When I initially registered, I wanted the Donut 5K to be a legit effort towards a 5K PR. It seemed like a good time to go for it, though I hadn’t yet done the math on weeks out to Boston. I hadn’t bothered because I didn’t know what the field size would be and if my time would hold up, and after riding the Boston emotional rollercoaster in 2019-20, I was surprisingly chill about it.
When BAA announced that everyone who registered for 2022 with a qualifying time would be in, my calculus changed pretty suddenly. Marathon training would start the same week as the Donut 5K. Not ideal. I really wanted to just take it easy leading up to the start of a new marathon training block. I scrapped some 5K-specific workouts and decided the Donut 5K would have to be mostly for fun.
Race morning felt a little familiar because it was almost exactly the same weather from the Drumstick Dash. (I didn’t bother to write up a race recap, as it was pretty low key). Light rain, gray skies, felt colder than the 40 degree temp. I’d had a hard time getting my motor running in those conditions a month ago, and I feared it would be the same.
I also knew a hard workout would be good for me, as I’m still shaking off the ultra cobwebs, so that was my approach. Just run what feels like a hard effort. No matter where the pace ended, I’d get in 3 high quality miles. I have come to really love a race “workout” – it’s a chance to push a little bit harder than you might in a solo workout without any of the pressure to PR.
I ran one warm up mile with my friend Lydia (one mile less than I intended), skipped my usual strides, and got distracted from even finishing my leg swings. I saw quite a few friends on the way to the start line and given my lack of a goal, it was easy to let go of my typical warm up and just be social. One of the best parts of the race were getting to see people, so I have no regrets.
There isn’t much to say about the actual race itself. They allow dogs at this race, so that was a fun element. At one point I laughed at myself because I was totally getting beat by some dogs. I felt solid, but not like I had another gear in me, so I decided to just run as even as I could. My splits were 7:12, 7:12, and 7:14, so I’d say mission accomplished (though in true runner fashion I am undeniably annoyed by those 2 seconds).
I picked it up for the .1 finish (6:21 pace according to my watch) to end with a time of 22:22:81. This was around 9 seconds faster than my last 5K (Run the Vineyards in NJ) and about the top end of what I expected I could do given my current fitness.
The most exciting part of the whole race was that I got passed by a woman as we were closing in toward the finish line. While I hadn’t really been in a racing mindset, it lit a fire and I gave it a kick to just barely edge her out. I hadn’t even been thinking age groups awards, and even if I had, I would have guessed she was younger. But, wow, this may be the closest “race” I ever have. I got 3rd place in my age group by the narrowest of margins:
It was fun to see Right as Run athlete Ronald crush his race (he totally beat me to the finish line!) and to eat donuts and hang with friends afterwards. I only stayed to watch the awards to see if Ronald placed. Since my time didn’t feel all that special, I wasn’t expecting it when the race director called my name for 3rd in my age group. I won a coffee mug, which I filled with another round of donut holes to take home to my husband. I know it’s just a coffee mug, but any kind of prize feels special when placing in my age group at all once felt so impossible.
The details:
Donut 5K in Carmel, IN
December 18, 2021
Weather: Low 40s, gray, rainy, 5 mph winds
Finish time: 22:22.81, 3rd place in F40-44 age group