My Heart 5k Recap & Skirt Review

I'm just  going to do a mini-skirt review - and by mini I mean brief - the Nike Adventure skirt isn't that short ;)

Well I picked up Kristen and her sister around 8AM and they live really close to the race.  I figured we had plenty of time but always get a little worried about running late.  We got to the race and parked easy, then made our way over to registration.  They assigned no bib numbers this year, just put a check mark next to my name.  There was also no race clock so to keep time it was up to me.  We ended up with a lot of extra time and at 8:15 or so hit the restrooms (no line), then ran a couple loops in the big parking lot to get warmed up since it was a bit chilling this morning.

I was excited to give my Adventure skirt the go-around and in the 5 minute warm-up it felt great!  More on that later.

We made our way over to the starting line at 8:45 for the "warmup" which we didn't really see anyway since we weren't close to the stage.  We got as close to the start as we could since there were A LOT of walkers in this race.  In fact I was starting to wonder if many people were going to run it at all!

We got off late (around 9:10) and after dodging some heart walkers were off - and I guess there were about 100 runners.  1 minute in my shoe came untied.  Great - was that a sign of things to come?  After getting that fixed I caught back up to Kristen and her sister and passed them on the downhill.  They were planning on running a more "relaxed" race and sticking together.  Me - I had a goal of sub 28:00 which I haven't broke in a year.  My best 5K time in the past year was I think around 28:10.  My other goal was to feel good and stay consistent - not bombing the last mile like I have in my past couple races. 

I was also feeling a little inspired from the Cross County Meet Kayla and I went to Saturday morning.  Our coworker and superstar - Laura Olvera kicked some ass and took names.  She had full control and lead from start to finish ending in an amazing 17:07.  Back to my race:

The first mile marker came up and my watch read 8:00 so I slowed a bit as I came up to it clicking my first mile off in 8:30.  Good I thought - just need to keep it up!  Right after that I finished getting up a hill and opened up a bit as we had some slight downhill running.  I didn't really look back to see where Kristen and her sister were but I had this feeling they were close - and Kristen tries to tell me she is slow!  I was telling her she would break 30 minutes for her first 5K.  Around 1.5 miles I rounded a corner and went under the bridge I had just cross over.  At this point I saw Kristen and her sister and knew they were only bout 30-60 seconds behind me.  Kristen later told me her one goal was to keep running fast enough so I wasn't out of her sight the whole race which I guess worked out for her!

My second mile was 8:31 and I was still feeling okay - but not great.  A hill came around this time and I was tempted to walk it.  While I was contemplating that, this voice in my head said "keep going" over and over.  Actually it was the song on my ipod that was a remix and had "Keep going, keep going, keep going" so I did and pushed up the hill.  After running back down for a few hundred meters there was a slow gradual incline for the last mile.  Very slight, but noticeable.  I ran past and skipped the second water station as I did the first and just kept pushing. 

The 3 mile mark came up and I check my watch - 7:40 mile?  Can't be right.  My total time was around 24:45 which meant if I pushed that last 160 meters I'd set a PR - maybe it was the skirt?  Something about me knew that was off and I soon knew that was true.  I think the 3 mile mark was around 2.8 or 2.9 instead.  Regardless, I kept pushing - 28 minutes was fast approaching.

My final time was.... 27:51!  That is my fastest 5K since 9/6/05 (this race last year) when I set my PR of 26:20.  I'm gotten slower since then for a few reasons, but I'm okay with that and glad I broke the 9 minute mile barrier (8:58 pace).  Kristen and her sister came in about 1 minute behind me which was a great first-time finish!

The Nike Adventure Skirt was amazing.  I haven't tried any of the other running skirts, but WOW!  I will for sure race in this and run in it as much as possible.  It was so light, super comfortable - barely knew it was there!  The shorts underneath are super light and breathable.  There was no bunching or riding up anywhere.  There is also a nice little pocket in the back for a key or maybe even a GU.  I am damn impressed with it and will probably buy  a second one when we get them back in our store.  They sure come highly recommended from me - a girl who thought she'd never run in a skirt!

So there we have it.  And last night Kayla and I saw the new move "Crank".  If you want a fast-paced adrenaline rush I recommend it.  It is bloody at points and I had to look away a few times but it  is original, good acting, and highly entertaining!

Happy Sunday Everyone - can't wait to read all the weekend race reports!
Jessica

Comments

[Danielle in Iowa]

Congrats on meeting your goal! The only time I have broken 28 minutes involved eating Krispy Kremes to get seconds taken off my final time :-)

[olga]

It looks cute, it makes you fast, and I want one!
Congratulation on your PR, great run and way to suffer through no-walk on the hill!

[steph]

i always run better if i'm wearing a new short - or a new top. guess that's a woman's nature! (even though i'm not a shopper at all). but when it comes to running clothes...

congrats on our pr! do u think this skirt would let me run a marathon in under 4 hours?????????????

[darrell]

Way to "keep going" and meeting your goal of a new PR!

[nattie]

that's great time, jessica! i echo the kudos for keeping strong through that hill! i also experience the faster running with new items, specially new shoes. i just got a bunch of new items on ebay, that i can't wait to try this week!

[Anne]

Wow, I think I need to get one of those skirts. Congratulations on the PR!

[Steve]

Congrats on setting that goal and then hitting it! Those smaller events can be fun and are a good place for a PR. My 5K PR was at a small local event as well.

As for the skirt, not really my thing. Though perhaps if I raced in one, the image of my big giant hairy thighs pounding down the road in a skirt would scare enough other runners to give me a good placing :-).

[Sarah]

Great race! Way to go on gutting it out through the hill.

I've been wondering when Nike was going to come out with a skirt. I need to get myself one of those!

[Soozan]

i NEED that skirt. it is TOOOOO cute. Quick, how can i lose 30 lbs?

[jeffem]

excellent job. I almost ran that 5k as my employer was sponsoring teams. Maybe I'll see you at a run some time.

[Elizabeth]

Great job on the 5k! Way to tough it out up the hill!