The Flagler Avenue Business Association puts on a series of beach 5K races in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, each year. I participated in their July event, the Ice Cream Beach 5K, for the first time this year. The race is an out-and-back run on the hard-packed sand of NSB.
Training & Goals
I've been down on running, my weight loss efforts, and life in general for a few weeks. Unsurprisingly, I didn't have any time goal in mind. I hoped to keep up my regular run:walk intervals of 2:1 for the run.
Race Day: July 2, 2022
Arthur came with me on this hot, sunny day. We left home around 6:45 and found a parking spot on Flagler Avenue in time to walk to packet pickup, drop off my shirt at the car, and get back to the race in time for the 7AM start time. It was 77°F with 89% humidity at the start with hot sun beating down on the shadeless beach.
Mile 1: 13:17
I felt okay running from the start. After watching my footing and stepping through the soft sand at the beginning, the field headed towards the water, where the sand was hard-packed and very nice for running. I had to make myself take it slow.
Mile 2: 13:59
I started feeling really hot, so it was no trouble slowing down after the first mile. Still, I kept up my intervals, moving comically slowly during the runs. I kept telling myself I'd switch to 1:2 run:walk, but each time my watch told me to run, I did...
Mile 3+: 15:03, 1:09
... until mile 2.3, when my body was just done. I thought I'd try to jog a bit but each time my watch vibrated I just kept on walking. I shuffled a bit towards the end, and tried to sprint at the finish line but the soft sand made that difficult.
After the Race
I was mildly disappointed at the fatigue I felt, and that I couldn't keep up my run:walk intervals for the entire run, just 3 miles. I'm glad I was able to finish and I'm trying not to be too hard on myself. It was hot, and I haven't been consistently training. It's tough to reconcile the gratitude of listening to my body when it's time to slow down, and disappointment in not managing to meet my simple goal.
This ice cream themed race gave out Twistee Treat cups to runners at the finish line. I drank some water and inhaled my ice cream. I was bushed and Arthur was also feeling really hot so we didn't linger at all after the run.
Recommendation
This race offers a standard cotton shirt and simple finisher medal, plus ice cream at the finish line. The water stop was well-stocked and it's fun to run on the beach. At $25 before fees this is an affordable race.
Chip time: 43:24
Placement details: 12/30 in Age Group; 256th out of 405 finishers
Race Amenities: Cotton race shirt, finisher medal
Cost: $29.63
Branded photo (c) Almost There Photography
Addendum 1/20/23: I gave this shirt away (Goodwill) in January 2023
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