many of my friends, and I feel like this was a good learning experience for me. It definitely was not the experience I hoped for, but I think it will help motivate me in future races. Even though the humidity hasn't seemed to affect my workout paces this season, a race is a different ballgame, and I need to respect that. And as I said earlier, I am thankful that I was healthy enough to run this race, as I've had to miss it multiple times in the past. I also fully realize that not every race can be a stellar performance, and I have had my share of strong performances this year.

I have some scheduled down time this week and a very easy week next week with no hard workouts. I specifically requested this from my coach because I really don't want to overdo it in the heat and be burnt out before marathon training even starts. I'll begin marathon training the week of July 17th, with a target of the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon the first weekend in November.

The July 4th Race that Wasn't

Today I was supposed to run the Reston Firecracker 5K. I've registered for this race every year since it began in 2010, but I've missed it almost as many times as I've actually run it due to illness or injury.

In 2012, I came down with mono two weeks before the race. I didn't realize it was mono at the time, though, and I was feeling recovered enough to run, so I took the race at an easy pace of about 9:00. A few days later, I relapsed into mono full-force.

In 2013, I was in excellent shape and ready to totally crush the race, but then I got injured just three days beforehand with a stress reaction in my shin.

In 2014 I ran a 22:54, and in 2015 I ran a 22:05. This year, I am in the best 5K shape of my life and I was planning to run the race 45 seconds to a minute faster than last year, at around 21:10-21:20. I had been looking forward to this race for weeks because it's a holiday tradition and I love benchmarking my progress year-over-year. But my body had different plans.

After over two years of not being sick, I came down with something nasty on Thursday. I had not been sleeping well for the past week, averaging only 5-6 restless hours a night. I knew this was a problem, but I seemed to be having enough energy for my workouts and I felt fine during the workday. I had been waking up in the middle of the night with a raw throat, but I had chalked that up to allergies. Everything else felt fine.

I ran 50 minutes on Thursday morning and I felt amazing. The temperature was unseasonably cool at around 60 degrees, and my normal "easy" pace (which is run by effort level and  heart rate) dropped down to an 8:42 pace. I felt amazing and my heart rate didn't indicate any issues. But three hours later, at work, my throat started to get really sore and a fatigue came over me. Almost instantly I knew I had to go home and sleep. I cancelled my plans to meet a friend for lunch, drove home and slept for over an hour. When I woke up, I felt weak and I knew I was full-on sick.

Soooo sick

Of course I was hoping this was just a cold that would pass within a day or so, but my body doesn't work that way. I seem to be an all-or-nothing person, and when I get sick, I usually get really sick. So since then, I've been extremely weak with body aches, a mild sore throat that comes and goes, pressure behind the ears, and general fatigue. I was optimistic that things were improving on Saturday because I took a shower, dried my hair and went to the grocery store with Greg. But then on Sunday, I was back to square one again, and today nothing has improved. Obviously this meant no Firecracker 5K. At least the decision was made for me, and I am not left wondering if I could have possibly done it. There's no way I could do it- not even walk it. I'll go to the doctor tomorrow if there continues to be no improvement.

It's days like these when I need to draw on all the mental toughness skills I learned over the past four years. There's a voice inside of me that wants to scream and cry and say that I did all those hot summer track workouts for nothing. That voice says this is so unfair, and now all that fitness is lost and I'm going to be way behind when I start running again. It says that this is a repeat of my mono, and it could last a month or more. I'll be in bed all summer and by the time the cool weather comes around, I'll be totally out of shape.

But I've gotten really good at shutting that voice up and just focusing on getting better. I've been sleeping a ton (I actually napped while Greg was running the race), drinking loads of fluids and eating really healthy food. The hardest thing is to not speculate about how long this will last and to try and stay positive. Usually viruses like this do not last as long as my mono did and I should be better within 1-2 weeks. I have to remind myself that I will run again because when I feel this weak, I couldn't even imagine running.

