Race Recap: Irish Jig 5k
This morning, I ran the Spectrum Health Irish Jig in East Grand Rapids, which is actually the first time I’ve done the same race twice. I did it last year and finished in 33:38. I went into this year feeling a bit more confident and prepared; plus, it wasn’t snowing like it was time, so that was a definite bonus.
Before I left the house, I fueled up with what is quickly becoming my pre-race favorite fuel: sunflower seed butter toast with cinnamon chips.
I layered up, complete with my new shirt from SkinnyRunner! I debated also wearing my North Face fleece jacket during the run, but ultimately decided against it and I’m so glad! It was definitely the right decision, I was just right with what I had on.
There may have been no snow, but still chilly! It was around 33 degrees when I got out of my car!
I met up with Andi, Kayla, and Amy (her husband also ran, but the race was split in two waves: men first, then women). We had some time to kill before our race started, so we waited around for a bit in the gym of the high school where registration and packet pick-up was going down.
Eventually we made our way out to the starting line. It was a bit congested in the first half mile or so, but thinned out a bit as the race went on. I made my way ahead of the girls pretty quickly. I felt really good the first mile and time flew by. I love bigger races – having all the other crazy runners around is such awesome motivation! Plus, there were some decent crowds, thanks in large part to the men that had already finished.
I got into a pretty good groove as soon as I got past the mass of people trying to get going. In that first stretch, I felt like I was just getting going, then had to slow right back down.
The second mile felt better since I had to do a little less weaving through the crowds. I kept checking my Garmin to see where I was at for time – I really felt like this could be the day I would get my sub-30:00 time, but I knew it was going to be close. After a decent sized hill, I so desperately wanted to walk for a brief moment, but I knew if I did, any chances I had of coming in under 30:00 minutes was shot. My lungs weren’t happy about it, but I powered through!
As I entered the last mile, I knew there was a chance to reach my goal. I kicked up the pace and fought any and every inclination I had to walk. Just keep running, just keep running! Once I hit that last mile marker, I started sprinting and gave it everything I had until the finish line! The end was so hard, but it was completely worth it because I came in at 29:34 (chip time)!!! I’ll be honest, I teared up just a bit when I crossed the finish line and knew I had gotten the time I so desperately wanted. Not only did I come in under 30:00, I got a PR by over 30 seconds!
My (negative!!!) splits:
- Mile 1: 9:54
- Mile 2: 9:45
- Mile 3: 9:06
- Mile .12: 0:53
Garmin time: 29:39
I came in 711 overall and 130 in my division! I’ll take it!
As always, I tried to create a great playlist. Well…I think it was great, you may disagree! I had quite a few more songs than I really needed, but I always like to have more just to be on the safe side. Ironically, just like in the Heart and Sole 5k last month, Won’t Back Down came on as I came to the end and it was the perfect song to end with!
Dear Irish Jig,
Thanks for a great race. Both me and my PR thank you.
Love,
Mindy
Yay for PR’s! How exciting!
Congrats!! What an awesome time! I PRed too and was stoked 🙂 I really liked that course!
Great job!! I was there too. What a great day for a race! 🙂
Way to go on the PR— 30 seconds?!?!? 🙂
Awesome job Mindy!!! Gotta love a new PR 🙂
I’m browsing your blog finally! Congratulations on such an awesome race! And with negative splits, too? Amazing!!!