I have been only focused on marathon training lately, so I was pretty happy to PR in the 5K by over 30 seconds on Thanksgiving. Though it gets me pretty curious to see what I can do in the 5K with 6-7 weeks of specific 5K training I must admit. But it was nice going into a race without many self-expectations and just racing the people there. What that meant in this case was the following: Turkey Leg 5K in Farmington Utah. A small race, maybe 200 people. Perfect 40 degree sunshine and dry roads made for a great morning to run. After 1/4 mile it was just three of us way off the front of the rest. It was 2 Davis High school runners and then me following a few feet behind. First mile was really comfortable and slightly down hill in 5:32. Then it started up hill and my plan on the day was just to hang with the leaders and see if I could out kick them for the $50 overall prize at the end. I knew that one of the kids was a solid enough runner because he had won the race last year beating Nan by 10-15 seconds running low 17. It was obvious he wasn’t working that hard. I stuck right behind them as the effort increased in the 2nd mile uphill. Split was 5:42. Then one of the kids started to fade. I stuck with the leader. Then came the sharp downhill drop. I looked at my gps out of curiosity and it said 4:27/mile pace. It was a STEEP section, but quickly levels off. I pulled slightly ahead of the kid on the steepest part and noted how loud his feet were slapping down with each step. But me pulling ahead must have given him the impetus he needed because he held on to the 5:00/mile pace even on the flat and after a bit he started gapping me. Then it looped back up hill to the finish and he gapped me more. I dug in and did my best to hang with him and finish strong. Sprinted to the finish with the clock registering 16:53. Sweet! Finally broke that 17 minute mark. Onward and upward. Feels good to see the marked fitness improvement this last marathon training block has provided. The 1st place kid beat me by about 15 seconds I think. I found out he ran a 15:27 at regionals the week prior. I was glad to have him there pulling me to a new PR. And it felt good to negatively split. Splits were: 5:30 downhill, 5:40 uphill, 5:17 down then up, :26 for the last .1 That’s according to my garmin, so it’s probably not exact. I wasn’t thinking about my finish time as I ran, just running to keep up with the dude in front of me. But it sure felt good to see the 16 on the clock as I rounded the last corner. | 