Race Recap: The Scarlet Sprint 5k

The Scarlet Sprint 5k took place Sunday, April 3 at 11:30am at Fred Beekman Park on The Ohio State University West Campus. [Race Information]

Pre Race
When Alex signed us up for this free 5k he didn't realized it would be the day after Iron Furnace, so when it came time to get pumped for the run he was not excited. We intended to walk to the park, but abandoned the idea (mostly me) because of the strong winds and cold front that came through Saturday night. Instead of 50-some degrees it was 30-something and super windy. So we drove over like lazy people and paid $2.50 for meter parking.

I don't look as cold as I was.

When we arrived, we had no idea where to go and wandered around with other participants trying to find the meeting spot. There was a softball game at the same time and we couldn't tell if the crowd was gathered for the game or the race. Turns out, it was both. This was a student-run event (hence the late start time*) and overall it was a little unorganized. It wasn't terrible, just a little scattered. Besides a few parents, we were probably the oldest people there! [*side note: we overheard one student complaining about last year's "super early" 9am start time. hahaha]

We checked in around 10:50 got our bibs (with comically giant safety pins) and then waited for what felt like one million years for the race to start. It was so cold. Not really winter cold, but very windy and frigid for an April day. It got up to 34. The sun came out periodically and helped, but Alex was grouchy and cold. Luckily, there were nice indoor bathrooms with heat, so he hung out there for a bit. Before the 11:30 start we shared a KIND bar (a race sponsor), talked to the Yoga Six vendor (I got a ponytail holder. Wahoo!), and stood shaking in the cold.

Goals
There wasn't a course map, but I figured we'd loop the walking trail 3 times. Alex was feeling sore from Iron Furnace and said he'd run with me, so I set some goals.

A. New PR, but with a 7:59 or better pace
B. New PR (under 25:00, 8:03 pace)
C. Whatever

The course and elevation

The Race
There's not much to report because we had to run the same mile three times. I was in charge of pace since Alex didn't want to learn how to use my Garmin and I also talked to him a few times, which used up air. Mostly I said stuff like, "too slow" "dying" "this sucks" "ughhhh." He chatted, but knew I couldn't answer and run.

The first three tenths of the loop are downhill and each time we reached this stretch our pace went into the mid 7s. This was great because the last half mile is uphill. It's not terribly steep (only 40 feet), but with the wind it was really hard to keep the pace below 8:20. I tried, but with each loop my pace went further down at the .5–.7 section.

Anyway, running laps at a non-leisurely pace sucks. There was some volunteer support, which was nice, but mainly we had to put our heads down and run into the wind. My mile paces chimed on my watch and they weren't what I was hoping for (8:03, 8:01, 8:05). I almost gave up on lap 2, but even in the slow part of the lap I was running strong. I just felt terrible.

For a brief moment I thought the course would be short and began plotting how I'd run through the finish until I hit 3.1, but as we came around the final turn my watch passed 3.1. I finished with 3.12 and 3 seconds over my current PR, but I knew once I pulled the data from my Garmin, Strava could tell me my time at 3.1. (Unfortunately, my 5k PR on my watch is from speed work. Even though my watch sees it as my PR, Strava is smart enough to know there were breaks.)

Some swag

Post Race
After the race we grabbed some bananas, our free shirts (which I think may be from something else... ha), and took off. There was a free yoga session after, but because we finished close to the front we knew we'd have to wait around for a while and it was too cold. I know we powered through some winter runs this year, but for some reason the weather for this one was tough to handle! Thank goodness it was sunny!

Stats + Summary
Even though we had bibs, I don't think anyone recorded our times or placement. I know there were at least a half dozen people in front of us. We passed a few and could have finished in the top 10, but I'm not really sure. Also, there was a student out there with a fancy camera, but who knows where those photos will end up.

Final Time: 25:03
New 5K PR: 24:53 (8:00 pace)

Oh yeah, I didn't make it clear up there: I got a new PR by 7 seconds and met my B goal. I'm really surprised because it felt slow due to the wind and my tired legs from Saturday. This is probably a good sign. I think it means I have a faster 5k in me! Sub-8:00 pace will be mine... some day!

Up Next: Chasing sub-2 at the ORRRC Half next week. Ughhhhh.