Race Morning
Woke up bright and early on Saturday morning. Walked outside and did a quick jog to gauge the conditions. Very sunny, very cold, and very windy. Ate a banana and some peanut butter and jelly crackers, changed, then headed to the course. The course was located over in Troy, which is a neighboring city next to Glen Carbon. It was literally an 8 minute drive, so the proximity was ridiculously convenient. Picked up my race packet and bib at the school, ran into Mike who was also running, then went back to the car to just zone out and burn time. Mike came back to warm up with me, and he gave me a quick course tour in the process. Course starts/ends at the school, then runs/loops through some neighborhoods, and had lots of sharp turns and rolling hills. We noted a few areas where wind was going to be a issue.
At the Start/Mile by Mile Report
Did some drills and dynamic stretching to get loosened up. Not a good sign when you are getting physically tired when warming up - was this race really a good idea?! Saw Candace strolling up to the start, so this race became a little more interesting and competitive. Tried to get myself mentally prepared and in the zone.
Mile 1 - Lined up at the start, gun went off and away we went! Really shot out of the start like a cannon, and was immediately in the lead. Got sort of confused with where we were supposed to go, as there were little flags and a couple barriers so wasn't sure whether to cut over or stay on the sidewalk. Mike yelled directions out from behind, then the pacer immediately joined so was ok. Ran in a residential area, and looked back a little to see who was behind me. Saw Candace and Mike, and a few others, but had already gapped them quite a bit. The course loops through this neighborhood, lots of turns. Felt decent, but could tell I was going waaaay too fast. [Mile 1 - 5:25].
Mile 2 - Course goes up a hill, you go around some cones and come back. Could see where everyone was at, and saw that Candace was slowly closing the gap. Mike was still in third, but had a small group closeby. Slowed it down at this point, as I knew this pace was just too aggressive, and tried to hit the flat portions aggressively. Considered letting Candace catch up and trying to work with her, but quickly changed my mind and decided on forging. Looped back around the school, saw Pat and Crystal (they came out to spectate and cheer) which was a huge adrenaline boost. Was running up a slow incline and into the wind, so wasn't feeling too hot at this point. That familiar 5K pain was starting to really settle in, and I didn't like it. [Mile 2 - 6:10]
Mile 3 - The pacer was leading me all over the place, and wasn't too pleased about all the sharp turns. We looped around a different neighborhood, then around some building. Looked back, Candace was about 10-15 seconds back which was close enough for me not to get comfortable. When we ran around the building, I made it a point to surge hoping that if she didn't see me around the building maybe it would demoralize her a little. Hit a straightaway which led back towards the school. I could see the finish, but the pacer looped me around some other street and then told me to loop around the school to the finish. Was feeling like complete garbage at this point, the lack of speedwork was clearly affecting me, but knew I just had to suck it up and grind it out. [Mile 3 - 6:12]
Finish - Looped around the school, saw that I had a decent lead so relaxed a bit. Saw Pat and Crystal again, raised my fist out of excitement. Checked behind one more time, saw that I was in the clear. Finish line was just ahead, dropped into cruise control and crossed in first place for my first ever race win! [5K Time - 18:32]
Peter Kim M30
Clock Time: 18:32
Overall Place: 1/?
Gender Place: 1/?
Division Place: 1/?
Pace: 5:58/Mile
Pretty psyched, but super tired as well. Candace crossed shortly after, talked with her and watched the rest of the runners finish. Mike battled it out at the end, ended up 5th overall but won his age group! We grabbed some water, then did a short cooldown together. Hung out with everybody for a while, watched the Kids Fun Run (our future competition), and waited for the awards ceremony.
Final Thoughts
Pretty happy with my time, stoked about winning, and just an all around good day. Was fun to race again, even though my legs didn't think so, and glad to represent Big River Running well on the east siiiide. Time was better than I thought it would be, and I think I can get back into the low 18 minutes with some work. Grabbed a victory brunch with Pat and Crystal afterwards, then enjoyed a fun rest of the day :)
Sunday, woke up not feeling too hot, but dragged myself out for a run. Less windy conditions, super sunny and a slightly warm. Legs were a little sore, and felt like crap quite honestly. Did an out and back towards Troy, didn't realize how fast I was going until the 5th mile. The good news was the pace felt really easy. The bad news was I progressively felt worse and mentally wasn't there, so intentionally slowed it down coming back to avoid complete burnout. Really hit a mental wall on the last mile - my motivation was shot, and just didn't feel like being outside. Legs were feeling kind of heavy too, should have stretched better after the 5K. Forced myself in, and laid down for the rest of the afternoon. Total mileage: 10.5 miles - splits were: 7:21, 7:10, 7:07, 7:02, 6:58 (seriously, what am I doing?!?!), turned watch off and ran much slower coming in, probably around high 7-low 8 pace.
So hit about 28 miles last week, not too bad. Legs are sore today, but will do some sort of run at night to loosen up for speedwork tomorrow! SLSC Run for the Stars 5K in 2 weeks!!!
Mike and I - Team Sullentrup representation!
Candace and I
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