Saturday, May 2, 2009

5 kilometers of fun


5K UPDATE - Official Results are in: 26:34 (8:33 Pace). Finished in top 20% and placed 2nd in my age division.
---------------------------------------------------------
I've completed my second race in as many weeks and I'm very happy to report that it was another great experience. They haven't posted the official results but (by my calculations) I finished with an 8:31 pace. There was some drizzle about 30 minutes before the start but by the time we took off it was dry and clear. I wore a very light, waterproof but breathable running jacket that my wife encouraged me to buy at the Super Runners Shop booth at the Health and Fitness Exposition. The Expo was located adjacent to the race check-in area. I decided to wear this jacket even though it wasn't raining at the start and I regretted that near the end of the race when I started to get hot. It didn't make any difference in terms of my performance and I was relatively strong by the end of the race, much more so than the 4 mile race on the 19th. The differences between those races explains that as the 4 miler had some formidable hills and was a mile longer. Rounding out my gear, I wore a dry wicking running hat, my Pearl Izumi running shorts and a couple of items that AG gave me, some Merino wool socks that provided the extra cushioning I needed for my aging Nikes and a Nike Fit jersey that did a great job of keeping me dry.

Joining me this morning was my friend RDV who was running in his first race. My wife and kids served as the cheering section for both of us and there was a lot of excitement as we waited for the race to begin. There were a couple of short speeches and then we were sent off at the sound of an air horn. I started faster than I'd thought I'd go but I felt good and I was still cool so I figured that I could dial it back if I felt like I had been too aggressive. I passed a lot of people over the first half mile and most of them stayed passed throughout the race. Unlike the 4 mile race I also passed a few runners near the end. I was surprised when I saw the mile 1 clock reading 8:25 and I worried about sustaining that pace. My Garmin failed me again and for the second time it recorded time but did not display distance. I tried to start and stop it which had worked once before but it was a lost cause today. There was no clock at the two and three mile marks so I didn't know my splits but I had a feeling that I was doing well.

As I came around the final bend and saw our starting point I began to really enjoy myself knowing that I was about two or three minutes to the finish line. The race ended with a run through the stadium at the Mitchel Athletic Complex and I was pleased that I still had enough energy to push my speed for the last 100 meters. Looking up at the clock I was surprised to see that I came in well under 27 minutes which was my goal for the race. My friend RDV finished a couple of minutes behind me and he also exceed his pace goal.

So that was the day and I am happy to have completed one of my 2009 race goals (running at least 3 miles under 8:40/mile) and I'm halfway through my goal of completing four races this year. I want to start working on distance now so that I can run a 10K and be more comfortable on longer runs. But that will have to start next week, I'm going to relax the rest of today and maybe even tomorrow. I want to thank my family, my friends and my my blog mates who have been so supportive. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning. I'll post the official results when I get 'em.

4 comments:

  1. That looks like an extremely strong finish! I hope you're having fun celebrating another goal met. Perhaps with some Sam Adams?

    I'm happy to report that my ankle held up for 3.5 miles of running today, in spite of pain while walking around this morning. I had to try a run because the fear of not being able to was eating at me too much.

    I'm heading to Lululemon now for a Mother's Day gift and to make sure there's a group run Tuesday morning.

    Here's to new goals and longer distances!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's great about your ankle, that you could handle that distance on it. I prescribe lots of ice and and an anti-inflammatory. No Sam Adams yet but maybe tonight. I'm almost afraid to tell CK that I placed in my age division since he's a far better runner than I and has never done that!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great finish, congratulations. I on the other hand was spent after 45 minutes of yard work yesterday :-)
    I will celebrate on your behalf with a Sam Adams today!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I don't do yard work so I have to run to keep in shape!

    ReplyDelete

Comments will appear only after passing review. Any comments that promote or link to commercial products will be rejected.

 

blogger templates | Webtalks