Belleair Sunset 5k Race Report
I feel weird doing a race report for such a short race, but as my first time *really* breaking 16 minutes, I felt compelled!
Weather: Very windy, hot, humid, ~80 degrees, cloudy.
Training: Let's be honest, I haven't been training for a 5k, I've been training for basically a marathon as I was planning on racing tomorrow. However, the Clearwater half marathon race was cancelled (believe that?!?!) for tomorrow, so Anthony and I decided to walk up and register for this race a couple of hours beforehand as we didn't want to waste a taper. Although I was feeling very fit, I was worried about the race being so fast. Anthony and I both knew what we wanted- to break 16.
The race: I decided to just shoot for 5:09 per mile and hope there'd be people running quickly to make it easier- fortunately, my wish was granted. Mile 1 had five different guys clock in under 5:10, with a local, Christian leading Anthony, Ken, and me (yes that's proper grammar believe it or not) by a couple of seconds through mile 1. At that point, I knew at the next turn (and the 20 mph wind) was going to come as a ridiculous, strong headwind so I chose to tuck in behind Christian. He. Did. Not. Like. That. He literally took one glance at me over his shoulder and shot to the other side of the road as if I had rabies. Which I don't think I have... Hmmm... I could feel Anthony laughing at how ridiculous it must have looked from behind. Interestingly, I just decided to pass Christian instead to hold the pace and the kid tucks in right behind me along with Anthony! Serves me right I suppose... beating me at my own game.
Mile 2 continued like that for a bit until the turnaround and at that spot things got a bit more serious. However, the way the route is set up, they don't take you back the same way, so the now tailwind was much lighter on the return which was unfortunate. Mile 3 began with just Anthony and me stride for stride as Christian had fallen apart and somehow was about 30 seconds back after just a half mile and now Ken was on his heels. Anthony was a step or two back, and I finally felt like we were going to do it- we were going to break 16 in a road race! I needed that push, and needed him here today to do it, to feel strong enough to mentally. We got through mile 3 a little slower than anticipated (for once I actually think I should have looked at my watch to fix my pacing), and I saw the clock 200 meters away, clicking away in the upper 15:20s. I had a very strong surge at the end, putting about 6 seconds on Anthony and flying under the clock as 15:58 rolled onto the screen.
I know getting under 16 is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, but it's one of those barriers that is just haunting in a way. I'm glad I'm through it. Winning the race was truly an afterthought. Anthony finished in 16:05, Christian in 16:53, and the other guy leading with us at mile one, Ken, in 16:56.
Splits- 5:06, 5:09, 5:16, 0:27
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