And how I will never trust a race course.
So…where were we? The cupcakes! Yes. How could I possibly match the excitement The Great Cupcake Tour of NYC? A race, of course!
After a long day of fueling with cupcakes and hydrating with coffee (a winning pre-race combo!) Lauren and I had a race to run. The Downtown Jingle Bell 5K happened to fall the day after our big adventure, but I simply could not turn down a festive local race.
I woke up feeling a little woozy on Sunday morning, but I had plenty of time to prepare for the event. This was the first annual Downtown Jingle Bell 5K and it had a mid-morning (11:15) start time. Boy, was I ever grateful for those extra hours! I needed that time to eat a stabilizing bowl of oatmeal, drink a gallon of water, and elf myself.
I was determined to rock this race. Wearing costumes makes everything more fun. When I arrived in Providence, I was thrilled to see that I was not the only running elf in the city.
A sea of red and green flooded into the Rhode Island Convention Center. I love that this large venue was open to runners at the start and finish of the race. Warm air and indoor restrooms are quite a treat at a winter race! The other runners agreed. The building was jammed until minutes before the start of the race. Then this happened…
Because we chose to stay cozy inside the convention center, there was quite a bottleneck at the start. I couldn’t get inside the gates, so I positioned myself between these boxes and snuck in through an opening. At this point, the butterflies in my stomach were hard to ignore.
Try as I might, I could not resist the urge to race this race. Knowing that I was not properly rested, I tried to convince myself that it would be best to run for fun, but I just needed to race! I had a PR on my mind and there was no ignoring it. As soon as I heard the gun, I darted through the crowd.
It’s very rare that I take a race so seriously, but my competitive side came out in full force on Sunday. I ran as hard as I could, breathed heavily, and held the fastest pace I could muster. The wind was strong and the air was cold, but I stayed focused. I ran the tangents, stayed on the inside, and avoided bobbing and weaving through the other runners. As I ran, I kept a close eye on my Garmin. My previous 5K PR was set in March – 25:12 at the St. Pat’s 5K. With my eye on my watch, I knew I had that beat. A sub-25:00 5K was in me.
I ran and ran and ran. I was dead tired, but I just kept running – my eye on the prize! My first mile was a little too fast and my pace dropped in the second two miles, but I my goal was within reach. Then my Garmin chirped – 3 miles! What?! I knew, for sure, that we were NOT a tenth of a mile from the start. I booked it!
It wasn’t long before I crossed the finish line – 3.22 miles! My official time was 25:15. That’s three seconds shy of a new PR. Three seconds! That 0.12 mattered to me. Two other runners finished with the exact same distance on their GPS. It was confirmed. The course was long. Grr!
Official Results: 3.1 miles – 25:15 – 8:10/mi
Garmin Results: 3.22 miles – 25:20 – 7:54/mi
The extra distance cost me a PR. I ran the final 0.22 at a 6:42 pace, determined to make up those three seconds. I didn’t quite get there, but I am still thrilled with my race. I did my personal best – 3.22 miles at 7:53/mi. It was quite an accomplishment and one I am proud of. It just won’t go down in the books as an official PR.
No need to dwell, Beck! It was another fabulous day on the run. I was joined by my ontherun family.
And my ontherun friend!
Everyone ran strong, new records were set (official and unofficial), and fun was had by all.
I hope to make this race a holiday tradition. It was a great way to kick off the Christmas season.
Are you running any holiday races this year?
Great race! I think the cupcake carbs helped
Love the outfits! Congrats on the great race time. Maybe cupcakes is your new carb load secret
oh my gosh Becky! I was standing RIGHT next to you at the start and we didn’t even know it!! haha. I tried to sneak in through a crack in the gate and ended up squished between that little trailer and those stacks of waterbottles — I’m right out of sight in that picture. If only I had known you were so close…
Congrats again on a great race!! Can you imagine how fast you would’ve run with some decent sleep and no cupcakes?? …or maybe it WAS the cupcakes. I guess we’ll never know!
Aww, yeah for such a big race you’d think they’d get the course right. Regardless, you did stellar!!
Congrats on a great race! Somebody shared this link on a forum I read and I thought of it as I read your blog–the garmin reading isn’t necessarily as accurate as you think.
http://www.hamptonrockfest.com/hamptonhalf-GPS.html
You’re right about the GPS. I’ve run with people and we’ve all had slightly different readings. It was just a strange thing that three of us all had the same distance at the end of this race. Oh…there’s always next time
Love the costumes!!
And great job on the race!!
Great job Bec! You’re fast!
Congrats Becky! I hate long courses, but you still did awesome. You just need to try again. You definitely have a sub 25 minute 5k in you
I’m running a half this weekend but I won’t be festive. Though I know there will be plenty of santas on the course.
Love the costume! That is so frustrating about the long course. I say you find another 5K around town because you are obviously ready to PR!
Congrats on the (unofficial) PR! That’s awesome! What a bummer about the course, though…that’s so frustrating.
Glad you still had a great time! I’ve read (I think in Runner’s World) that when most people run a marathon, they actually end up running 26.8 miles – just because courses are measured using the shortest possible route you could take (I believe that’s a requirement). So maybe you just had to do a lot of weaving! Not too uncommon.
True. I tried so hard not to weave, but it’s a possibility. Oh well…just need to kick it in next time!
Love the pictures! looks like such a fun race!!
Thanks! I’m glad you stopped by the blog
Hell! That’s still a fanfrickintastic race time, my dear! Incredible, in my eyes at least! Go you! And you looked super-cute too!!
Great time!!! We need to run one of these together!!!
You rocked that jingle bell babe!
Every right to want to PR and I’m glad you realize it was tons of fun as well.
Pics are awesome! I wish I could do a holiday race, heading out of town this weekend and missing one right in my own neighborhood:(
Haha, I love your outfit! So cute.