Farmington Turkey Leg 5K
I think people were scared off by the chilly weather…but it
turned out to be a gorgeous morning to be out for a 5K. And fortunately the roads were almost
entirely dry and ice free on the course.
Turned out to be a really fun race and as always a great way to start
out Thanksgiving Day. I’m filled with
gratitude at the moment for many things.
My amazing wife and children that I am so blessed to be with topping the
list, right along with the blessing of feeling fit and healthy and spiritually
at peace, and having an abundance of good things in my life.
Nan and I were among the first to arrive at the race at
about 8:20 – we were dressed in 4+ layers and we cruised the course for a warm
up. It was good to get a preview of the
course. The last 1/3 of a mile was on a
snow/ice packed trail and we knew it was going to affect the pace at the end
somewhat, but otherwise, the course was nice and dry.
But I knew the middle mile of pure uphill was going to be
the crux for me today. My goal after
previewing the course and seeing what I was up against was to run 5:45 the
first mile, then hold 6:00 pace for the uphill mile, and then hopefully 5:45 or
under the last mile in order to squeeze in under 18 minutes.
Well…I couldn’t quite pull off the plan unfortunately.
Everything was pretty close to right on except that middle mile.
I only held onto a 6:20 pace the middle mile and that extra
20 seconds is almost exactly what I missed my goal by. I was actually auto-splitting my garmin at ½
mile increments because I wanted to see the splits in more detail. So I was shooting for 3 minute half miles
those middle 2, but I hit 3:10’s on both.
After that I was pretty sure it was going to be a long shot to pull off
a sub 18, so I set a new goal of trying to real in the 3rd place
dude, who had been coming back to me the entire 2nd mile, as he had
gone out with Nan and the other leader, and was running big positive splits.
I reeled him in to within about 10 yards after the downhill,
and held him there for the last ¾ mile, but once we hit the final ¼ he pulled
out a stronger kick than me and ended up beating me by 20-30 yards, and about
10 seconds I think.
It was a really fun race though. I suppose looking back I could have pushed
myself harder. Mentally I didn’t feel
like I had a very deep dig in me today.
But I felt like I ran a really steady, even race. I’m OK with it. I think my biggest mistake in analyzing the
week is that I probably worked out too hard on Tuesday. Coach D told us to do 10 minutes at half
marathon pace and I ended up doing it at 5K pace. I think I would have had more in the tank
today if I would have taken it more easy on Tuesday, because yesterday my butt
muscle hurt pretty bad and I was a bit stiff.
Anyway, we had a fun time.
But…I wasn’t at puke level by the end of the race, so obviously I didn’t
fulfill the purpose of the 5K…oh well…next time.
Here are my ½ mile splits from the race and totals for the
day:
2:53:78, 2:57:54, 3:10:25, 3:09:69, 2:45:31, 3:00:96, 0:25
(4:47 pace the last .1)
18:21 total – 5:57 pace – avg HR: 167 – Max HR: 175 - 160' Ascent I know
I can push a lot harder than that, last 5K I tracked HR my heart rate maxed at
185, and averaged about 176 a year ago, and then I only ran 20:33. Not sure what to make of that. Does that just show I should be pushing it
harder and running faster, or what?
10 miles on the day with the warm up and cool down.
I love the days like this when I get to run and race with
Nan. Its fun. Normally we have to switch off
running/watching the kids.
Nan took 2nd today in about 17:20. A high school
runner dude beat her by just a little bit.  AAbout 2 mile point
Pics taken by jun, thanks for posting jun. 
Finishing
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