This summer has been quite busy; putting me a little behind on my blogging but here I am on “Throwback Thursday” ready to tell you all about this awesome race! I am blogging as I wait for my car to get an oil change so here goes!! On July 9th I ran the Belmar Five! This is a local race that takes you through beautiful Belmar; one of the Jersey Shore beach towns.
People from all over New Jersey & even outside NJ come to participate! This race is known for being one of the hottest races of the year (last year’s race pics below).
However this year was quite different! This year it was cloudy, humid & misty & the rain picked as the race started.
This was my second year running this race. Last year I ran this race with a sesimoid stress fracture in my foot (with my doctors ok) so I knew this year’s time would most likely be better!I went out running with no music; as I’ve done in all my race & training runs since early June. I went out with no pressure on myself; no high expectations but simply a goal to just run strong! I’ve found in the past that when I set goals for myself prior to a race; I would spend the whole race looking down at my watch stressing myself out if I’m not where I need to be. That took the fun out of racing for me. With that; I’ve recently stopped running with music, stopped starring down at my Garmin constantly to take the pressure off myself & just focusing on listening to my body & running the best race I can. The start was a little crowded which helped me to pace myself for the first mile – keeping it at 7:43! The rain was coming down but with the high humidity, it just felt perfect!! At mile 2; I was feeling good and I spotted Heather – a fellow instagrammer on the course so I ran beside her and said hello!! We saw one another out on the course at Runapalooza in April, but never actually met so it was so great to see her!! I continued on pushing through the humidity & enjoying the rain falling on me; keeping me cool!! I crossed the mile 2 mark at 7:39. As we headed into mile 3 and approached the Belmar boardwalk; we were greeted by a large group of people cheering for us!! I was feeling determined & loving these cooler temps! We ran through a bit of wind as we ran along the ocean, but I pushed through strong holding a 7:43/mile pace. With just 2 miles left; I looked down at my watch and knew the chance of running a PR was pretty good!!! I stood clear of focusing on the time on my watch prior to this to keep from stressing myself. I was determined; pushing the pace crossing the mile 4 mark at 7:38/mile pace. I was feeling good!! I said to myself “1 mile left Mere; you’ve got this!” I focused on staying strong as my Sparklet bracelet from Momentum Jewelry says and you know what – I did!!!
I ran mile 5 at a 7:26/mile pace crossed the finish line with an overall pace of 7:37/mile!!! This was huge for me; not only a course PR (shaving over 3 minutes off of last years time) but a new 5 mile PR!
I managed to run negative splits and place 11th/ 165 females 35 – 39 years old, 76th/1,216 women and 355th/2,438 overall!! I was so proud! After the race; I ran into Heather, we chatted and of course took some pics as we Instagram folks do!
She told me of a post race BBQ for all runners at a local Bar/Restaurant in town so hubby and I decided to go!! Each person received their choice of a hot dog or hamburger platter! We also received a medal & a flower at the finish-line, a T-shirt and a Belmar 5 souvenir cup for the races 40th anniversary!!
Hubby and I hung out and just relaxed for a few hours; it was so nice!!
Overall it was a wonderful day; I earned my 53rd medal & put my 84th race in the books!
Although it tends to be a hot one every year; this is one of my favorite races along the Jersey Shore & I will definitely be back next year!!!
And… my car is ready – talk about using time wisely!! Thanks for reading!
Do you go into every race with a time goal? Do you enjoy running in the rain as much as I do? Do you race with music?
Thoughts? Please share.
Next up – Boomer’s Cystic Fibrosis – Run to Breathe – 4 miler – NYRR – NYC (already ran it – recap coming soon).
Thank you as always for following my journey!!! Mere @meretherunner14
meretherunner14 