Well...at 8:00 last night I decided to look on the internet and see if I could find any races near Effingham, Ill where we are staying. I wasn't really planning on racing while I was up here but low and behold there was a 5 Mile Race just 60 miles away in Hillsboro, Ill. I asked if anyone cared if I got up early and went to the race (it started at 8:00). No one had a problem so I got up at 5:15 and headed out. It was 72 degree and very humid but didn't seem as hot as 72 in Texas. The race was run on an out and back course with a few hills. The race was also run in conjunction with a Biathlon and all of the runners started together. I'm not sure how many were competing in the Race portion (maybe 30) and another 100 in the Biathlon.
At the beginning of the race I was determined not to go out too slow, like I did in the last 10K, but at the end of the first mile I was wondering if I had made a mistake. Most of the first mile was down hill or flat but the second mile had a long incline. I hit the hill pretty well and felt pretty good at the top. There were two guys running with me until the hill and by the midpoint of the hill they had both dropped out (ha ha...I don't think they run may hills up here in Illinois:-). On the third mile I began to labor a little and decided to slow down some and save a little energy. I really wanted to keep a 6:45 pace but kinda lost track of my pace, as you can see on miles 3 and 4. I was running completely by myself at this point with no one anywhere close to me (Sounds pretty cool at this point doesn't it...but the truth is there were about 6 or 8 of the Biathletes pretty far ahead of me and a couple of girls). Anyway mile 5 had a pretty good uphill to the finish but I pushed hard up the hill to finish strong with a 4:54 pace to the end. As you can see from my report I was the top Male (Runners only...there were a few Biathletes who actually ran faster but the run and the Biathlon were separate for the awards). I received a nice big trophy and had my picture taken with the Women's winner (who actually beat me by about a minute;-(
Overall I ran the race I wanted to run. I had run a 10K a few weeks ago and paced at 7:00 so my goal was to go for a 6:50 on this race. I still need to build my cardio, my legs seem good and I feel like I can run faster but I just labor breathing and my heart rate gets too high.
It was a fun race in a small community that has been run for the last 23 years. I got to sign the winner's podium for being the Fastest Male Runner so my name is etched in stone (well actually black permanent marker) for all to remember for generations to come!
| Hillsboro, Ill - 5 Mile |
| 7/4/2011 |
| Mile |
Time |
Best Pace |
Fastest
Pace |
HR |
HR % |
| 1 |
6:32:00 |
6:16:00 |
5:35 |
153 |
80% |
| 2 |
6:45:00 |
6:19:00 |
5:58 |
168 |
90% |
| 3 |
6:58:00 |
6:23:00 |
6:15 |
171 |
92% |
| 4 |
6:57:00 |
6:20:00 |
6:30 |
172 |
93% |
| 5 |
6:51:00 |
6:21:00 |
4:54 |
174 |
94% |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Total |
34:03:00 |
|
|
168 |
90% |
| Pace |
6:48:36 |
75Âş |
|
High Humidity |
| Won 1st Overall |
1 Samuel 7:11-13
11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”
13 So the Philistines were subdued and they stopped invading Israel’s territory. Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines. | 