Reindeer Run 5K - Full Race Report

Reindeer Run 5K
Maitland, Florida
Weather: Sunny
Racetime temp: about 62 Deg F

I got my kids out of bed at about 6:15 am - a bit early for them, but they were excited to be joining me for the Reindeer Run. For the kids there would be "snow" and a Kid's Run complete with Rudolph noses and jingle bells.

The 5K was to begin at 8 am so I wanted to get there between 7 and 7:15 am to beat out most of the crowd and get a decent parking space. We got there in good time and got the kids signed up for their race. Next we stopped at the registration area and said a quick hi to Shirley. Then I prepped for my race - Icy Hot and some warm up jogging.

This was a fun run - but even without the timing, Trackshack had set up signs showing folks where to line up if they expected to run at a 6 min pace, 7 min pace, etc. all the way up to 10 min or more. I dutifully lined up between the 9 and 10 min/mile signs - expecting to run around 9:30 min/mile. It was a large crowd - probably over 2000 runners.

Once the race started it took nearly 2 minutes to cross the starting line where I started up my Garmin. It then took the next mile to free up from the start congestion.

A frustration here: I was passing up WALKERS during the first mile, who must have lined up with the 7 min/mile group. It was difficult to get up to my target pace because of the slower walkers and runners who lined up close to the starting line. I didn't let it get to me, though. After all, this is a "fun run" and for many of the walkers, they probably didn't even know what the signs meant.

I began to think that this was probably not a good race to go for a PR and began to run through all the reasons why it might not happen. Let's see - one, losing time at the start with all the walkers. Two, not very much sleep for most of this week - I was not running fully rested. Three, not sure my calf was up to the job.

When I passed the first mile marker, the clock time was over 11 min, but my Garmin told me 9:30, so I was on track for the PR so far. I pressed on.

The crowd had thinned into the 2nd mile so it was easier to run. I ran through the water stop but slowed to get a cup and take a drink. I was thirsty but wanted to keep moving.

I hit mile 2 just under 19 minutes - still a 9:30 pace. But I was really winded and didn't think I could keep the pace up. The calf felt fine but my heart rate was way up. I have an alarm on my Garmin that goes off when I hit 180 bpm. It was tweeting at me around 2 miles into the race.

I took a few 15 sec walking breaks between miles 2 and 3 - I just couldn't keep going, even by slowing my pace. My 180 bpm alarm kept going off and folks around me were wondering what was up with my watch. I was just beginning to think that I was just going to have to walk longer when I saw the 3 mile clock ahead. If I passed it before 29 min on my Garmin, I could make it with the last tenth of a mile.

I sprinted in through the finish and hit the stop button. 29:28!

The final stats:

Final time: 29:28
Pace: 9:28 min/mile
AHR: 172 (very high for an average)
MHR: 188 (this is a new high for the year)

Garmin measured a total distance of 3.18 miles and had my mile splits at:

Mile 1: 9:20 min
Mile 2: 9:11 min
Mile 3: 9:28 min
Finish .18: 1:27 min

I didn't see Shirley at the finish, but figured I would catch up with her later. I found the girls who were ready to munch down some of the Christmas cookies and hot chocolate in the finish area. They also played in the snow (a pile of icy stuff). Then they ran their kids runs - each receiving a ribbon.



It was truly a fun run!