Clover Classic 5K Race Report

I woke up this morning, tired and groggy. My parents got into town last night a few hours later than I had hoped, so my sleep was a little lacking. Luckily, I woke up a little bit as I ran to the race and did my warmup.

I did my usual pre-race scan. Look around for the competition. Who's it gonna be? Who are the fast guys? Who do I have to watch out for? I picked out five people that looked like they could give me a run for my money. They looked fast. Really fast. I was right about four of them.

They called us to the starting line. The national anthem never played, which I thought was kind of strange. I like hearing it before a race, it gets me focused. Oh well. No big deal.

Runners set. HHHOOOONNNKKKKK (air horn)!

Off we go.

I stuck with the lead pack for the first half a block or so. They looked fast, but my fitness is nothing to cough at either. Oh? Garmin says we're running 4:45 pace?

Time to back off. That's not happening today.

I pulled back a little bit. The lead pack pulled away, and there was nobody even close behind me. I'm still feeling pretty good. The pace is challenging, but manageable. Mile 1: 5:43.

For this next part of the race I was all alone. The lead pack had secured a significant gap, and nobody was very close behind me. This was me vs. myself. Nobody to push me except the voice that knew sub 18 was possible. At the mile and a half mark or so, we had the turnaround since this was a straight out and back course. I love an out and back race, since I get to cheer for people I know, and get some support in return. The way back was downhill, too, which was nice! Mile 2: 5:50.

During the last mile I was, surprisingly, still passing people going in the other direction. Mostly just walkers, some kids sprinting until they were tired, then gasping for air and doing it again. There were a few people smoking, which added a nice twist to the oxygen my lungs were so desperately craving. The end of this mile was pretty painful, but I still feel like I could have pushed harder. Mile 3: 5:37.

Finally, the end was in site. I saw my mom taking pictures from the side of the road, but a smile wasn't happening. I was focused. The picture she took isn't pretty, but it definitely shows I'm giving it all I got.

Time: 17:45
Avg HR: 184 bpm
Overall: 5th out of ??? (couple hundred?)
Age Group: 1st

All in all, I'm happy with what this race tells me. I'm in good shape, even better than I had thought a few days ago. Only 20 seconds off my PR back when I was training hard as ever back in July, despite taking 3 months off this winter. I still felt like I could have pushed harder. My average heart rate wasn't as high as it usually is for a 5k, and I just didn't feel as spent as usual at the end.

Everybody I knew got an award today. I got 1st in my age group. My dad got 3rd in his. Treacy and Shannon from TNT both got age group awards too, and I had to pick up a medal for a friend who left early! It was great that everybody had such a successful day, we got some pictures of all of us, too, which I'll be posting in a few days.

Even though it was a great race, I'm hungry for more. I'm capable of better. I have a PR waiting in the near future, if I can find another 5k that fits into my schedule. For now, though, it's back to training. Even if I'm capable of better, training is going to help me improve more than racing will.

Next up is the Splash & Dash (500yd swim / 5k run) in late March. I hope they're ready for me, because I'll be ready for them!

9 on the 9th -- Race Report

Waking up this morning was an experiment. The last few days I've had a bit of an illness going on, so I was nervous to see what today would bring. The verdict: I'm feeling 100%! Good timing, too, since this is the biggest race of the year so far!

I beat the sun to waking up this morning, in fact I had time to eat breakfast, get ready, drive 30 minutes to Todd's Road, and click off a few miles before the sun even stuck it's head out! Not a bad way to start the day, although to continue the day I do believe a nap is in order.

The race this morning started out pretty nice: about 40 degrees, slight breeze, and a few clouds in the sky. There was a good showing at Todd's Road this morning, although I had a hunch I'd be running alone. I was mostly right.

We all headed outside, and I swore I saw Nic warming up a couple (hundred) miles down the road. The gun went off (aka, George started running) and I took off. The first few miles I was shaking out the cobwebs and slowly building steam for the rest of the run. And building steam is exactly what I did.

The hills out in the country here always keep me honest, though, because they never stop as you can see in the elevation profile, although SLB more than likely eats hills like those for breakfast! After the 4.5 mile turnaround I started seeing all the other runners, which really gets me going for some reason. I clocked off a few miles in the 6:20's before finally running out of steam at mile 7. I still held a decent pace, but I was feeling those quick miles from before!

Finally, the hills stopped and I was finished. Here's the breakdown:

6:50
6:45
6:43
6:36 (Here we go!)
6:23
6:22
6:20
6:40 (Finally had to back off a little)
6:41

Total time: 59:35
Avg. Pace: 6:36
The proof: Garmin Data

All in all I'm really happy with this run. I was able to build up a lot more speed than I thought I would be able to, and held on for quite some time!

After finishing, I found out I wasn't alone up there. We had a new guy this weekend (actually, we had five new runners!) who was trying to chase me down the last couple miles, but the hills were getting to him as well. He's one quick guy, and I bet he'll give me a run for my money next time I'm out there. From what I can tell his focus is on half marathons, and he has a 1:18 under his belt. Sounds like I might have a new training partner this year!

Biking this afternoon is looking iffy, because my legs are still completely dead. I'm thinking I'll take the rest of the day off and let them rest after that all out effort.

Thanks for putting this on, Nancy! I hope everybody else had a great 9 on the 9th!