Race Recap: Crystal City Twilighter 5K

Saturday night I ran the Crystal City Twighlighter 5K in non other than Crystal City, Virginia. The race was advertised as the hottest race around and then we had a record low for a high temperature of like 75 degrees. So when the race started at 8:30 pm it was cool and misting. 

just noticed this says "twighlighter"

When I arrived I had to pick up my number and shirt and check my bag, but that went over pretty well. The race had special prizes for running teams and high school teams so there were a lot of serious runners there warming up. I joined in and jogged a few yards to make sure my iPhone wouldn't bop around too much in my pocket.

While the race seemed well organized overall there weren't any corals or signs for pace. I can never tell where I belong. I saw a few groups I knew I should be in front of and a few groups I knew I should be behind, but there were a lot of people in the middle.

slick roads

When the race started we didn't move. We got to the starting line and still the pace didn't pick up. A few more strides and we had this weird left turn, right turn, right turn, left turn thing that slowed us down even more. I didn't get to my desired pace till about .3 miles in.

Due to the slow start the last half of mile one (8:25) and mile two (7:58) were ran faster than planned and then my stomach started cramping for mile 3 (8:00). Racing (and running) at night always presents additional nutritional challenges. I had dinner around 6 pm, but I think 5 pm would of been more ideal. Either way I survived the rolling race course for a new PR of 25:20! A solid 3:03 less than my last PR in February. Running with faster people has really helped. 

Happy, Wet, and in the Dark.

woo hoo