Catching up with weekend 5k

Well, Saturday I opted for a 5K race instead of the usual 8 - 9 mile long run. Actually, I was thinking that I could get close with my warm up and cool down. But when it came to the actual race, it was harder than I thought it would be. I ran hard enough starting out, but it was soon apparent that it was too hard. First I warmed up running 1.2 miles in 9:39, which included a couple of 30 second pick ups at the end. Then I stood around and talked, probably too long. Well, whatever. It actually turned into the first race where I actually talked with other people. The first was Keith Pohl, whom I worked with at Crown. He was down here helping run the race with the timing equipment that they use for the Minster Oktoberfest 10K. Then I ran into Scott Bowyer before the race and talked with him some after the race. Apparently he hadn't run any races since the July 4 Freedom Run either. And after the race I talked some with Anthony (and I don't remember his last name).

Ok, the actual race. I started off pretty good, but turned out that it was a bit too fast. My first mile was 6:56! There were some hills, and I just couldn't keep it up. By the 2nd mile I was at 14:48. I was struggling just to keep myself going, although at the end I did find enough inside me for the final push across the line. I finished in 23:44, for a finish that was 54 seconds slower than my PR at the Freedom Run. It wasn't bad. It was definitely warmer and there were the hills that turned into killers. But hey, I ended up 2nd in my age group, which is something. I'm just wondering how next month's 5k in Tipp City will end up.

Today I ran 4 miles easy. 4.07 miles in 35:22 for a pace of 8:41 (goal pace 9:10). This week is supposed to be a transition to increasing my mileage, so it is just 4 miles easy each time. I'm thinking of doing at least 8 miles on Saturday, though. Because of the 5k and the tiredness that kept me from running any more on Saturday, I ended up with a 16 mile week instead of 20. That's not a bad thing, but I'd like to get 20 miles more regularly now (like instead of 1 week in a row!)

Doing the 5K was good too, because it gives me an idea for next month. I'll have to try to apply myself more on the speedwork/tempo days to make my goal of bettering my July 4 time. And on race day I need to remember to run my own race ... maintain the pace that I need to run instead of trying to keep up with the others around me. I think that made me run too fast starting out, and when they all pulled away from me, it was just a downer. But it was a good race, and I'm glad I did it. No worries, just keep plodding on ....