Race Recap: 2014 Frederick Twilight 5K

Good afternoon, my friends!!!

I had a fabulous weekend at the Frederick Running Festival. But I will only do one race recap at a time because both were equally as awesome and deserve their own post!

We will start with the Twilight 5k.

First, I am completely in love with evening races, which makes this particular race different from many! I have only ever competed in 2 races that took place in the evening: The Frederick Twilight 5K and the Krumpes Donut Alley Rally. I would assume this is due to road closures and it causing traffic issues, but regardless, evening races = an awesome change from the norm.

Second, everything is so organized and goes seamlessly. I don't feel lost when I get there. They make it known what to bring and where to go so their runners are happy.

Anyway, we arrived at the race about an hour prior to do packet pick-up, where I received 2 shirts. One for the 5k and one for the half.

Here's the 5K....

And their half marathon shirt is GREAT! But I will get to that one in the half recap...

I gathered at the start line about 15 before the start, while Peter took pictures....

A lot of runners showed up. Nearly 1,300.

I stuck with the 8 minute pace runners, but I was completely clueless as to if I would be able to maintain that. You see, I forgot my Garmin at home. Talk about feeling naked! I have run without a watch before, but now that I have had it for nearly a year, I had no idea if I was going to be able to keep pace!

The most I could do was put my faith into another runner that was nearby...

If you can see me in the sunglasses, you will see a gentleman in a bandana and a Ragnar shirt on the left. He was unaware that I chose him to pace me the entire race, but I think I chose well. Once the race started, I kept a fair distance from him...just to prevent being confused as a stalker, but made sure he remained in site.

The weather became somewhat of a challenge just about a quarter of a mile in. It began to rain and the wind started to pick up like crazy! I thought it was going to pour, but it kept to a light sprinkle. The wind was not as kind though. It pushed and pulled at my body and it was a struggle to keep the same forward momentum.

Despite it all, I managed to finish the first mile within 7:30. WhoOoooOah!!! Ragnar bandana guy was keeping me in line! So I stuck with the plan. Mile 2 & 3 came in at a similar pace and thank goodness they did because I was starting to feel the burn!

I finished in 23:23, a minute faster than my best 5K!!!!

...and I think that my stats were pretty sweet!!!

I am definitely proud of myself for this great accomplishment....or more so bandana guy's accomplishment. I have never competed in a 5K of this size and had great standings. Like 3rd in my age group!? WOW! I know I have gotten first in other races, but this one was a big deal considering it's size. I am definitely a happy girl!!!

Anyway, I'll get to the half recap later...great news there as well!!! Stay tuned!!!


What races did you compete in this weekend? Any PRs?

How do you pace yourself if you do not have a watch?