Sunday, March 29, 2015

Carlsbad 5000 Race Recap

This morning I ran the Carlsbad 5000.

Me with my bib yesterday in Downtown Carlsbad

Although I have lived in North County for 7 years and even though this is part of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series, I have never done this race before. They claim it is the "World's Fastest 5K", so why not give it a go and see if I could get a PR out of it?! Not to mention it is right in front of my office and I am very, very familiar with the course.

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They break up the races by age (and sometimes gender). I was in the Men & Women 30-39 race. The start time was 10:32am (sort of random, but hey, I'll go with it - come to find out they had to do it around the train schedule, which did NOT work out well when a computer system crashed at the train depot and the were having to hold up runners so the trains could go through the course).

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I think this was one of the latest start times I can remember. And with it being so close to the house I didn't have to head down to Carlsbad until close to 9am (YAY for sleeping in!). I technically had 5 miles on the schedule for today, so I decided instead of trying to fight for parking and deal with the road closures due to the course I would just park in South Oceanside and run over to the starting area. I could tell, even an hour and a half before race time, that this was going to be a warm one.

#FlatCarlee gets laid out the night before so I don't forget anything

I decided I would leave a little early to see if I could catch some friends running in the 29 and under race that was set to start at 9:11am. I left the house around 8:40am, drove the 3ish miles to South Oside, parked, and had run a mile over to the starting area by 9am. Talk about easy peasy!

I was able to cheer on Alicia, Smitha and Jayme during that race. All three of them were doing the All Day 20K (running 4 of the 5Ks back-to-back), although Alicia had to miss the final race due to a vacation (not a bad trade off if you ask me :)). I ended up being able to see them all within the first half mile of the course and then made my way over to the finish line to cheer them in!

Smitha and Jayme cruising' during their THIRD 5K!

The winner of the 29 and Under (his time was 14:XX)

Alicia finishing strong!

Yup, the runners had to stop for the train...

Here comes Smitha and Jayme!

Two Pair Don't Care!! LOVE IT!!

As I was standing in the sun, hooting and hollering for all of the runners (I may have been teared up when the itty bitty kids were haulin' booty to the finish) I could tell the heat was going to be an issue. My new Pro Compression socks were attracting the sun like no body's business (I guess that's what I get for wearing a dark pair on a hot day).

Once I saw all my friends and found the hubby (he stayed home for a bit to eat breakfast while I came down early), I made my way over towards the starting line. On the way I found the funny gnome who is normally at the Turkey Trot and some of the street fairs, and HAD to get my photo with him (or her).

We are used to seeing him her it, but apparently lots of you think it is creepy ;)

There were plenty of port-o-potties, so I made sure to make a quick pit stop (in one that was located in the shade) and then met up with Smitha and Jayme.

Picture from Smitha

While we were chatting I looked over and saw Leslie! WHAT?! I thought she had given up running road races (especially after Phoenix ;)), but come to find out she had signed up in November when she was originally thinking it would be a PR attempt for her. We all grabbed a quick picture and then made our way into the starting area.

Picture from Smitha

Leslie mentioned she was thinking about running with the 8 minute mile group and trying to catch the 7 minute mile group. I was really hoping to PR this race (my current PR is 22:26), so thought I would see how that plan would work out. (Little did I know that with the crowds at the beginning Leslie and I would get separated shortly after crossing the starting line.)

This race was slightly different in the fact that I didn't look at my watch much. Around a half mile in someone near me commented to a friend that they were currently running a 7:07 mile pace. I figured that was too fast, but attributed it to the shade on the beginning stretch and the adrenaline that I never can seem to reign in at the start of a race.


I heard my watch beep for Mile 1 and I knew I was in trouble. We were running in straight sun at this point and it was toasty (even though we were running next to the ocean, it still seemed to be a dry heat).




We made it down to Tamarack for the turn around and saw a water station. I didn't stop for any, although I think I should have grabbed a cup to pour on my head to cool down a bit. I have to say, I really loved that you could see runners on the other side of the road. There were a ton of people cheering for their friends and loved ones, it was cool to see.

I saw Ryan again around Mile 2. I wanted to give him a thumbs down because I already knew I wasn't going to PR. Around Mile 1.5 I glanced at my watch and saw a pace of around 7:50 and knew my PR shot was out the window. Sure, I was still going to finish the race, but with the 21:XX time goal out the window I didn't want to push it crazy hard especially with my upcoming races (Ragnar SoCal Ultra in 2 weeks and then the Eugene Marathon 4 weeks after that).



We ran down to the Army Navy Academy, chucked a U-ey (our way of saying we did a U-turn), and then made our way down to State Street. A left onto State and we were heading towards the finish line. Apparently I was too fast (even though I felt slow) for Ryan to catch me coming towards the finish, but he did get a shot of me crossing the finish line...

You should ALWAYS cross a finish line with your arms raised HIGH!

An official time of 23:47.

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Like I said during my "Negative Thoughts" post, a year and a half ago I would have been THRILLED with this time. I mean my pace was 7:39 a mile! But today I was really hoping for a 21:XX finish time (closer to 7 minute miles). I guess that just means I have room to improve, right?! And like a friend reminded me, I just ran a 20-miler two days ago, so I guess I wasn't necessarily running this one like it was meant to be my PR and the only thing I was training for.


Even though I was slightly disappointed with my time, this is a great race. It is super close to home, a beautiful course, and (relatively) cheap. And whenever you get a chance to run with friends it is a great day! I would LOVE to petition the powers at be to MOVE THE START TIMES EARLIER! (Believe me I like sleeping in, but I would prefer to run in the cooler temps! I mean the elites are running at NOON! That is crazy warm, even if they are only running for 15 minutes ;))

Leslie and I after we finished

Isn't she purrrrrty?

We got a towel for signing up for the 2016 race ;)

The participant tee

30 Year Anniversary BLING

Oh yeah, and how could I forget?! I got this email on Friday, so obviously we HAD to sign up for 2016 ;) I mean a 5K for $20?! YES PLEASE!! And hey, maybe I will try for that illusive PR then...

And registering at the packet pick-up got us free towels?! DUH!
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And since I still had a mile left for my morning run, I ran back to the car as Ryan rode his bike with me (that was how he got around the course today). He even stopped to take an "action shot" of me running, in case we didn't have enough from the race - ha!


Do you enjoy running local races?

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