March was a bummer of a month, so a week ago, I decided to sign up for the All Day 20K, hoping I could race myself out of the funk.

I’d planned on going solo, but Liv was up at 5 AM on Sunday.  I’m sure Jared would’ve loved to sleep in, but being the best hubby and daddy in the world that he is, he packed up the car without a second thought, and the three of us were on our way to the race!

The Carlsbad 5000 is such a huge event it’s broken up into several heats:

• 7:00 AM – Men 40+
• 7:56 AM – Women 40+
• 8:43 AM – Men & Women 30-39 years old
• 9:30 AM – Men & Women 29 and under

The All Day 20K allows runners to run all four 5Ks.

Sidenote: There were a bunch of other races on Saturday, too, including a 1-Mile race, and several Junior races from “Diaper Dash” on up.  Since I work Saturdays, we didn’t sign-up Liv for the 3-year-old’s Toddler Trot, but I think we have to get her in next year’s 1/4-mile race.  She is definitely ready!

Jared and Liv dropped me off to search for parking, while I ran all over the place before I finally found where to get my bib.  I lined up for the first race and scrolled through my Garmin to find my 5K PR – 22:13 was the time to beat!

Right at 7:00 AM, the race started, and I went out fast.  It wasn’t until I was struggling through the third mile that I started wondering if it was stupid to be pushing so hard in the first of four races… but it was too late.

• Mile 1 – 7:00
• Mile 2 – 6:48
• Mile 3 – 6:55
• 5K #1 – 21:40  (6:59/mile)

I was stoked to PR!  But as I walked from the Finish Line back to the Start for 5K #2, I felt beat.  I tried to give myself a pep talk: when doing speedwork, the first interval’s always the hardest… But I was pretty sure that was my best performance of the day.  Oh well!

I’d spotted Jared & Liv towards the beginning of the first race, but didn’t see them again until the end of the second race, which I ran a bit “easier,” and some nice negative splits!

• Mile 1 – 7:47
• Mile 2 – 7:28
• Mile 3 – 7:15
• 5K #2 – 23:25  (7:33/mile)

The third race – 30-39 year olds – was the only one that counted for me for age group placement, so I tried to kick it up a notch, but came in more than a minute slower than the first 5K.  Again, oh well.

I got a “First 250” medal for placing 60th of 964 women, which Liv was excited about for a minute.  Then, she just wanted another banana, ha!

• Mile 1 – 7:28
• Mile 2 – 7:14
• Mile 3 – 7:16
• 5K #3 – 22:48  (7:21/mile)

By the fourth race, my legs were heavy and sore, but I took off, aiming for sub-24:00, and dreaming about brunch… On the final stretch, I could see I wasn’t going to make it, so I scooped up Liv and jogged across the Finish Line with her in my arms.

• Mile 1 – 8:01
• Mile 2 – 7:49
• Mile 3 – 7:36
• 5K #4 – 24:20  (7:50/mile)

It won’t be much longer that I can carry my “baby” across finish lines, so I tried to soak it up.  Liv was just over-the-moon about all the goodies in the finisher’s area, filling my arms with bananas, fruit cups, and KIND bars, before we headed to Naked Cafe for brunch.

To cap-off an already awesome Sunday Funday, we finished brunch just in time to see the elite women zoom by, running 4:50-per-mile.  Absolutely mind blowing!

My goal was to get my “mojo” back, which I think I accomplished!  It definitely helped having my biggest fans there to share in the excitement, because running back-to-back races is always harder than I expect it to be.  Nonetheless, it’s such a fun, one-of-a-kind race experience, which I’d love to be a part of every year!

• Official Finish:  1:32:13  (7:25/mile)
• Overall:  35th out of 268
• Gender:  8th out of 130

Now, I’ve just got to keep the fire going to make April Awesome, with three weeks of peak training ahead!  (But first, a rest day, ha!)

What does your perfect “Sunday Funday” look like?  What are your goals for April?