Almost a week later, I have my recap on the Twin Sizzler 5k I ran on the 4th of July. Last year I ran Bay Days in  Bay Village and was a little bummed I wouldn’t be able to run it this year. Lucky for me, Medina had their own festival of events for the holiday. The Twin Sizzler provided a ton of events for the community including a 5k run, 10k run, 27 mile Community bike ride, 27 mile expert bike ride, 1 mile kids fun run, and a 5k walk. If that wasn’t enough, you could run both the 5k and the 10k for a double workout. All proceeds went to the Red Cross of Medina County, and with well over 800 people in attendance, we definitely helped out our local chapter. There was also a DJ, activities for kids, and a ton of families out for the holiday.

The race was slated to start at 7:45 and with how hot and humid it has been, it was much better than a 9:00 start. Lucky for us, the sun stayed behind the clouds, but the humidity was thick and people were sweating before we started. I got there around 7:25, and headed straight to bib pick up. If you registered early (which I finally did for once!) you were promised a t-shirt. Unfortunately they had run out of smalls by the time I got there, so I was given a medium. I plan on donating it since I already have way too many shirts.

Around 7:40 we were told that we’d had a delay of the start. We eventually got going around 7:55, only a 10 minute delay. Still feeling warmed up, I didn’t have a goal, I just wanted to survive the muck of the humidity. The first mile had a bit of a down hill and wound through some of the downtown streets. I knew I didn’t want to go out too hard, but didn’t want to focus on my time. I let my legs do the work and I was somewhere near a 7:50 pace. I pulled back and tired to slow myself down. It was getting hotter and hotter and I knew that it would be a tough race. We came up on the first mile and I was around 8:30. Right after the marker was a water stop. I grabbed a glass, drinking some, but dumping most on my head. I don’t normal grab water in 5k’s, but I couldn’t get enough of it.

We continued on through more neighborhoods and I could feel my pace slowing down. I bounced between 8:45 and 9:10, always struggling to keep a solid pace. Most of the course was very familiar either from previous runs or from the Medina Half Marathon. It was relatively flat, but had some gradual inclines throughout the second mile. I was still feeling pretty strong, but didn’t want to go too fast and not have anything left for the finish.

I don’t remember what time I hit the third mile, but I was excited to see more water. This time the cup was filled up a bit too much, so I had more difficultly drinking it and running. I slowed down a bit, but then tried to pick my pace back up. The last mile was straight towards the square and I knew we’d have an uphill incline. I was starting to get hotter and sweatier, but tried to ignore it. With a half mile to go I was around 23:xx and everyone started to pick up the pace. I felt great and followed the crowd. Crossing the rail road tracks we had about 400 feet left, the incline of the hill started and I felt off. I hate finishing uphill because I usually feel sick so I tried to relax and just ignored my pace. I slowed quite a bit, but was nervous that I’d lose whatever was in my stomach on the course. About a hundred feet to go and I gagged. I told myself to stop, and just get to the finish. Fifty feet from the finish I gagged again, and nothing. I jogged to the finish line, barely stopped my Garmin and was off to the side. The humidity had gotten the best of me.

After grabbing some water and heading to my car, I started to feel much better. I drove home and suddenly felt that like I could run some more…if the humidity wasn’t so thick. I almost regretted not signing up for the 10k as well, but after the 5k, I was glad I only had one race. Besides for the last half mile I felt great throughout the entire run. I was dissapointed with my time and pacing, but I know that the heat plays a big factor in this. It was no where near a PR, but I feel that I’ll definitely be dropping time once the weather cools off.

Overall the race was great. The course was well marked and relatively flat considering some of the major hills around. Having two water stops was awesome, but I think I had too much water in my stomach, which didn’t help later on. There was only one sprinkler on the course, but many more would have been appreciated. I’ll definitely run this race next year and even think about doing the 10k.

Results:

Garmin: 27:06

Overall: 298/670

Female Overall: 107/356

Age Group (25-29): 15/40