Delmar Dash Race Recap 4/7/19

~ Chocolaterunsjudy

I’m not sure what it is about the Delmar Dash that always brings snow with it. The date seems to be always changing — it used to be in March, and I know some of my slower times were due to snow and ice on the road. Thankfully there was no snow on the ground this year, but there was snow and sleet on Friday night.

The upside is it’s a flat and fast 5 miles. This year I noticed that there were quite a few nice/slight downhills in the race.

Packet Pickup
Packet Pickup is in the gym of the school the race finishes at. It’s always easy. The race shirt was again short sleeved and ran large but I prefer larger to too small. It’s was also a nice burgundy color this year.

There are massages before the race, as well as after, although getting both seemed a bit greedy to me so I just stuck with my dynamic warmup. No warmup mile; I knew a 5 mile race would be challenging enough considering my lack of training.

I didn’t bump into Darlene @ Myfirst5k until just before the race.

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“Sprinting” to the finish (photo courtesy of Darlene & yes, I knew she was taking my photo)

My Race Plan
There was no goal, other than to finish feeling decent. I knew it would not feel easy. Heck, most weeks in the last month I barely ran 5 miles total!

So how’d that work for me?

  1. Mile 1: 10:26. Actually faster than last year. I don’t regret it; I knew I’d be running out of steam later in the race. I started near the beginning, as it’s gun time, and I knew most of the runners would be passing me, which they did. Chasing runners helps me to run faster, and in this case I think that was fine.
  2. Mile 2: 10:59. Not too shabby with a walk break around mile 1.5 for water.
  3. Mile 3: 10:48. So the first 5k went pretty well and then . . .
  4. Mile 4: 11:33. . . . Every year I slow down this mile, but I took two walk breaks for water, so that I wouldn’t have to walk my last mile (and I didn’t). However, this is exactly where I lost a potential PR. Oh well, I never really expected one anyway.
  5. Mile 5: 11:03. The longest I’ve run in the last month was 3 miles. No joke. Most runs were maybe 1.5 or 2 miles. At least it was faster than mile 4! The sun had also come out, and yes, I was just a little overdressed; always so hard to figure out those transitional runs between seasons.
  6. Last .04: 10:04. Usually I can sprint way faster than this to the finish. Definitely a lack of endurance due to a lack of training.

55:16 — Official Time
11:04 Average Pace
(my Garmin shows 10:58 for average pace due to the slightly long course)

Previous Years:
2018: 54:36
2016: 55:17
2015: 56:09
2014: 57:37
2011: 57:12

I actually feel I did much better than I had a right to — I knew I was way undertrained going into this race, but I also knew I could do it. My one concern was whether or not it would set me back in my recovery from the lingering whatever I’ve got; I probably feel about 90% right now.

I chose to run the race except with three walk breaks to drink some water — I am a thirsty runner, even though I was very well hydrated pre-race. I was roughly 30 seconds off of my PR. kind of wish I’d pushed just a little harder those last 2 miles after I saw that! I mostly ran by feel. So still having a speedy race (for me) was the cherry on top.

Now would I have chased down that PR using run/walk? We’ll never know. Run/walk intervals have helped me enormously, and I’m not saying I won’t revert back to them at some point. The point of using them from the start, rather than starting when you’re tired, is that they actually will help delay the onset of fatigue. They work great for fueling and taking photos, too.

So what’s up next for me? Dunno!

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Now there’s a look. I would regret the vest by mile 3 . . .

The weather & dressing
This was probably the best weather I have ever had for this race, and I’ve run it six times. Mid 40s. Little wind. Partly cloudy to start, although the sun did peak out around mile 3.

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My “Big Dream” for this race was to finish feeling decent

I went with my Pocketopia Capris, Wonder Wool Long Sleeve top, and Toasty Vest from Skirt Sports. I eventually regretted the vest — I unzipped it almost all the way, but I felt too warm. I know it would have taken me a couple of miles to warm up in just the Wonder Wool Long Sleeve but you finish right in front of the school where you store your stuff so it would have been fine (I just would have been majorly cold at the beginning of the race). I don’t really think it made a difference to my time.

