On to the weekend running. Friday after work, wanted to get in some easy miles. Was nasty and humid as usual, so laced up the shoes and jumped outside to get in a quick run. Did out and back - my typical G.C. route, then jumped on the trail for a little more. Trail was trapping in the heat, and made it even more humid. Weather was starting to get nasty, and started to storm hard about a quarter mile from home. The rain felt incredible, but made it in before it started to really dump. That storm actually killed the power for 30 minutes or so which wasn't ideal. Regardless, legs felt fine, a good, solid, uneventful run. Total mileage: ~4.5 miles - out there for 35-40 minutes I am guessing?
Race Morning/Afternoon
Saturday morning, woke up and did an easy group run for 20 minutes and got in roughly 2 miles. Did out and back, was hot on the trails but wanted to get a little movement in the legs in the morning. Got back home, napped on and off and just relaxed before getting ready to leave in the later afternoon. Drove out to Hecker, IL which is located a good 45 minutes or so away - Hecker is a small little town with a lot of country roads. Got out to the Community Center where the race was at, and was pleasantly surprised to see a huge turnout. We would find out later that a record number of people registered for this event, in fact over 900!
At the Start
Picked up our race packets, got changed and went for a shakeout run/warmup (~2 miles) and previewed the course. Pretty simple layout - you run on a road which weaves through a neighborhood, which straightens out for a while, make one turn, turn around some cones, and come back. Pretty flat in that area, so expected a faster race. The course is lined with lit tiki torches, and everyone was given a blinking L.E.D. light which had a magnet on it so was a pretty cool concept - even cooler to see when running back in the dark towards everyone and you see a sea of blinking lights surrounded by a firey path! This was the first nighttime race I had ever run, and was looking forward to the theoretical cooler nighttime temperatures. Weather was hot and sticky during the day, and was worried that it wouldn't cool down enough but it sort of did. Wasn't pleased to be almost drenched in sweat after our warmup, quite the menacing omen. Did some dynamic stretching and strides, and talked a little strategy with Crystal and Candace who was also running and was defending her title (3 times over). Ran into Larry Huffman, a stud local runner who was also 3 time defending champion, and caught up with him before the start. Lined up behind a group of kids, hoped to God that they would move out of the way quickly or get ran over by me. Gun went off, and away we went!
Mile by Mile Report
Mile 1 - Immediately, my worst fears were realized as I instantly caught up to those kids, who had formed their own little wall to get in the way of all the other runners behind them. I am going to try my best not to complain, but if you can't run a 5 minute mile you shouldn't be lining up in front of a large group of runners. Predictably, I stepped on one of their shoes - as he was falling, I grabbed his shirt from behind and caught him, then guided him out of the way and surged forward to get away a bit. Kind of an annoying way to start a race and lose some energy. Immediately a lead pack formed, and 5 guys started to break away on that first mile. Candace, another guy, and I pretty much settled into a quick pace and powered through. Saw my half mile split at 2:38, was a bit alarmed at that and tried to settle down a little. Followed the lead vehicle for a bit before Larry and the other lead runners broke away - it had a photographer in the back taking pictures ever 5 seconds, and I thought I was going to have an epileptic seizure from all the camera flashes. Continued to work with those two, was cruising and everything felt really easy. [Mile 1 - 5:34]
Mile 2 - Was mentally cursing myself for going out that fast, a common downfall in my recent races, but felt great and no signs of strain yet. Had slowed down a bit, reeled in 2 guys but were passed by 2 more guys. The guy that was with us fell off, so it was just Candace and I with the next guy a good distance ahead of us. Came to the turnaround, kind of screwed up the turn and had to come to almost a complete stop then restart which was annoying. Passed Crystal, who was looking very strong and in control, and holding strong as 2nd overall female. Turned back on the main road and was caught offguard by the sea of blinking lights streaming from the start of the race from all the runners/walkers in the back. Humidity/general stuffiness was starting to get me, as whatever slight breeze we had wasn't really there coming back. [Mile 2 - 6:09]
