Race #148
5k #52
2018 Race #9
2018 5k #4
Red, White, and Blue Shoes 5k #8
This race did not turn out as well as I had hoped but I can still learn from my performance.
I knew going into the race that it might be difficult to meet the pace expectations that my coach set for me. I checked the weather and discovered that summer brought us 75 degrees with above 85% humidity, rather suboptimal conditions. I may have let this get into my head but I don’t think I did.
I “warmed up” with thirty minutes very easy before the race. I ran this portion quite slowly and actually finished this portion just shy of 30 minutes since I mistimed my turn around point. It turns out that I needed that time since I changed into a different outfit (already soaked), pinned on my bib (Mom did that of course since I can’t pin on a bib straight), and walked over to the new race start.
We arrived at the start just two minutes before scheduled start time and for the first time in the eight years that I have run this race, we actually started on time!
I had made my way as close to the start as I could which enabled me to avoid congestion.
Soon I had settled into a slightly faster than 7:30 pace, which was my goal pace. Matt had put a goal of sub 23 minutes on the training plan today. (Spoiler alert: the wheels came off in mile 3.)
I felt really good through this first mile, so good that sometimes when I glanced down at the pace on my watch I wondered how I was running this pace so relatively effortlessly. I made sure to try to keep my pace as close to 7:30 as possible so I wouldn’t spoil the last mile
Mile 1: 7:24, exactly where I needed to be.
We headed into mile 2 which included a slight incline as we completed the library loop and headed to the back loop around the lake. Although this slight hill has felt significant to me in races past, I conquered it easily this time. I knew my pace had slowed a little bit but not much actually.
We headed behind the lake and quickly approached the one and only water stop. While I did not take any water, a pre-teen boy just in front of me to the right did. As soon as he finished, he tossed his cup…to the left. Right at my feet. I managed to avoid it but let the boy know that he needed to toss the cups to the side when finished, not in the middle of the course.
Mile 2 ended sooner than I expected and I felt pretty pleased with the split even if it was a little slower than the first mile.
Mile 2: 7:36, right on track for an average of 7:30
As mile 3 started, I felt relieved that I had only a mile to go but by this point I was dripping in sweat. I could feel my pace slipping, not much but I could feel it slipping. Almost without realizing it, I let my mental stamina slip as well.
We made our way back to the street and took a right turn to the street that would lead us back to the mall. In years past, this hill killed me. I let that negative memory slip into my head and without realizing, told myself that my pace had already slipped, I should just walk a portion of this hill.
When I look at the elevation profile on my Garmin results, little if any elevation change takes place. It’s there but sneaky. It crept into my head and I surrendered to the negative thoughts without a fight.
I got nearly to the top of the hill and told myself that I couldn’t do it so I dropped to a walk, fixed my capris and made myself keep running again.
This happened right around the half mile mark.
When I started running again, all I wanted to do was see if I could come in below the 24 minute mark, a minute slower than my goal time. Although I gradually increased my pace through the last half mile. I did not make it. I felt mentally exhausted, and kept wondering how this last half mile could last so long. As I look back, I am sure that this exhaustion was purely mental. Yes, I was dripping with sweat thanks to the lovely weather but I know that I could have pushed myself harder in that last mile where I lost my shot at the goal.
Mile 3: 8:13
We turned and run behind the stadium before making one last turn into the stadium to finish in the middle of the football field. I managed a modicum of a sprint, not much and finished after the clocked ticked over 24 minutes, my slowest time since 2014.
Overall: 24:19
Looking back, I see that I did not loose that much time on that third mile. I probably could have made a go at the sub 23 minutes but probably should have aimed for 7:25 to actually get there.
This race confirmed for me my need to work on mental stamina, as well as short distances. I want to get down to that faster 5k time that I used to have. Perhaps that will be my goal for after the marathon.