2013 Run Before you Crawl Celtic 5K Race Report

This past Saturday, The Boyfriend and I headed down to his hometown to run the Green County Run Before You Crawl Celtic 5K (HERE) in Monroe, Wisconsin.  This was his very first 5K one year ago.  I did not participate with him last year.  The race started and ended at the local YMCA.  So we had a nice warm place to hang out before the race.  Packet pick-up took place in the gym and was hassle-free and there were enough indoor bathrooms.  

 

We met up with my bloggy buddy, Bill from Love to Run (HERE) and his daughter, Melissa before the race. Their plan was to run the race together.  The Boyfriend I were not planning on running together.  Even though he recently started running, he quickly has exceeded my pace, especially in short distances.

 

It had been sometime since I ran a 5K for myself - or raced one.  I've been coaching so many 5Ks and running so many half marathons in the past few years.  My 5K racing experience has been minimal recently.  I wasn't sure what to expect out of myself.  

 

 

Even though the race was only 3.1 miles, I decided to carry my handheld water bottle with me.  I love having the opportunity to sip on my bottle when I want, and not stop at water stations.  This race didn't even have a water station, so it was nice to have it with me. 

We started off in the front of the pack, and I'm not quite sure why I did that.  Again, it's been some time since I ran a 5K.  We just got out there and lined up with all of the fast runners.  Oh well.  I was immediately passed by all of the speedy participants as we headed down the first street and up the first hill.  I was going out too quickly the first mile and found myself a little winded aroudn the 1/2 mile mark.  There were quite a few rolling hills, but nothing terrible.  I pulled back on my pace and was happy when my watch read 8:10 at the mile marker.  They had clearely marked mile markets, with volunteers calling out times.  With another big hill in the next mile, I slowed a bit and crossed mile 2 at 16:28.  I knew that 25 minutes would be within reach at the finish line.

 

I was not familiar with the area, so I had no clue where I was and didn't have landmarks to keep distance into perspective.  I saw the third mile marker up ahead, I pressed up a small hill and turned righ towards the finishline.  I crossed the finishline in 25:17 and saw The Boyfriend on the other side of the timing mat. 

 

I was ecstatic with my time, but the race reminded me how much I really like the half marathon and don't really care for 5Ks.  I love training people for 5Ks, and getting runners started on their journey.  But, I personally love to run the half marathon distance, because the race isn't over in moments, I get a real bang for my buck, and I feel like I have really accomplished something major.

 

 

I finished in 25:17 and The Boyfriend finished in 23:18.  He knocked five whole minutes off of his time from last year, his very first 5K.  We drove in town to get cleaned up and for an afternoon of enjoy the local pub crawl - mainly nursing our drinks and sipping on coffee as we watched others stumble past us on The Square.  Good times.