Stats/Goals
Distance: 5kLocation: Atlanta (Decatur), GA
Current PR: 20:23 (Braves 5k, 6/20/2015)
Previous Course PR: 21:36 (2/9/2013)
90% Goal: 22:00
50% Goal: 21:00
10% Goal: 20:00
Result: 20:10 (http://tinyurl.com/hywakar)
6:11
6:28
6:49
0:40 (0.12mi)
Summary
I had quiet optimism going into this race, but had a bit of a gut check over the past week. Conditions ended up being cold, but not unbearable. I think I've gotten better at starting out in the cold without all of the layers. I ended up having an awesome race. I died a bit in the last half mile, but I still managed a PR.Race Prep
With my hamstring injury in the rear-view mirror, I was hoping Hearts and Soles could be a good effort 5k. I've been able to fit speed work in most of the past month, so I felt mostly prepared. I ran a 3k indicator run last weekend and had a bit of a reality check. I ran it about 40 seconds slower than my 3k last spring. It was cold; I had extra gear on; I pushed too hard on the 2 mile warmup; I did speedwork 2 days prior; blah blah blah stupid reasons.
I, unintentionally, had a 3 day taper prior to this run. Ideally, I would have had run either 4 easy on Wed or 1 hard Friday morning. Wednesday didn't happen because I came home from work super stressed; Friday didn't happen because I was lazy/cold-averse and didn't wake up.
Given the conditions and my recent performance, I set my sights a little lower. I kept the same 10% goal that I've had for a while, but I relaxed my 50/90% goals because I wasn't too sure how I would handle the cold.
When we arrived, the car said it was 28 outside. Brr. Once I got moving around some, I felt a lot better. I managed to shed my jackets and ended up in tights, under armor, light jacket, hat, and gloves. I started with the speedy people from our 8 min group.
I, unintentionally, had a 3 day taper prior to this run. Ideally, I would have had run either 4 easy on Wed or 1 hard Friday morning. Wednesday didn't happen because I came home from work super stressed; Friday didn't happen because I was lazy/cold-averse and didn't wake up.
Given the conditions and my recent performance, I set my sights a little lower. I kept the same 10% goal that I've had for a while, but I relaxed my 50/90% goals because I wasn't too sure how I would handle the cold.
When we arrived, the car said it was 28 outside. Brr. Once I got moving around some, I felt a lot better. I managed to shed my jackets and ended up in tights, under armor, light jacket, hat, and gloves. I started with the speedy people from our 8 min group.
Race
As usual, I was a bit on the fast side out of the gates. I fell behind the trainee I was trying to keep up with on the first hill, but managed to catch back up to him on the downhill. He slowly pulled away from me for the rest of the race (wha whaaa).
I felt really good on the first half, but, at the turnaround, the course had changed from what I ran in 2013. Instead of using a roundabout as a turnaround, the course went through the roundabout and had a hairpin cone turn instead 50m or so beyond the roundabout. Not a big deal, just a tougher turn than I had expected.
From about 1.5 to 2, one of the ATC employees was running right around me and between her and I, we had an awesome cheering section from the runners that were still on the first half. I didn't actually see her, but I heard Angelina cheer for me at some point. We were going into the sun, so it was hard to make out any faces. I didn't even see the water stop until I was passing it.
Another trainee caught up to me around the 2.5 mark and I managed to stick with her for a little but, but I faded up the last hill. I ended up having to walk 30 paces or so to catch my breath before cresting the hill. I felt I finished well, but was just behind my reach goal.
I felt really good on the first half, but, at the turnaround, the course had changed from what I ran in 2013. Instead of using a roundabout as a turnaround, the course went through the roundabout and had a hairpin cone turn instead 50m or so beyond the roundabout. Not a big deal, just a tougher turn than I had expected.
From about 1.5 to 2, one of the ATC employees was running right around me and between her and I, we had an awesome cheering section from the runners that were still on the first half. I didn't actually see her, but I heard Angelina cheer for me at some point. We were going into the sun, so it was hard to make out any faces. I didn't even see the water stop until I was passing it.
Another trainee caught up to me around the 2.5 mark and I managed to stick with her for a little but, but I faded up the last hill. I ended up having to walk 30 paces or so to catch my breath before cresting the hill. I felt I finished well, but was just behind my reach goal.
Post Race
There were a ton of people sporting new PRs today. I managed to drop mine by about 15 seconds, but I heard as big as 3-5 minutes I think. Awesome day for a run.Most of the training group went out for 7 more after the race. I might have been able to slog through, but my body was better served sitting in the car for a bit and changing into dry clothes. After the race adrenaline and numbness wore off, I realized pretty quickly that I had pain in both little toes. I'm afraid I'll lose a couple toenails, but it's nothing I haven't gone through before.
Had an awesome time at the Fun Sized Tailgate Birthday Celebration. People brought food and shared in fun times.
Conclusion
20 minutes has never been closer (quite literally). I kept my pace for the first 2.5 miles. Had I not stopped to walk up the last hill, I think I would have been just behind the mark. I need to keep my speedwork up and keep putting in the miles.
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