Race Recap: Halifax Hospice 5k 9/8/18

Saturday 9/8/18 was the 17th annual Halifax Hospice 5k in Port Orange, FL. Not only was this my first 5k race two years ago, it is one of my favorites. My previous times were 23:33 and 21:06 respectively. 

Pre-Race
I changed my race strategy a bit from not having one to knowing what my splits should be around and checking my watch to make sure I was on pace more often than my usual once or twice. I wanted to be around a 6:26 pace (which would be under 20 minutes on 3.10 but this course usually runs a little longer). I wanted to clock a 6:10-6:18 first, 6:20-6:25 second, 6:30-6:40 3rd, and a fast final sprint. This meant starting out faster than usual too. 

Mile 1  6:15
Mile 1 started out pretty good. I was able to get my fast start with nothing in my way. I felt good and I felt I was going fast but not too fast where I couldn't keep it up. Checking my watch pace and speeding up when necessary really helped here. After I saw the mile 1 marker, I made sure my pace was in my goal range and was happy that it was. 

Mile 2  6:25
I am most proud of this mile. This is the best second mile I have ever had (usually my first mile is around this pace). I was able to keep my pace up and felt pretty decent about it too. 

Mile 3  6:39
Mile 3 is always a struggle but I knew I couldn't fall apart here. It was also the hottest mile and the most uphill. I am actually sort of proud of this pace too. I really tried to hold it together as much as possible. 

Mile .17  6:15
I am not proud of this final sprint. I needed it to be a lot faster because that takes valuable seconds off the finishing time. This is one major thing I need to work on in upcoming events. I am however, proud of myself for not having anything left in the tank and leaving it all out on the course. Sometimes I finish knowing I had more to give, but happily this was not the case. 

Final Thoughts
I am proud of this race. I felt like I gave it everything I had and achieved most of my pacing goals. I went out hard (but not crazy) and kept it up as much as possible. As I said before, this race runs longer so with that in mind, I feel like sub 19:30 can be achieved for the next race. Now I have a week off and a goal race after that! 

Results
Time: 20:23
Pace: 6:25 (according to watch)
Overall: 3rd out of 557
1st Overall Female out of 350

↓  The Swag ↓