Whoa how did that happen? I'll write more later but I am very pleased with the sub-19 and new 5k PR! :)
Alright I wrote a long report yesterday and my computer died on me twice so here we go again. Luckily you'll get a shorter version. I signed up for this race Friday night after waffling back and forth about whether to run it. 2 races in 1 week? hamstring bothering me a bit? I finally just decided to go for it and run it smart. I knew that if I didn't overstride the hammy would be fine. Friday night before I went to bed I quickly looked up the pace for sub-19 and then I proceeded to throw up in my mouth. Having done no real SW in the past few months (because of the hammy and marathon training I've stuck to tempos) I really didn't think I could even run 800 meters that fast.
I got to the race early and ran the course as a warmup. I like to do this because I am OCD and like to know exactly what I'm up against. I did some strides and felt pretty good. I was so happy to see Melody at the start. This was a very small 5k and I was worried about having to pace myself but when I saw Melody I knew it would be beneficial for me.
Mile 1: Melody and a group of about 5-6 guys started out in front and I positioned myself right behind them. I felt good and went through the first mile in 6:01. This mile was really flat with a few turns.
Mile 2: This mile was the toughest with some gradual uphill and the turn around point that slowed me down just a bit. I caught all of the guys in this mile and ran it in 6:10.
Mile 3: This mile was a complete suckfest and I just did my best to keep Melody in sight. I honestly did not look at my garmin the entire race because seeing 5's flashing on it just completely freaks me out. So I just let Melody do the pacing and pushed to keep her in sight. There was a small hill at 2.8 and I grinded up it as fast I could 6:04. I am incapable of doing math while moving fast and had no idea how close I was to sub-19 so I just ran as fast as I could finishing the final .1 in 32 seconds 5:10 pace.
I was completely in shock and elated when I stopped my watch and saw my time. What the heck I truly couldn't believe it! It was really good for me to prove to myself that I was capable of more than I gave myself credit for. A big breakthrough race for me and I am very happy with how things turned out. Spanish Fork Running group put on a great event and the course measured exactly 3.11 right on! After the race I cooled down 3 miles with Melody and Brandon (who rocked the half marathon) and then got to hang out with Teena, her daughter Sophie (who placed 6th overall female), her husband Ryan, and Smooth and her husband Larry. It was a great morning surrounded with great company!
Final Thoughts: The limitting factor for me yesterday was a lack of training at my VO2 max effort. Physically my legs felt great but my breathing was definitely labored because I simply am not used to running that fast. I really think I can add 50 seconds per mile to the time from yesterday 6:53-6:58 and hold that pace for TOU this Saturday.
PM: 2 miles jogging with the pup. |