Runnin' Through Soda City

Hey friends, it's been awhile since I've had a race recap for you... over six months? I feel y'all are way overdue for one!

This weekend was my first good run in months and it couldn't have been better timed. I've got 5Ks lined up every Saturday in March and starting the first of those races off on a good note was awesome.

Special shout out to all of y'all that helped me pick which race to run this past Saturday! If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen my indecision about which race to run this past weekend and those of y'all that did see it had the chance to help me decide which race to run.

Most of you said the same thing: go for the harder race and challenge myself for a better time... and go for the bling. What can I say? It seems like y'all appreciate a good race medal as much as I do.

Mile 1

{8:26 / mile}

The first mile of this race is so awesome. You start out on the Sumter Street side of the State House and head away from it towards Blossom Street. The whole first mile is a free fall down from the State House to Five Points and you can't help but throw down a quick mile. Knowing the pain that was gong to come in mile 2, I made sure to let gravity help me out a bit so I could bank time for what was surely going to be a slower middle mile.

Mile 2

{10:05 / mile}

The hill on this mile wasn't as terrible as I remembered it being from last year. Sure, I'd prefer not to run up out of Five Points any direction, but there are worse streets to run up {Barnwell, I'm looking at you!} It's a sharp, steep, short climb up Laurens Street but it ends pretty quickly if you can just hang on for a little bit. From there on out it's smooth sailing on flat streets around the downtown area.

Mile 3

{9:15 / mile}

The last half mile of this race is what makes this race one of the most unique ones in Columbia and in my opinion, the most fun. When you make the final turn on Main Street, you get to run straight through the middle of Soda City Market. There are people cheering you on and plenty of cool things to look at along the way as you race down to the street to the steps of the State House. I didn't spend my time checking out the market though. I was too busy looking at my watch to see what my time was.

I knew that if I could hold my pace, I would finish under 29 minutes and either tie my time from last year or be a couple of seconds faster. "Look What You Made Me Do" popped up on my playlist too and provided enough motivation and energy to get me across the finish line in an awesome time!

Final Results

Watch Time - 28:54

Chip Time - 28:51 

Pace - 9:19 / mile

Age Group - 4/16

Gender - 33/157

Overall - 87/264

I finished the run officially in 28:55 last year, so I beat my time by 4 seconds!

Better yet? The girl who finished 1st in the age group ended up finishing as a top 3 overall female which meant the she couldn't take home 1st in the age group... leaving 3rd place to me. 3rd place and a course PR? That's a successful Saturday to me.

Next up: BB&T Corporate Cup 5K in Charlotte this coming Saturday. I ran this race four years ago with a whole bunch of my coworkers and the only thing I remember about it was running it while recovering from a sinus infection. It wasn't pretty. Hoping that this year goes better!