I started off my 2011 season with a 5k race on 1/22. This is the 1st of three 5ks that I have planned for the year. The other two are in Augusta and October. I wasn't sure what to expect since I had only been running for 5 weeks. I took 2 weeks off after my marathon in December. The first two weeks back weren't much more than finding my stride again. Anyway, I knew I wanted to place in my age group but wasn't going to be let down if I didn't. I just wanted to make sure I had fun. This year is all about quality workouts, strong races, and fun! Fun is the most crucial. With the amount of training I'll be doing I can't afford to lose sight of why I do it in the first place. If I quit having fun then it becomes a job.
I wanted to test myself with this first race and go into it a little tired. I typically take 2 days off before every race. I also treat every race as an A race. This year I'm changing that up as well. I have a few races that are A races, that I want to hit perfectly. The others are B races that I'm using for tune ups or gauges to see where I am for particular goals. So I trained hard the week of the race and even trained twice on Friday the day before. The race was at 3pm so I had about 22 hours of recovery.
I felt good on race day, I was sore but my legs didn't feel too terribly tired. After I warmed up I knew I was good to go. I decided that anything under 6:30 pace would be ok with me. It wouldn't be a PR race mainly because of the layout of the course and secondly because I really hadn't trained much. The temp at the start was 40 degrees and a little windy. Of course I got all kinds of looks because of my shorts and tank top. Most had on sweatpants and jackets. Not me, I suck it up and run in the usual lightweight Kswiss gear.
There were 1800 people at the race. I figure you only have to worry about 1-2% of them being competitive. I found my spot at the start line right next to two kids that were probably 10 or 11. They had on jeans. I chuckled knowing they would get run over being up in the front. I'm not a mean person, it's just a fact. If you are in the front you better be on your horse.
The gun went off and I took off. I led the race for the first 50 meters haha. I know it looks stupid to go out fast and not hold the pace but I don't like getting bottled up. After the first 1/2 mile we pretty much settled into how we finished. I was sitting somewhere around 20th. As the faster runners passed me in that first stretch I picked out the ones that would soon be coming back to me. You can kind of tell who isn't going to hold their pace. I was running 5:50 in the opening stretch and getting passed. Not many will keep that up. Once we spaced out I dialed back into a 6:15 pace. I felt good, I felt strong, and I felt sore. That was just what I wanted. This year is about finding out what I'm made of. I knew I would have to dig a little deeper in order to run a strong pace on tired legs. I smiled and said to myself what I always say in a 5k, "anybody can run 3 miles". By the time we hit the 1st mile marker I had picked off the few runners that I figured had gone out way to fast. I didn't pass anyone else or get passed from then on. I was in the 13th position now and figured I was probably in a good spot to place in my age group. There were several older guys and a few high school kids up a front of me. there were about 3 or 4 that I wasn't sure about.
So the race was at the Nashville Zoo. If you've ever been you know this is not really a great place to try and run wide open. The walkways are tight and curvy. There were a few places that had 180 degree turns. On two different turns I had to grab the tree to keep from falling. Towards the end of the race these turns were taking their toll. You would have to slow down then get back up to speed constantly. I did like how distracting it was though. Instead of worrying about pace I had to worry about correct turns, low limbs, patches of ice, and NOT FALLING!!
In the end I finished with a 19:31, which put me in 13th overall. I ended up being the 3rd in my age group to finish, but because the first two guys were 1st and 2nd over all, I bumped up to winning the age group. I was happy with it but not satisfied. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy with age group finishes but I'm ready for over all finishes at the 5k distance. I have a chance to do that at both of the 5ks that I have planned as long as my training continues to be strong and my paces continue to drop. I haven't placed in a 1/2 marathon yet but it is on the to do list for 2011. Most likely I will have a good shot in October at the Murfreesboro 1/2. I know I'll have a new PR in March but it still won't be fast enough for a place in my age group.
So 2011 has started off great and I'm ready to see it continue. As long as I stay healthy and smart I should see several more strong finishes this year. As always if you ever have questions or want to get into running or triathlons feel free to hit me up.
See it. Believe it. Do it.
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
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