Race 2 of 12: February Race Review

For my second run of the year, I decided to stick with a DCRR race--the Langley 8K. Again, they put on a nice, low key race. They had volunteers directing people on the course and some post race snacks. The course was a mix of residential roads and a running path and was mostly rolling hills. It has been a while since I've had a run with continuous climbs and descents so the race was a nice challenge. I honestly wasn't quite sure how I was going to pace an 8K. I've run a ton of 5K and half marathons but not many, if any, distances between the two (well, besides one 6.6K about 5 years ago). I initially thought a 9 min/mile pace would be doable and moderately challenging.

As the race started, I managed to keep my pace in check but I was feeling pretty comfortable at an 8:30 pace. Even with the rolling hills, I was able to push myself and maintain my pace. The only things I struggled with and want to continue working on was the decrease in my pace going up the last hill and my lack of "kick."

Race 1 of 12: January Race Review

Today I ran my first race of the year--the JFK 5K that was put on by the DC road runners. They put on about 20 races throughout the year that are open to anyone in addition to some races for members of the club. I definitely enjoyed this race--it was low-key but well run.

So how did the race go?

Considering I wasn't quite planning on really racing this race, it went okay. For the most part, I do pretty well pacing myself for longer races, but am terrible at pacing myself during 5Ks. I went out to fast and did positive splits. Ooops. It also doesn't help that the 2nd half of the race was slightly uphill and there was a headwind, but I definitely need to work on the pacing for future races.  Here is to February's race (still trying to pick one) and making some improvements throughout the year.