This weekend, I ran a 5k with one of my friends who was trying to PR. I love running races with other people, especially when they are going for a PR, so I was game!
It’s starting to get hot down here in Texas (boo), so finding a race during this time of year was a little bit of a challenge, but we stumbled on the Deutschen Pfun Pfest 5k, which is held in Pflugerville (hence the Pf… yeah, it’s a thing).
I didn’t make it to the official race packet pick up, so we did it right before the race which was super simple and easy. It’s a small race — only about 300 people — which makes things a lot easier, and plus they seemed pretty organized.
So before we got started, we determined that our goal was to finish in under 30 minutes. We lined up, they played the Star Spangled Banner, and we were off! This is the first race I’ve ever run where we actually started a few minutes early.
The race runs through downtown Pflugerville area, and a few days before the race, my friend asked me if it was going to be hilly. I was like, uh no definitely not (thinking that since it’s in the middle of the town, that it would be somewhat flat). Yeah, no. There were some rolling hills so I was definitely eating my words with that. Oops.
Our first mile was a little fast — just under 9 minute pace — but the good thing about the hills is that it seemed like every time we went up, we went back down, which makes it a *little* easier to deal.
Mile two was a little rough (more hills + humidity setting in), but our pace still had us on track to hit the goal. And then we were in mile 3… This is the part I like about 5ks — before you know it, you’ve reached the part where you have “less than a mile to go.” This mile was still a little hilly, but I did like that you could hear the finish for the last quarter mile. Exactly what you need just to push it in!
We ended up finishing in 29:53… seven seconds under our goal! SUCCESS!
Overall, I thought it was a good race — well organized, cute shirts, a nice course (even with the hills :)) and a good time of year. They also have a kids 1k that they run after the 5k. I saw a few pictures from this, and it looked SO cute! If you are in the Plugerville area next year and looking for a 5k, I would definitely recommend checking out the Deutschen Pfun Pfest 5k!
Do you like 5ks? What’s your favorite race distance?
How do you choose a race? Past reviews, price, location?