Vancouver Spring Classic 5k - 16:45 - 13th place
I wrapped up my spring break trip with a 5k race this morning in Stanley Park in Vancouver, B.C. When I saw we would be in Vancouver, I checked to see if there were any races this weekend, and found this one. I knew by looking at past results it was deep and fast up front so I thought it might be fun. This park is huge and really a beautiful place to run.
The day was chilly and a bit breezy, but nicer than the day before. I jogged the course as a warmup, did a few strides and lined up. This was the worst part of the race. There were 300+ runners on a bike path a few feet wide. I got off to a slow start, ran through some deep puddles, nearly rammed straight into a minivan parked on the path, and stressed quite a bit as the runners up front were way ahead of me. I weaved through some runners up a couple of hills, and hit the 1k in 3:22. Way too slow. I tried to pick it up and went through the mile marker in 5:21. I believe this is my fastest mile since a 4:09 1500m I ran on the track about 2 years ago.
I did try to battle a little bit and passed a few more runners in the last 2 miles. My last kilo was my fastest, which was good, but I didn't feel like I competed well. For the first time in my life I also had the feeling that I was running pretty hard, but not moving that fast. I really didn't hurt much, but the speed wasn't there. Within 2 minutes of finishing, I was almost fully recovered. I feel strong, but not fast, but that's probably what I should expect given my training.
Positives: Decent time off a big mileage week (for me); almost a minute faster than the last 5k I ran.
Negatives: Unaggressive at start; didn't make it hurt like I should have. | 