Result: 18:20 for first female
The 5k has long been my nemesis. My body does not appreciate faster speeds and I seem to have an especially strong central governor that will shut down my pace without me even knowing it. Alright, lets call it what it is. I'm a little lazy. Half marathon/marathon pace doesn't hurt and I would prefer to not hurt. I've run something like a couple dozen 5ks on the road and the track in the 19:30 to 20:30 range and never have I felt like I pulled off an even paced, honest effort. Most of my college races were reluctant attempts to stick to an embarrassingly modest lap pace that I would back off of as soon as the second mile boredom/dread set in. My thoughts went sort of like this: "I hate this, I hate this, I hate this. Fuck you lap times. I don't care." Workout after workout would predict a high 18 to low 19 5k but those times never happened. Similarly, I've been doing weekly track workouts for the past year that predict a low 18 5k but with the several attempts I have put out, 18:44 is the best I've been able to clock.
Going into the annual Twin Sizzler 5k I knew I needed an 18:20 to pr on the short course. As it turned out, the course is not very short this year since they backed up the starting line. About 3.09 instead of last year's 3.05. I did not consider that I might be trying for the win but I thought second or third would be doable. I knew there would be someone around me to race. This 5k usually brings out the local fasties!
I was terribly nervous about this race. Local races are fun but the nerves do me in beforehand. Felt pretty sick and antsy hanging out at Second Sole beforehand. Did my warmup and drills on the same route that I used for the Medina Half. The one bright spot, literally, were my beautiful new Saucony Endorphin Racers. They are elite road racing shoes with a super light upper and slim sole. They will only be pulled out for mile and 5k races so they don't get torn up. They feel good, but it is all about the looks with them. I need to coordinate an outfit for them for my road mile race in August.
I lined up in the third row behind all the speedy guys. I didn't want to go out too fast. Dylan and Ian were in the front row and they ended up in the 15:30s and 15:50s. I don't need to be anywhere near them at the start! The first 400 meters were quite relaxed for me. I settled into a pace that felt reasonable, but there were no other women ahead of me. I was disconcerted by this, but knew I was not running too fast. After about a half mile, Jillian from Ashland University pulled up beside me. "Okay, lets race," is the thought that I have when this happens. I don't say anything of course. I immediately picked up the pace and pulled ahead but she did not go with me. She was breathing pretty heavily and we were on the uphill. I went through the mile in 5:53 and felt comfortable. Some Buckeye kids were reading off the splits and I waved at them as I went by. Turned into the neighborhoods and tried to keep up the pace but I certainly slowed for the second mile. I went through the 2 mile in 12:00 flat. I felt okay at this point, but not nearly as comfortable. Fortunately there is a huge downhill in the third mile, leading to the uphill on the square. I knew I was running somewhere in the 5:50s at that point. At the sharp right turn down the brick road section I looked behind me and far behind was the second girl. I backed off the pace just a bit, since I was feeling rough. The true 5k pain didn't hit until I started up the hill to the square. I felt like my legs were churning as fast as I could but I was going nowhere. I got a little panicky that the second girl might catch me. As I came in sight of the clock I could hardly believe that there was a 17 on it still. I've never seen that number at the end of a 5k. I made it in at 18:20 and did a celebratory fist pump for my time. I was purely happy after this race. This time puts me firmly in the sub 3:00 marathon range. I have the speed in my legs to run a 2:xx 26.2 and I plan on making it happen.
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| I was a little excited. Photo credit: John J. McCarroll |
Results:
https://results.chronotrack.com/event/results/event/event-12626?entryID=15915503&interval_time=1368590&fb_ref=Default
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