Part of the disappointment in not running the race was not getting to write a triumphant blog post. But then I realized, hey, I can STILL write a triumphant blog post. Even though I didn't get to run the race I trained for, I still put in the work, and I am going to celebrate that now by blogging about two great workouts from the last two weeks.

On Tuesday, June 21, I ran some road intervals. 12 x (1-minute hard, 1-minute easy) followed by 12 x (30 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy). It was overcast and around 71 degrees, but with 99% humidity!

The 1-minute intervals were supposed to be at slightly faster than 5K pace, and they averaged around 6:30-6:35. The 30-second intervals averaged around a pace of 6:10. What made this workout hard was two things: first, it was not on a flat course, it was gently rolling hills. Second, the recovery jogs were prescribed to be "brisk jogs" not just easy jogging. So those were around a pace of 8:50-9:10. Usually recovery jogs are anywhere from 10:30-11:00 per mile.

The great thing about this workout is that I realized I had done this exact workout before. I looked back in my log on February 2, and I had done this workout on a 32-degree day, on a flat course, with truly easy recovery jogs. Instead of logging 4.8 miles, I only logged 4.4!  So now that it's hotter and hillier, I'm able to run faster than I did back in February. Once again, an indication that my fitness is at an all-time high.

On Friday, June 24, I ran a really challenging track workout that I had never done before: 7 x 800m at 5K pace with only 30-second rests.

Typically when running 800m intervals, I run them faster than 5K pace. But I also get at least 2 minutes to recover. So this workout basically had me running at 5K effort for longer than a 5K, with very short rests along the way. It was 73 degrees, sunny and humid.  My splits were as follows:

3:23
3:23
3:23
3:22
3:20
3:22
3:20

Given that the race weather ended up being about 8 degrees cooler than this workout and overcast, I am pretty confident I could have run this pace, even with the hills. Let's just say I could have done it!

I really hope I wake up feeling dramatically improved tomorrow and that I don't have to go to the doctor. This just really scares me because it feels exactly like mono, and I know there are different strains of the mono virus. Greg has been amazing throughout all of this, doing all of the cooking and cleaning, and making me my special "potion" of warm water, honey, and apple cider vinegar. He ran the race in 21:01! He's been doing these workouts too and they've made him noticeably faster.

Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.

Firecracker 5K: Fired up for a downpour

This morning, I ran my 4th Firecracker 5K in the Reston Town Center. I've registered for this race every year since it started in 2010, but I've only been able to race 4 of them.

History
2010-- 23:21 (3rd place AG)
2011-- 22:41
2012-- (mono - ran it very easy because I thought I was recovering)
2013-- Injured
2014-- 22:54

There are three holiday races that I like to run every year as part of a tradition. It's a fun way to celebrate a holiday with Greg, and it's also nice to compare year-over-year performance. This Firecracker 5K, the Turkey Trot 5K, and the Ringing In Hope 10K on New Year's eve are the three that I always run, provided that I am not injured.

This is the first time I've ever trained specifically for a 5K. Usually my training revolves around marathons and half marathons. I might spend 4-5 weeks dedicated to shorter stuff, but usually no longer than that. You'll see my progression of results across multiple races at the bottom of this post.

Relatively low mileage, no tempo runs, lots of interval work

Before the Race
I went into this race pretty relaxed. I've been doing short races regularly so it's not like putting all my "eggs" in one basket. I know that some races will go really well, and others won't. That's just the nature of the sport. All signs, however, pointed to this race going well. I was well rested, my recent workouts had been strong, and I had no lingering soreness anywhere.

Greg (who has just begun the long journey back into running after breaking his ankle in March) once

End of mile 1

again came with me to the race to cheer me on and take photos. We arrived at the race, and walked around for a little while until it was time to start my warm up.

I warmed up for about 12 minutes (cut short due to an unexpected bathroom trip) and felt decent. It was 69 degrees with 100% humidity and very light rain. For a summer race with an 8:00am start, we could have been dealing with much hotter conditions, so I consider this good weather for the time of year.

