Brooksie Way 5K Race Report

Last Sunday, David and I ran the Brooksie Way 5K. I ran the inaugural Brooksie 5K last year as my second race ever and was horribly disappointed when the course turned out to be a third of a mile short. But I want to eventually be one of those old people who says "Well I've run this race 25 times, every time since the first year they did way back in twenty ought eight" so I decided to give it another chance.

The weather was fairly cool on race day so I wore a long-sleeved shirt and shorts. (Naturally I regretted the long sleeves about 1/4 mile into the race. But it was my awesome shirt from the Dick Beardsley half marathon in Minnesota that I ran last month so I wanted to wear it.) Anyway, we left the house a bit later than planned and naturally there was traffic on the road leading to the university where the race started. So we arrived with enough time to get to the start line and not enough time to look for any of my friends who were running the half marathon that started shortly after the 5K.

We lined up about halfway back in the 5K pack but that was a poor choice because when the race started, the people in front of us barely moved. David usually takes off like a jackrabbit at a 5K so I was surprised to see him still beside me after a minute. He finally dodged around the crowd and took off. He ended up with a PR. Yay!

My plan was to take it pretty easy for a couple of reasons. One, hello, I am running a marathon soon and I didn't want to go nuts and get injured. Two, I'd done a 15 mile run the day before so my legs weren't fresh. And three, well, I'm kind of lazy. I had no intention of trying for a PR.

The course was much the same as last year (except the start line was farther back) and I knew there was going to be a rather painful hill about halfway through. I focused on keeping a steady pace and having a good time. Saw lots of people sprinting ahead and then having to take walk breaks. I have been that person before and I don't have any interest in doing that again. Weirdly, there was a water stop around the 0.25 mile mark. Who needs water a quarter mile into a 5K? That was just plain strange. All I can think is that was a water stop near the end of the half marathon course, but I don't know.

As I approached the hill I told myself I was not going to walk it. Last year I started walking about halfway up the hill but I knew I could do better this year. I'm proud to say I conquered that hill. Well okay, I was huffing and puffing but still, I didn't walk it.

As usual, I can't remember a lot of details. But I do remember a few sweet downhills which I totally took advantage of, including a downhill leading to the finish line. Woo hoo, I came flying down that hill and felt like a real runner for once as I crossed the line strong instead of wheezing my way across it.

The course was actually a 5K this time around, so I guess I can stop bitching about last year finally. My total time was about 30 seconds slower than my PR, which was faster than I intended to run this thing. I guess those downhills helped and maybe I'm not quite as lazy as I thought. In any case, I had a lot of fun and I will do this race again next year (God willing and barring any injuries, of course). Good times!