I  wore my blister running shoes from Savannah (read about that race here), as they will now be known. No blister. Not shocking, it was just 5 miles and really nice weather. The shoes are probably coming to the end of their life.

Was the race well run?
Always well run, and this year was no difference. Parking fills up early, so get there early unless you want to hunt for parking. The free massages are always a nice touch. The course is well marked, and there’s ample support on the course. The AG awards were cranberry colored pint glasses — I would’ve loved one, but this races brings out speedy runners: I would have to shave 20 minutes off my finish time — no exaggeration! — to earn one. Never gonna happen!

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Linking up with Zenaida Arroyo and Kim @ Kookyrunner

 This week I am also joining up with Running on Happy, Suzlyfe, Crazy Running Girl, and Coach Debbie Runs each week for the Coaches’ Corner linkup

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28 thoughts on “Delmar Dash Race Recap 4/7/19”

  1. Well considering you’ve been on a bit of a low-mileage hiatus that was jolly good going! Second fastest go at it and only 30 sec off your PB – I’d take that! I guess the longer races you were doing have stored up endurance and strength, plus KNOWING you can do it is a big bonus. Love your leggings!

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      1. Ah yes, of course! I never feel they actively HELP, but the year I coasted between my first marathon and a half I’d done a lot before, without my yoga, I certainly noticed it was missing when I went to do the half!!

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  2. Congrats on a great race! I’m pysched for you that you ran the whole thing (minus your few water-breaks). Your thoughts going into it matched mine for Cherry Blososm. Now I want to fee more ready for the GWPC, but there’s only so much I can do in three weeks. 🙂

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  5. I never notice any downhills in this race. I did notice one uphill for the first time but on the whole, the flattest race I ever run.

    Great job. Maybe you do not need those intervals.

    If I had started right at the start line (but i never would cuz I don’t run a 6 min mile), I could have had a PR…maybe? I forgot about Gun time. I never read my recaps until after the race.

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    1. They’re obviously not big downhills, but they are definitely there. Which is nice. It’s probably why I come back for this one year after year.

      I didn’t read my recap either, but I did somehow remember that it was gun time. I was further back, but my Garmin still matched my time pretty closely. Not that it really mattered for me one way or another.

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  6. That’s great that you ran the whole race this time! Sometimes taking a little break from running is just what we need. I am currently struggling with how to ditch the intervals and return to running without breaks

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  7. Nice job running the whole race! This year for my 5 miler I had to take walk breaks for the first time ever. While I’ve been training with intervals, for such a short distance to have to walk really disappointed me. Sigh.

    Congrats!

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    1. It really doesn’t bother me at all to use intervals. I’ve gone back & forth with them the entire time I’ve been running. I seriously do wonder if I would have been faster using them!

      Last year I used them, but only stopped at the one water stop, because I’d forgotten my water bottle. I was dying of thirst & it was a much colder day.

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  9. Wow! Free massages before and after the race?!?! I think I may have indulged. You had a really great race, Judy, especially considering you haven’t been doing long runs lately. Maybe you were well-rested going into the race. Love your capris – they are so cute! It’s tough to know what to wear at this time of year.

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    1. The massages are from students, so they aren’t super long since they’re donating their time & it’s kind of hit or miss, but for the most part, I think there’s no such thing as a bad massage (or at least a bad free massage!).

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    1. I’ve been kind of surprised that running has been pretty strong — even if rather sparse. I suspect it will continue to be sparse until the weather warms up for good. It is so frickin’ cold today!

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  11. Congrats on a job well done! This looks like a great race – I’ve never seen pre-race massages! Finding the right thing to wear is definitely tricky this time of year. Thankfully you didn’t overheat – that’s always a killer for me!

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