First 10K. Done. McAllister Park is known for its trails, but I didn't assume this race would be run on them. I assumed wrong. Even though the trails were paved, all the twists and turns led to some random splits. Still, I enjoyed myself.
I arrived at the park around 6:40 and immediately went and registered. Given the flag theme, the shirt was what I expected. I threw the bib and bag in the car and started my warm-up. I ran the opening 0.5 of the course and knew I was going to have to work harder. The course was twisted and there were even a couple of cut-backs. Sigh. I ran back to the car.
Only a mile worth of running and my singlet was drenched in sweat. The humidity was at 87%. Ugh. I decided then to run shirtless. After stretching and doing a couple of warm-up strides, I went over to talk with Matt and met a guy named Lance. Matt signed up for the 5K, so I expected him to run balls to the wall from the start (at 50, dude runs mid 18s). Lance told me he intended to run 6:40s, so I decided I would pace him. He seemed pretty fit.
Although the race was fairly small, it attracted quite a few strong runners. I came in wanting to run something close to my last 4-mile tempo (6:37 pace). If I could run a conservative opening 5K, I didn't think this would be a problem -- there would be someone to reel in towards the end. We all lined up at the front and waited for the guy holding the watch to say "go." He did. We went.
The first mile was the same: jostle for position and let the too-fast crowd have their glory. I tried to keep on Lance's shoulder, but he was starting to pull away. Although we were in the high 6:20s, he said he felt good. I held back and focused on steady breathing and a comfortable stride. Something around 6:35 or so. That's when the trail started to twist and turn and I dropped off the pace. Still, I was doing OK.
I was passed at mile 2 by a strong looking Masters runner. After a lot more twisting and turning, we emerged from the woods to a long straightaway. I opened up a bit here and dropped the pace down towards the 6:20s again, but it didn't last long as we had to cut back 180 degrees after about a 1/4 mile or so. For some reason, that threw everything off. It took me a while to get my turnover going after coming to a near dead stop.
I crossed the 5K mark at almost exactly 20:45. I was hoping to rock a sub 20:30, but I had run too conservatively. Despite this realization, however, I continued to run defensively for the next two miles.
Around mile 4.5 or so, I caught up to 3 runners. One of them was that older guy who passed me at mile 2, and the others were a couple of guys who passed me at the start. I was pushing the pace, but could tell they were trying to fend me off. I hung back during the woody section and remained patient. As soon as we emerged into the straightaways, though, I made my move. I picked off an older runner first, and then set my sights on a guy who looked like he could be in my age group. As we approached the cut-back, he swung far out and I took the inside. I immediately burst into a sprint to pull away, but he surprisingly slowed to a jog (as if letting me pass). Runner 2 -- down. There was only one left.
I knew I had left a lot out there as I started to drop the pace down into the 6:00-10 range comfortably. I was pumping my arms, breathing hard, and closing the distance. With about 0.2 miles to go, he turned around and saw me. As my element of surprise was gone, I had no choice but to drop the hammer. I pushed it to 5:20ish pace, but so had he. As he had a 50 meter lead on me, I knew I was going to have to dig REAL deep. Although I eventually got within 10 meters, I knew it wasn't going to be enough. If I really wanted to beat him, I thought, I should have ran harder earlier. With 20 meters left to the finish, I gave up the pursuit.
I ended up running a 20:27 closing 5K and although the fastest split was the last mile, I was too apprehensive. I treated this like I was running a 10-miler. Whatevs. Good to have an actual 10K PR. Now it's time to break it.
41:14 – PR
I arrived at the park around 6:40 and immediately went and registered. Given the flag theme, the shirt was what I expected. I threw the bib and bag in the car and started my warm-up. I ran the opening 0.5 of the course and knew I was going to have to work harder. The course was twisted and there were even a couple of cut-backs. Sigh. I ran back to the car.
Only a mile worth of running and my singlet was drenched in sweat. The humidity was at 87%. Ugh. I decided then to run shirtless. After stretching and doing a couple of warm-up strides, I went over to talk with Matt and met a guy named Lance. Matt signed up for the 5K, so I expected him to run balls to the wall from the start (at 50, dude runs mid 18s). Lance told me he intended to run 6:40s, so I decided I would pace him. He seemed pretty fit.
Although the race was fairly small, it attracted quite a few strong runners. I came in wanting to run something close to my last 4-mile tempo (6:37 pace). If I could run a conservative opening 5K, I didn't think this would be a problem -- there would be someone to reel in towards the end. We all lined up at the front and waited for the guy holding the watch to say "go." He did. We went.
The first mile was the same: jostle for position and let the too-fast crowd have their glory. I tried to keep on Lance's shoulder, but he was starting to pull away. Although we were in the high 6:20s, he said he felt good. I held back and focused on steady breathing and a comfortable stride. Something around 6:35 or so. That's when the trail started to twist and turn and I dropped off the pace. Still, I was doing OK.
I was passed at mile 2 by a strong looking Masters runner. After a lot more twisting and turning, we emerged from the woods to a long straightaway. I opened up a bit here and dropped the pace down towards the 6:20s again, but it didn't last long as we had to cut back 180 degrees after about a 1/4 mile or so. For some reason, that threw everything off. It took me a while to get my turnover going after coming to a near dead stop.
I crossed the 5K mark at almost exactly 20:45. I was hoping to rock a sub 20:30, but I had run too conservatively. Despite this realization, however, I continued to run defensively for the next two miles.
Around mile 4.5 or so, I caught up to 3 runners. One of them was that older guy who passed me at mile 2, and the others were a couple of guys who passed me at the start. I was pushing the pace, but could tell they were trying to fend me off. I hung back during the woody section and remained patient. As soon as we emerged into the straightaways, though, I made my move. I picked off an older runner first, and then set my sights on a guy who looked like he could be in my age group. As we approached the cut-back, he swung far out and I took the inside. I immediately burst into a sprint to pull away, but he surprisingly slowed to a jog (as if letting me pass). Runner 2 -- down. There was only one left.
I knew I had left a lot out there as I started to drop the pace down into the 6:00-10 range comfortably. I was pumping my arms, breathing hard, and closing the distance. With about 0.2 miles to go, he turned around and saw me. As my element of surprise was gone, I had no choice but to drop the hammer. I pushed it to 5:20ish pace, but so had he. As he had a 50 meter lead on me, I knew I was going to have to dig REAL deep. Although I eventually got within 10 meters, I knew it wasn't going to be enough. If I really wanted to beat him, I thought, I should have ran harder earlier. With 20 meters left to the finish, I gave up the pursuit.
I ended up running a 20:27 closing 5K and although the fastest split was the last mile, I was too apprehensive. I treated this like I was running a 10-miler. Whatevs. Good to have an actual 10K PR. Now it's time to break it.41:14 – PR
Overall – 10/204
Age Group – 3/18
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