Deutsche Post Ladies Run 5 km

Feature image attribution: Deutsche Post Ladies Run

What an amazing race! My goal was to finish under 30 minutes but I didn’t want to push it too hard, my heart rate was quite high during the run, it started raining of course right before the race and the ground was slippery. I ran the entire race, no breaks and no walks. In the end I finished in 35:33 and came on position 180 out of 284. I am happy with my time considering that I haven’t really trained for this run. 😃👍

How I prepared for the race

• On the night before – light high carb dinner and prepare running gear.
• 6 hours before the race – carb loading for breakfast with muesli, banana, milk.
• 5 hours before the race: 30-minute rehab session with foam rolling and static stretching.
• 3 hours before the race: carb loading for lunch with porridge with berries.
• 2 hours before the race: getting ready.
• 1 hour before the race: drive to the race.
• 30 minutes before the race: one last bathroom visit.
• 15 minutes before the race: line up to the starting line.

The race

The last minutes were fun, we did a warm up together. We jumped and danced and partied!

I think I was too optimistic because I stood in the fast group, 5 km under 30 minutes or 10 km under 60 minutes. As soon as we started the run many passed by but I tried not to be influenced by the faster runners. I focused on my breath, on my pace and I made sure not to go over the maximum allowed heart rate. I have met many of them later in the race out of breath, complaining of side stitches and having to walk instead of run. I learned my lesson in my first run a few years ago when I did the same mistake to start too fast and burn out too soon.

The crowd was amazing, cheering and clapping us on. In some places it was what kept me going, what kept me from slowing down to a walk. The second half of the race was tougher and the last kilometer was so hard but I gathered my last power in the last 100 m before the finish line and I sprinted to the finish.

After the race I did a short cooldown walk, some static stretches and had some free snacks: alcohol-free beer, magnesium water and banana.

Looking back, the preparations and carb-loading was a great idea, I had power throughout the race and I didn’t feel any pain in my legs and muscles.

Finally the best way to recover from a race is with nice warm bath after arriving home and a delicious BBQ for dinner. 😉