Davis Stampede 5K Race Recap 2/24/19

Last month I ran the Davis Stampede 5K. It was my first time this year racing a 5K since last summer (Womens Fitness Festival 5K). I don't run a lot of 5K's so I knew it was going to be interesting. My goal this time was to get sub 24 and with the help of Coach Dawn and more speed work, I got it! :)

PACKET PICKUP: Packet pickup was at Playfields Park in Davis (where the race starts and ends) on the Saturday before the race. There are no other booths (least I didn't see any) for this race, so it was a very fast and easy pickup for bibs and shirts.  My 9 year old was also doing the race so I picked up his stuff.

Here is the shirt for the race. This race is a special once this year, since it was dedicated to Natalie Corona, an officer in Davis that was shot and killed in the line of duty. Her badge number is on all the race shirts. Her story is so sad as she was so young and had a great impact on the police department and the community.

RACE DAY: What I love about local races is not having to worry about logistics and not getting up as early. The 5K started at 8:10am and Hubby was going to drop us off so I wouldn't have to worry about parking, however we were lucky and found parking right away and not far from the start. We got to Playfields Park around 7:40am so I would have time to do a 10 minute warm-up run and some drills before the race. 

After my warm-up, it was it was fun to see some familiar faces. I got some shots with my coworker, Brian, from the Fleet Feet Sacramento store, along with friends Andrea and Sachina before the race.

The Davis Stampede offers a half marathon and 10K distance and those that ran those races were supposed to start at 8:00am. However they were running late and ended up starting around 8:12am. When they all finally crossed the start line, we lined up for the 5K race. Here's a selfie shot of me and my 9 year old waiting at the start.

We started the run at 8:22am according to my Garmin. My goal for this race was sub 24 and my 9 year old's goal was to hopefully PR. Here's some shots of me and my son at the beginning of the race. I started out pretty strong, but as usual my first mile is my fastest split. I really need to work on my pacing for 5K's. Mile 1 came in at 7:40.

I tried to keep a steady but slightly faster pace for the second mile but I couldn't hold it. Mile 2 came in at 7:45. I can still manage to smile for the cameras though. :) I was also hoping that knowing the course would help me (it's a route I run often for my runs) but it didn't seem to help.

The last mile was harder and I couldn't just keep a steady fast pace. Mile 3 came in at 7:51 but turning and seeing the finish line, I picked up my pace and my last .1 was at 6:31 pace.

 I finished with a chip time of 23:51.40, so I got my sub 24 minute 5K! I was so happy!

Not only did I PR but I also ended up getting 1st place in my age group! My son didn't get his PR but was happy to also get 1st place in his age group! He was only a minute behind me with a time of 24:51.43. He did not even train for this so I am very proud of him! We both got an extra medal and some socks as our age group awards.

I'm also proud of my friends that ran the 5K. They all did great!

Big thanks to Coach Dawn for helping me get this PR! Without her guidance and training plan I couldn't have gotten this. She has helped so much in making me faster and another good race is in the books! The things that I didn't like about the race was it not running on time and I didn't like all the turns you had to make near the finish. Other than that, it was a good local run and I will most likely be back next year! Below is a shot of the medal along with my age group award medal.

Happy running!