2009 Snake Chase 5K

Despite a few minor hiccups in the beginning (race planner forgot safety pins, everyone was lined up in front of the start line which wasn't actually the start line, etc.), this really was an ideal set-up for a race and a lovely, fairly fast course. The day was a little on the chilly side and a bit of a breeze generally out of the south. I jogged around for about 20 minutes warming up, peeling layers and then finally into a few striders. I lined up near the front with less than 5 minutes to go. When the gun went off, we went surging, and a few familiar faces darted way, way ahead of me. I looked at my watch and we were running in the low 5s. I knew this wasn't good, so I let them go and thought, "See you later." Dozens of runners passed me at this point, and I continued to roll back my pace until started to see 7:00, which felt unimaginably slow at the time. So slow, in fact, I was deeply concerned if my watch were correct. Two runners in particular continued to drive a wedge in between me and them, setting what seemed to be an impossible distance to ever make up. I wasn't sure what to trust--their pace, my feeling or my watch. I decided it was best to mind the watch, as it was the only scientific thing I had. I continued to pull back and it felt all wrong. But then, things seemed to normalize, and those who sprinted ahead... a few stayed there, but then I found myself gaining on them with no increase in speed whatsoever. Before I knew it, I was past those two (along with many others), and was only to see one runner again. I turned 1 mile in 6:50. I hit the turn around point at exactly 11:00 minutes, meaning... if I could keep up the pace, I quite possibly could hit my 22:00 goal. But what I wasn't expecting was the wind in my face (nothing major, but still notable when I was a bit fatigued), and I was already beginning to suffer. It was slightly after here that one runner passed me, but I was not passed again, and I pretty much hung on behind him for the rest of the race. He finished just a few seconds ahead of me, and when we crossed, he turned and shook my hand. Somehow, I managed to not puke on him. It was a good race, and an official new 5K PR of 22:17 (21 seconds off my previous PR of 22:38 on a slightly easier course which I ran in January). I also took an age group first place win by nearly two full minutes. Looks like I still have some work to do, but I'm getting closer to my goal. My average pace was 7:05, which at exactly 3.1 would have gotten me there. But we all know that's never the case in a real race, so I will have to work harder. The good news is, I am consistently and measurably getting faster. And I still have a few months to go for the season! Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 753 ft Location: Kansas City, MO Elev. Gain: -4 ft Date: 03/21/09 Up/Downhill: [+370/-374] Time: 09:00 AM Difficulty: 2.4 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 52 F temp; 66% humidity 52 F heat index; winds SE 6 Performance Distance: 3.15 miles Time: 0:22:17 Speed: 8.5 mph Pace: 7' 05 /mi Calories: 274 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 6' 50 -0' 15 8.8 +0.3 0 ft 2 7' 04 -0' 01 8.5 +0.0 +16 ft 3 7' 13 +0' 08 8.3 -0.2 -27 ft end 6' 52 -0' 13 8.7 +0.2 +6 ft Versus average of 7' 05 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com