My goal was a course PR, but I also would have loved to break 22:00. I knew that breaking 22:00 on a hilly course in 69-degree humid weather would be HUGE, but I felt like it was within my reach. My fastest 5K in warm weather (above 60 degrees) was a 22:24 back in 2012 before I got mono.

As I approached the start, I saw quite a few of my friends from Capital Area Runners. A lot of people come out for this race, and there were nearly 2,000 total finishers. It's always a competitive field-- except for that first year when I won an age group award!

Mile 1: 6:57
Having run this race multiple times in the past, I knew that the first and last miles were uphill, and the middle mile was downhill. I decided to just run by feel, making sure I didn't blow all my energy on that first mile. Everything felt pretty good, and the first mile went by quickly. I was pleased to see a 6:57, knowing that my second mile would almost certainly be faster.

Mile 2: 6:45
The sky opened up and it suddenly started to rain very heavily. I had brought a hat to keep the water off of my face, but I left it with Greg because it wasn't raining at the start line. It was challenging to focus on pushing hard when water kept getting in my eyes. This resulted in my looking down, which I know isn't ideal, but it was the only way I could see without wiping my eyes constantly.

Gunning for the finish

Mile 3: 7:10
Now it was time to really work hard and remember all the training I had done. I glanced down at my Garmin at the beginning of the mile and saw an average 6:53 pace for the first two miles. That's a faster pace than my all-time PR of 21:29! I knew that if I just pushed really hard I'd be able to break 22:00. I felt stronger than I ever have at the end of this race, but that last hill was so long! I increased my effort substantially, but my pace still dropped.

Last 0.16: 7:10 pace
I kind of don't trust my Garmin here. I had a really fast finishing kick, which felt like 6:20 or something. But, there were a lot of tall building around and with only 0.16 of a mile, there wasn't a lot of time for the Garmin to self-correct. I bolted for the finish line and was so happy to be done!

I watched some of my friends come in, found Greg and chatted with my friends for a bit. It was pouring heavily so I cooled down and didn't even stay for the awards. I was pretty sure I didn't win an age group award, simply because it was such a large competitive field.

Garmin time and pace: 22:03, 3.16 miles, 6:58 pace
Official time: 22:05
Placing: 5 out of 133 in my age group (35-39), which puts me in the top 3.75%!

Lately, the official time hasn't been matching up with when I start and stop my watch. I know I hit the button exactly when I cross the start, and almost immediately after I finish. But for my past 3 races, the official time has been a few seconds slower than my Garmin time.

Progress
Focusing on shorter, faster workouts has definitely resulted in faster times. Comparing this race to the Fair Oaks Ambulance Chase 5K that I ran on May 23 in much cooler, less humid weather, I see huge gains. My Garmin pace and official time were extremely close, and yet today's race was 13 degrees hotter, in a downpour with 100% humidity.

Comparing this race to Angel Kisses from May 10, the weather was similar (although it didn't rain at Angel Kisses) and the course was similar. Yet I ran 34 seconds faster today, shaving off over 10 seconds per mile!

Race, Date	Weather	Course	Garmin Dist.	Garmin Pace	Official Time
BEST Kids, 4/18	62, sunny, low humidity	Flat	3.12	7:14	22:31
Angel Kisses, 5/10	69, overcast, very humid	Hills	3.16	7:11	22:39
Fair Oaks, 5/23	56, sunny, low humidity	Hills	3.17	6:57	22:00
Firecracker, 7/4	69, heavy rain, humid	Hills	3.16	6:58	22:05

While I didn't get my desired sub-22:00 officially, my pace was the equivalent of that, and I set a course PR by 36 seconds, and a "warm weather PR" by 19 seconds. Now it just needs to cool down so I can start crushing those "overall" PRs!

Running isn't always flattering. . .