The Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis in Raleigh at Saint Mary's School on December 7, 2013 was my tenth race of the year and third 5K. I received a free entry for being on the Capital RunWalk team. I had not been running hard since the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. I took a week and two days completely off from running. After the time off I had been running easy and building my base and weekly mileage up. I was running 30-40 miles a week, two weeks before this race. I did one speed session four days before racing to have a little leg turnover. My workout was 3 miles easy, 6x400 with 400 recovery, and 2 miles easy. Based on the results from the Jingle Bell Run last year I thought a top 20 finish would be an accomplishment. The winner last year was teammate Sandy Roberts in 14:26.
I wasn't sure what time to aim for in the race since I hadn't been running hard since my marathon. I just wanted to have fun, run hard, and see where my fitness level was currently. A friend of mine, Austin Balen, also on the store team and a senior in high school, said he was running it too and wanted to break 18 minutes. Austin ran in the Footlocker cross-country South regionals at McAlpine Park in Charlotte the week before. I thought I could pace him to his sub 18:00 5K goal.
I wasn't sure what time to aim for in the race since I hadn't been running hard since my marathon. I just wanted to have fun, run hard, and see where my fitness level was currently. A friend of mine, Austin Balen, also on the store team and a senior in high school, said he was running it too and wanted to break 18 minutes. Austin ran in the Footlocker cross-country South regionals at McAlpine Park in Charlotte the week before. I thought I could pace him to his sub 18:00 5K goal.
Capital RunWalk before the race It was 80 degrees the day before the race but a cold front came and produced some strong thunderstorms the night before. The cold front dropped the temperature 40 degrees. The forecast for race day was cold, possible rain, and wind. Jamie and I arrived at Capital RunWalk at 9am to take a picture with the rest of the team members that were running the race. The race didn't start till 10:30am. After the picture, most on the store team ran to the start for their warm-up. It was under a mile to the school.
Once we got to the school, the challenge became getting my shoe chip. The school campus was packed with runners. The building race day registration and shoe chip pickup were in was crowded and overloaded with runners. The race had over 1,000 finishers last year so I expected a big turnout but I also expected the layout and organization to be better. It would have been nice for a race of this size to use bib chips instead of shoe chips. Anyways, after finally making my way through the crowd to get my shoe chip, Jamie and I headed back outside.
Once we got to the school, the challenge became getting my shoe chip. The school campus was packed with runners. The building race day registration and shoe chip pickup were in was crowded and overloaded with runners. The race had over 1,000 finishers last year so I expected a big turnout but I also expected the layout and organization to be better. It would have been nice for a race of this size to use bib chips instead of shoe chips. Anyways, after finally making my way through the crowd to get my shoe chip, Jamie and I headed back outside.
The Start The rain stopped but it was overcast, cold, and breezy. After doing my dynamic warm-up routine, Austin and I started off on the race course for our warm-up. We ran an easy mile out and back for two miles total. It was a gradual uphill on Hillsborough Street and mostly downhill and flat coming back. Austin and I did some strides in the grass and then walked to the starting line with Jamie and Elinor, another member of the team. At the starting line, the temperature was 43 degrees with a wind chill in the mid 30s, great running weather for me.
It was a packed starting line. I talked with several friends while we all tried to squeeze in upfront. There was a woman with a baby jogger lined up on the front line, she did not belong there. The front should be reserved for competitive runners and a woman with a stroller is not one. Runners should do a better job of lining themselves up by their abilities.
It was a packed starting line. I talked with several friends while we all tried to squeeze in upfront. There was a woman with a baby jogger lined up on the front line, she did not belong there. The front should be reserved for competitive runners and a woman with a stroller is not one. Runners should do a better job of lining themselves up by their abilities.
Tim Pierce and Me after the start The race started and Austin and I were out fast. We went out faster than goal pace to get out of the congestion. Once we turned onto Hillsborough Street we settled in on sub 18 pace. The pace felt a little harder than it should have for the first mile. I kept looking for the one mile marker but never saw it. There ended up being no mile markers on the course at all. Austin and I were picking runners off that went out too fast. Austin started to fall back from me on one of the uphills. I kept catching and passing people on the gradual uphill to the turn. I ran the first half in 9:07.
After making the turn I picked up the pace to push the downhill. I realized I was running with masters runner, Ashley Bass. He would pull away a little bit on the downhill but I would draw even again on the flats. He and I were side by side running hard on the way back. The temperature and cloud cover was great for racing and I was feeling better the longer I ran.
After making the turn I picked up the pace to push the downhill. I realized I was running with masters runner, Ashley Bass. He would pull away a little bit on the downhill but I would draw even again on the flats. He and I were side by side running hard on the way back. The temperature and cloud cover was great for racing and I was feeling better the longer I ran.
Finishing I knew we had one more short uphill coming and decided I was going to push it hard to hopefully drop Ashley. We hit that little hill around 2.75 miles where I picked it up. I was able to pull ahead of Ashley by a few seconds. Now, I just had to hold him off the final quarter of a mile which was downhill. I sprinted hard to the finish, holding off Ashley, to finish in 10th place overall in 17:46 out of 989 finishers and 1st in my age group. I ran the second half in 8:38, a nice negative split. Austin finished in 16th in 18:14. Although Austin missed his goal of sub 18 he still ran a PR.
I ended up beating my previous PR of 17:47 from the Myrtle Beach Coastal 5K by one second. It wasn't much but still a new PR. I surprised myself with my finishing place and time. I felt surprisingly better the longer the race went on. It's a shame it wasn't a 10K. I was very pleased with my time considering I had not been running hard or doing any speedwork since my marathon in November. Having other runners around me the whole time helped a lot. It's easier to go faster when you have people to run with and you're not all by yourself. I really liked the course and the race as a whole. They had some nice post race food from area businesses. Many ran in Christmas costumes, Santa hats, of course jingle bells, and reindeer antlers. It's a fun race and I recommend doing it.
I ended up beating my previous PR of 17:47 from the Myrtle Beach Coastal 5K by one second. It wasn't much but still a new PR. I surprised myself with my finishing place and time. I felt surprisingly better the longer the race went on. It's a shame it wasn't a 10K. I was very pleased with my time considering I had not been running hard or doing any speedwork since my marathon in November. Having other runners around me the whole time helped a lot. It's easier to go faster when you have people to run with and you're not all by yourself. I really liked the course and the race as a whole. They had some nice post race food from area businesses. Many ran in Christmas costumes, Santa hats, of course jingle bells, and reindeer antlers. It's a fun race and I recommend doing it.
Me, Brian Lankford, and Ashley Bass post race
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