Icebreaker 5 Mile Race Review

Finally... I ran in an actual RACE! haha!

It's been ages since I've run in a race. I think my last one was last October when I did a local Bozeman 5K with Jeff and family. That was in my big break from blogging, so there's no review. There just aren't a ton of races near where we live in Montana. But today, I bring you a race review, because I actually did a race! So, sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy this recap of the Icebreaker 5 Mile Race!

Jeff and I had been talking about doing the 5 Mile race at the Icebreaker in Great Falls for a while, and had both been training for it. It was always sort of a loose plan, though. We had just decided that it would be a last minute decision depending on the weather and where we were at with seeding. Basically, if it was raining at home, we could do go down and do the race. When Jeff texted me on Saturday evening (I was on the bus home from Missoula with the track team) saying that he thought we were a go for Icebreaker, I was a little surprised. Honestly, after being gone on a trip with the track team on Friday and Saturday, and getting home at a little after midnight Saturday night, I was ready to bag it and stay home from the Icebreaker. But, I knew that we had been training for this race, and that Jeff really wanted to do it, and I knew I'd feel good about having done it once it was finished. Off we went!

We had planned to pick up our friend and neighbor Brett along the way and carpool, but about four miles from our house, we heard a loud POP and our tire pressure light came on. We had a flat tire! Thankfully, Brett was able to drive up and pick us up. Damned gravel roads!!!

Flat tire. Cue sad trombone music.

We still made it to Great Falls (2.5 hour drive from our house) in plenty of time to register for the race, which Jeff and I still had to do. One great thing about Icebreaker is that it is very economical. It's only $20 (or $22 on race day), which I think is a steal. It's a high quality, well-organized race on a nice course with plenty of support, and you get a really cool long-sleeve t-shirt and a sack lunch afterwards. I think it's a bargain.

The Icebreaker is a very popular race and attracts people from all over the state. This year, the weather was cool and humid, hovering between 45 and 50, with the slightest of drizzles falling at times. I think many fair-weather runners stayed home this year. It seemed overall like the race had fewer participants than in past years when I've done it. However, I've always done the 3-mile, the most popular distance, and this year we did the 5-mile. Icebreaker also offered a 3-mile race and a 1-mile race. Even though it was cool and slightly drizzly, the weather was really pretty ideal for racing this year. Not hot, no glaring sun, and no wind!

With the cool temps, I debated on how to dress. I ended up with knickers (Oiselle KC Knickers), my Oiselle Volee jersey and Oiselle Verra bra, and an old UnderArmor quarter zip. Rounding out my look with my new favorite HankOrange headband. I should seriously do a blog review just on these headbands. I love them! I also wore my Brooks Glycerin shoes, which I absolutely love. In the end, I felt like I had the perfect layers.

Flat Katie.

I spent quite a bit of time warming up, since it was cool, and I know that I perform way better after a solid warmup. I jogged an easy mile in my sweats before ditching them for some dynamic stretching, form running, and short excels. Then it was time to hit the bathroom again before taking to the starting line.  Another great thing about this race is the start at the Civic Center- plenty of access to REAL BATHROOMS before the race gets started!

Great Falls Civic Center, just behind the start line for the race.

Jeff and I started the race together. Our friend Brett is way faster than both of us, so he went up near the front and we found a place in the middle of the pack.

Pre-race photo! Jeff looks great. I look drunk, which I'm not.

We ran a together for a just a little bit before each settling in to our own paces. I wanted to get ahead of some of the pack, so I sped up to get around a few people, but really worked hard to not go out too fast, which is something I've had a problem with in the past. At the end of the first mile, my split was 8:17. Only slightly faster than my overall pace of 8:30, so I was happy with that.

Crowd support at the beginning of the race was pretty good! Also, you can see a lot of people wearing their white, Beat the Chill t-shirts, which was the official race shirt this year. 

