Saturday, August 14, 2010

Finley River 5K "Race Report"

  A good nights sleep, bowl of cereal, out the door with a plan to run a "Threshold Pace" run (tempo). Where that would be is the question! I did manage to find a comfortably hard pace....where I could of pushed a bit but opted to hold right there and not race.
   Beautiful morning with overcast skies and a fresh rain, a real large turnout!! Since this was the only race in the area most of the elites were there, I lined up on the outside mid-pack, had a good sweat going from my 1 mile warm-up...and off! Lots of slower runners in front started too fast...a guy dropped his Ipod in front of me and I had to leap around him as he stopped suddenly....I looked at charmin' Garmin and noticed it said 7:18...whoops! I slowed down knowing if I didn't I'd surely die! Nice and smooth, rhythmic breathing, easy course...some folks were racing which was okay...I let them go....one mile 8:07.
  Mile two was very interesting and enjoyable! I found this threshold, and perhaps it was a little too easy, why?An 8:22 second mile? No, as I was maintaining I heard a light breathing pattern coming on my right shoulder....I'm not going to race! It was a tall young lady running barefoot! I said "you sure are light on your feet!" She liked that and we began a brief conversation, I shouldn't of been able to chat! So maybe I was sandbagging? She said this was the first race she'd run barefoot, she eventually pulled away as I kept a steady pace, made the turn and began to catch quite a few people who were toasting, one guy wanted to race....he didn't like me passing him so he began to push...I didn't I just maintained, coming to a turn I drew such a tight line I guess I demoralized him as I passed him he fell off for good. I came upon two "rabbits", people who walk then run, I just kept the pace, one eventually finished ahead of me by a few yards as they sprinted in...I resisted....the other got beat by the tortoise...8:28 third...not bad, but not what I would of liked, the last .12 (Garmin D) was :58. 25:55 unofficial. I saw that I was way down in the age group....I knew this would not be a good time for me but it was a great training effort! I am pleased. Heel feels great!
  I did stay around for the door prize drawings, I won the first one!!! $15 bucks for Bob Evans restaurant!
  So I broke even, got a cool shirt, saw some friends, and had a quality work-out. I was proud of myself that I could show self-control and maintain a fairly even pace....I think I could of pushed a little more but don't we always. So, next up, September 11th. Another pace race...not the goal race. Hope you have a great week-end! Go Bubba Watson in the PGA! Peace!

7 comments:

Tim F said...

Great job! You got in a good tempo run and resisted the urge to "race" others. For me, it is always tough to keep my speed down in races.

Leah B. said...

Great job! I love the breakdown of your race. :)

Suzy said...

Great job with your "race." It sounds like you did well keeping your pace going and not racing the race. Congrats on the door prize!

Lindsay said...

congrats! pain-free trumps pr's and ag awards anyway :) glad you had a good run and met a few neat runners. barefoot lady, wow!

Marlene said...

Congrats on the 5K! Putting in a solid effort, feeling good and enjoying yourself sounds like a successful race to me!

Enjoy vacation!

Anne said...

Great to see you truly back at it now, Mark.

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

Sounds like fun! Winning $15 and no pain!

Sauna

      This is the most wonderful time of year! I love the heat and humidity! Yet I still get out earlier due to my advanced age! 4.4 miles! ...