Race Report: Crystal City Twilighter 5k

Jesse, Tourist Mike, and I survived the 5k last night to officially open Dusty Spikes racing season.  Luckily, it cooled down to a chill 98 degrees by race time.  I shocked myself with a PR of 18:46 which was over 4 minutes faster than my performance last year. Tourist Mike, wearing giant trainers, followed in 19:35.  Jesse made a solid 5k debut with a 19:55 which was very impressive being that this time last year I don't think he was in good enough shape to work a  water station. 

This was also the first time I raced in flats which definitely helped. Running more than 6-8 miles a week and being 10 lbs lighter probably also helped (I've been running 15-20 miles per week for over 2 months now). The heat  took its toll on me the last mile and I was left staggering around in a daze for 15 minutes after the race.  I did a 5 minute cooldown run, grabbed a water bottle and decided to hunt down Jesse and Mike.  I found them next to the beer truck of course.  Jesse was halfway through his free beer and was asking Mike if he could have his complementary beer stamp.  

Overall, we had a blast and I can't wait to find another race. 

The Saturday Forecast

Apparently, it's supposed to be 100 degrees on Saturday for the 5k.  If we're lucky it will dip down to a more reasonable 97 degrees by race time.  So much for my attempt at an epic sub-19 5k.  We get a free beer with our race entry which will give me incentive to stay alive. 

Racing Season Kick-off: Crystal City Twilighter 5K

My "racing season" starts on July 23rd with the Crystal City Twilight 5k.  This is the race I ran last year in awful shape in 98 degrees.  Based on the temperatures we've had this Summer, 98 degrees would be an average day. Needless to say,  I'm in much better shape this year and with the flat course I should have a good shot at breaking the 19 minute barrier.  My friend and bitter rival Tourist Mike will also be racing and enters in much better shape than this Spring when he ran in the 19:20s for multiple 5ks on the same course. Last week, Jesse decided to "find out what this racing stuff is all about" as well.  He worked me pretty hard in last week's Dusty Spikes Running Club weekly run so I expect him to be in shape to easily cruise under 19.