My best 5k time coming in was 22:07, set last fall. I've been questioning the length of that race, thinking that it might have been a little short - especially after running a disappointing 22:53 in the first race of the year, which was Easter weekend. But who knows... when I set the 5k PR I was right at the end of my training for Muskoka 70.3, so maybe I was fit enough to go 22:07 - I don't know.
For this race I really wanted to go under 22 minutes. I'd only have to drop 8 seconds from last fall, but I'd have to drop almost a minute compared to earlier this year. I was feeling confident after my solid mile repeats earlier in the week.
Ok, rant time -- ever since I've regularly been running these races, I try to defer at the starting line to anyone who is faster... which is usually at least 25% of the racers (I do the same thing at the start of a tri). I do this out of respect of their ability, and the fact that it can be tough to pass a bunch of slow runners on a narrow roadway if you're racing for a podium spot (which I am not). I also don't want to get steamrolled by a Kenyan, but that's just me. So why, why, WHY do first-time racers and the rest of the over 40-minute 5k club feel the need to have their toes right on the starting line? I mean, seriously - we've got 450 bodies crammed into one lane on the street, ready for a furious sprint to get position at the first corner... and when the gun goes off you settle right into your 11 minute per mile pace. Bad times. Listen, I know how exciting it can be to do your first race - it is a great accomplishment, and I hope you remain in the sport. I also know that even though you will take 40 minutes to complete it, you paid your entry fee just like I did... I have no special standing in life or in 5k races. But think of it from a safety perspective - it's akin to merging your car onto a 4-lane highway while still doing city speeds... the chance of getting run over from behind is huge. And even if the person directly behind you avoids your rear (and your heels), the danger still remains behind that person, and the next, and so on. It's literally a chain-reaction pile-up behind you, even though you trot away from it chatting with your running partner. Bottom line: get your ass further back in the crowd for the start. Just think of how many more people there will be to chat with. Ok - rant complete.
The gun goes off, and so do I... right into a crowd of 11 minute per mile joggers. I spend the first 30 or 40 seconds avoiding the heels of those in front of me while trying to be polite, smile, nod, and not bump into anyone and get around them as quickly as possible. After what seems like an eternity, I'm finally in some open space and I try to pick it up a little. The first km goes by in about 4:10 - beauty, although likely a little hard to maintain for me. Screw it, only 5k. Push on!
Things thin out a little, and suddenly we're at the 2k marker - about 8:30... slowed a little, but I didn't expect to be able to hold the starting pace. Coming up on the turn-around point, I get a look at the leaders. I always love watching these dudes (and chicks) run. Sooo fast, such perfect form. Dig it! And then they are gone. Ok, this is where the report takes a bit of a sucky turn... I don't know my time at the 3k mark. I can only say it was "12-something." I think. Really close to 13 minutes. Could it have been in the 13's? Sure, I guess. Lame, I know. I don't have a Garmin or any other GPS watch, and the Polar HR monitor I wear doesn't have a lap button to push... I have to go my memory, and I really thought I'd remember.
Things slowed a little between the 3rd and 4th km - due in part to a pair of steepish (but very short) hills, and due in part to me getting damn tired. I hit the 4k marker at about 17:50, and using my highly polished math skills I knew that getting under 22 minutes would be tough... and that really pissed me off. So I started picking it up... I mean really picking it up. I knew from the run out that at least half of the final km would be uphill. Nothing steep... just a very gradual climb that can slow you a little if you're not paying attention. So I planned on pushing through that with pretty much everything I had left... which wasn't much by that point.
But it was enough... I ran the final km in under 4 minutes to cross the line in 21:48 - a new Dan-world record! And then I had a free ice cream bar. Good times.
Next up for me is an Olympic tri this weekend... supposedly a very flat course. But sometimes the swim is cancelled because of high waves. I would think that would make the bike course a little windy, wouldn't you? Wind... my nemesis, at least until the turn-around point... as usual, time will tell.
No comments:
Post a Comment