Easy 3 on the Treadmill in the morning. I took it easy as I am running the Striders Rock and Run 5K this evening in Ogden. It should be interesting to see how the leg reacts. I know, I know, be careful. I will. I am not to optimistic about running that fast, but it does depend on the competition and the cold/ice factor. My main goal is to beat Bethany this race!
T-23:15 (7:45)
New Years Eve Rock and Run 5K in the Evening. I had no idea how I would do as my training has been limited to pure easy miles due to the injury and recovery. This race is a low-key fun run with more of an emphasis on the dinner and party then on the race, so it was no big deal. Bethany and I dropped the kids off at my sisters and then we met up with Paul and Stacy. Paul was going to run, but with his injury he was sidelined. We chatted and killed time until the start. Logan and Katie met up to cheer us on so we had a great cherring section.
The race was pretty messed up right from the start as there was a random location chosen for the start. "Everyone line up behind...uh...this crack in the road...yeah.." It was funny. Bethany and Stacy ran together and I was with the High School kids. The race started at the corner of 25th and Grant and went up 25th street with a loop at the end returning back down 25th. First mile has a good climb, second was basically flat, third was downhill. I started out in a group of three (the leaders), me, a highschool kid sporting a footlocker shirt and a 54 year old guy who could really run. We ran together to mile one (6:11). I had forgotten how much a 5K hurts and wasn't really ready to kill myself today so I let the two of them pull away the second mile. It was dark and cold and icy and I was out of shape. I settled into a comfortably hard pace and got pretty complacent. Opps. By the end of the second mile (6:03) I was 100m behind 1st and 50m behind second. I saw Beth and Stacy for a brief moment and yelled at them. (Nicely as in a friendly greeting way).
I couldn't believe this older guy was holding me off so I decided to go after him. I was able to get moving over the last half mile (down the hill) and pass him for good at mile 3 (5:36). I had no chance of catching the high school kid in my current shape and finished 5 seconds behind him. Final bit in 25 seconds. The garmin measured 3.09 so it was likely short. The timing clock was all messed up at the finish and it appears on the website that the "official" results show the incorrect time too. It shows me at 17:25 instead of my garmin time of 18:14. It also shows the 4th place guy only 1 second behind myself and the older guy when he was closer to 2 mins behind. This is the first time I have seen runnercard get it so wrong. Results for what they are worth are HERE
I am pretty pleased with my results as my training has been sad and I have done 0 VO2Max work in over 3 months. The best part of the race was that my leg did not hurt at all, during or after. Less than a 1 on my pain scale. I think I am finally in the clear and can continue to build my mileage back up. I wish I could have won, but I didn't have the fitness today.
After I finished I watched the guys try and get the software to scan in the results with it reading "rejected" for everyones barcoded bib. I laughed and left. I ran back up the course to meet with Beth and Stacy. I found them about mile 2 and they were chatting and having a good time. It was funny. I ran with them back to the finish and afterward, we ate and mingled at the dinner. Blah Blah Blah.... you get the idea. It was a fun way to end 2007.
T-18:14 (5:54) 177 ave 186 max | 