She Runs by the Seashore

I’ve been working on my speed, and not too long before the Firecracker 5K on July 1, I decided to test my speed at this longtime Rehoboth Beach race, which is organized by Seashore Striders.

I’d never run it before, but I saw Holly post about it in the “52 races in 52 weeks: Holly’s support group” and decided to give it a shot. Holly would be running her 26th of the 52 races at this race, marking the halfway point, and she also brought cake. There ended up being several friends at the race.

I got up early to drive to Rehoboth for the 7:30 a.m. start, and since earlier this year, I set a goal to beat my times for the standard race distances of the 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon from 2020-2022, the time to beat was 28:47 from the Run, White and Blue 5K in September 2022, my fastest from that time frame.

I ended up beating that time by more than a minute.

The starting corral was marked with different pace signs, and I lined up near the 9:00/mile sign. The course was a fast one, with nearly the entire first mile a straight line from the start. I surprised myself by running that first mile in 8:35. It didn’t feel as bad as I thought it would. Others mentioned the mugginess afterward, but I felt better than expected.

That motivated me, and I kept up the pace, running the next mile in 8:59. There was a water stop right around the second mile marker, and I did stop and walk for about 28 seconds (as tracked by my watch) to have a bit of water before continuing on. I also noticed that my time for two miles was a little under 18:00, the fastest I’ve run in a long time for that pace. I often run two miles for speed, and before this, my best recent efforts had been in the 18s.

With the brief walk (which was a necessary part of the race for me), my last mile was the slowest, but I was still able to keep up a 9:25 pace, and the last part of the race was also a straightaway.

I crossed the finish line in 27:41. Since my watch did not track 3.11 miles, I kept running a little extra and made it to 27:59, but I was later told it was a wheeled course, so the 27:41 should stand.

I am still about five minutes away from my PR from 2014. However, that was almost nine years ago (I was 23 during that race and am 32 now), and I was extremely happy with my time at the Firecracker 5K.

I met my goal for this year, but to beat my fastest 5K time from 2019, I would need to beat 27:22. Here are my fastest 5Ks from the other years including and after my PR:

• 2018: 26:59
• 2017: 26:33
• 2016: 26:06
• 2015: 26:29
• 2014: 22:36 (PR)

The winner of this year’s Firecracker 5K ran the race in 14:35, which I think is likely the fastest time anyone has ever run in a 5K that I also participated in — a 4:42 pace! I ended up placing fifth of 13 runners in the women’s 30-34 age group. (Results can be found here.)

After the race, there was watermelon, and then I met up with Holly and other friends to have some cake and celebrate in her journey. She also got a PR!

I planned to stick around a bit at the beach after the race, and I brought my race swag — a beach towel — to enjoy some relaxing time there.

My successful 5K inspired me to see what I could do for the 10K just two weeks later. That post is coming next, but spoiler alert — that one was not as successful when it came to time. It was hot, humid and super challenging.

Splits

Mile 1: 8:35
Mile 2: 8:59
Mile 3: 9:25
Last part (.11 on watch): 58 seconds/8:35 pace
Time on watch: 27:59; time on results: 27:41

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