The 5-Mile course is really nice. Overall it's flat, and it goes out over the Missouri River across one of the bridges for a short loop on the west side of the river.

Here's an image of the 5-mile route, which I took as a screenshot from my Strava app.

At this point in the course, you get to see the Elites run back toward you on their way back from the lollipop portion of the course. It was really, really cool to see them heading back, and very motivating. I cheered for several of them, and cheered especially hard for Heather Lieberg, a Oiselle-sponsored Elite, as she ran by me. She gave me a slight wave and smile, which made my day!

There's the first-place male Elite.

If you look closely, you can see Heather Lieberg hitting Mile 3 just before I hit Mile 2.
Heather ended up as 2nd place Female.

Mile 2 was 8:31. Mile 3 was 8:26.

Once we headed back across the river, I felt like I was really struggling in mile four. My hip was feeling a bit tight and I was battling a slight sideache. I worked really hard to even out my breathing and coordinate it to my strides, which really helped. I was a little bit off pace but it wasn't as bad as it seemed. Mile 4 was 8:35.

I tried to give a little surge as my fifth mile began, but it didn't last long. I think the long weekend was catching up to me. I really struggled to find anything left in the tank at this point, but managed to hold on to a fairly even pace. Once I turned the last corner and saw the Finish Line (from about half a mile away) I buckled down and pushed it in to the line. Mile 5 was 8:38.

If you squint, you can see the Finish line up there.
You can see it from about half a mile away, which is torture...

When I was thinking about this race, I made myself my usual Good, Better, Best goals. My Good goal was under 46 minutes. My Better goal was under 45, and my Best goal was under 43. I guess you could say I hit my Best goal right on the money- my official finish time was right at 43:00. The race was chip timed, so it should be pretty accurate. I'm really happy with my time overall. I've never raced a 5-Mile before, so it counts as a PR, right!? You can check out full results HERE. In the 5-Mile, I was 9 out of 36 in my age group, 157 out of 411 total runners, and 51 out of 208 females.

I did run with my phone and my Strava app turned on. Strava had my time as 42:48 for an 8:30 average pace. It also told me that I had my best ever 1-Mile time within the race at 8:14, best 2-Mile at 16:47, and best 5K at 26:08. My best overall 5K PR in a race is 26:10, so I feel really good about running at about that same pace within a 5-Mile race. I'm feeling confident about getting a 5K PR sometime this year, and I think this shows that I'm on track to do that.

After the race, we picked up our sack lunches and then hit up a few of our favorite eateries in Great Falls for some post-race refueling and celebratory beers-- Celtic Cowboy and Mighty Mo. Both were excellent, and the perfect way to cap off a great race before getting in the car for the drive home.

Even though I wasn't feeling it before the race, I'm really happy with my time and happy overall that we came down and did it. I'm even more happy for Jeff who had a really good time as well. I'm so proud of his progress and hard work in fitness and running, and I think the race affirmed this for him, too. As he crossed the line, looking strong, he gave me a big fist pump and I knew he was happy. I love that we can do these things together. Racing together is becoming a really nice tradition in our marriage, which I really love.

Because Icebreaker is a big deal in Great Falls, the local news stations where definitely on site. See if you can spot Jeff in this video at about the 00:26 mark:
http://www.krtv.com/story/31803328/runners-compete-in-annual-ice-breaker-road-race

What's next for Jeff and I in the running and racing world? We are talking about coming down to do the Ulm Buffalo Jump Trail 10K on Sunday, May 15. This one has been on my list for a few years now but I haven't had the chance to do it. Again, it will be a last minute decision based on weather and how we are doing with farming and seeding. One week after the Ulm races, on May 22, our local high school Volleyball team is putting on a 5K Color Run in Rudyard as a fundraiser. You KNOW Jeff and I will be hitting that up! Stay tuned for reviews and updates about training and competing in these events!

Anyone else have any spring races penciled in?! 
Did you race over the weekend?

Jeff and I with our finisher ribbons!