Mile 3 - Was still feeling pretty much in control, and debating what I should do - should I surge and make a move, or sit back and work off Candace? Well, I had no hopes of catching the next runner ahead of me, so just sat back and worked off her some more. Still felt ok, not the usual lungs on fire/legs completely shot feeling I normally have, so that was a good thing. She was throwing in some surges here and there, but I matched everything and stayed stride for stride. With a little over half a mile to go, started to tire a bit and the evil thoughts started to creep in if I could keep up, but dispelled them and focused on other things like getting to the next road, to the next tree, and zoned in on the endless chorus of encouragement that was coming in bunches for her which was just like pouring gasoline onto a fire. Ahhh, deja vu from the AOH race! Well, there is only so much I can take (about 1.5 miles of this) before I decided I wasn't going to lose, so just bided my time and waited to make my move. [Mile 3 - 6:21]
Finish - Stupidly, I wasn't monitoring behind us at all at any point on the last mile, and some guy kicked it into ludicrous speed and zoomed by us before the last turn. I awoke from my daze, started my kick early and went after him. Narrowed the gap, but just didn't have it and let him go right at the end. I hate getting outkicked like that at the end! [Finishing 5K time - 18:51]
Peter Kim M30
Chip Time: 18:51
Overall Place: 6/900+
Gender Place: 6/?
Division Place: 2/?
Pace: 6:05/Mile
Crystal finished very shortly after in 2nd, so we grabbed a ton of water and tried to cool off. Talked with some of the other runners, and the guy that got us good at the end. Turns out he was sitting on us before making his move, so I got a taste of my own medicine. We did a 10 minute cooldown afterwards, legs felt ok but was definitely tired. Crystal ended up winning 2nd Female Overall and a huge trophy! I won 2nd in my age group, so accomplished my goal of winning a prize.
Final Thoughts
Well, not my finest effort, but what can you do? Probably could have ran 10-15 seconds faster if I wasn't sitting on the last mile, but it wouldn't have been worth the pain. It was by far the easiest sub 19 minute 5K I have ever run, so the last few weeks of workouts are starting to kick in. Wish I would have run more even splits instead of the ridiculous inconsistency I had. There is a lot of work to be done, but this was a step in the right direction. Even though I ran a crappy time, it was still good speedwork and I will focus on setting the Italianfest 5K on fire next month.
Drove home, didn't get back till 11ish and had to be up pretty early for the long run - UGH Stumbled out of bed after a terrible night of sleep, and my stomach was a mess. Late night McDonalds was a terrible idea, but I had to get something to eat since I hadn't had anything since 4 p.m. on Saturday. Was running super late, so just swigged a 1/4 of a bottled water and ran to meet up with Crystal and Mike. Weather was humid and a little warm but not too bad. Did our usual out and back, and was pretty tired which isn't any different than any other long run morning. First few miles felt pretty rough, once again nothing out of the ordinary, and eagerly awaited for Meridian where I usually get into a good rhythm. Well, it wasn't happening that day, and just felt like garbage. Not good to be grinding 5 miles into an 18 mile run when you're already going slow and it's only going to get hot. Turned towards SIUE, and about 8 miles into it told Mike and Crystal I had to stop at the turn for a small rest break which I don't remember the last time we had to do that. Stopped for a few minutes, had a GU, then headed back. Not the best feeling to have to restart, but the break was nice and felt slightly better since we were downhill for a bit. Tucked in behind Mike and Crystal, and continued to count the steps till the big Meridian downhill. Felt ok, but was on empty and running on fumes using all upper body and gravity to keep going. Was just grinding and grinding, and it wasn't getting any better. I switched leads with them and tried to maintain a pace, but it didn't help. Made our way back on the last 4 mile uphill and hit a few sun patches which felt brutal. With a little under 3 miles to go, I pretty much suffered a horrible death on the trails and had to walk. Let Mike and Crystal go, and pretty much walked/ran it in from there. I haven't hit the wall since 2008 - not a good feeling at all. They were nice enough to wait for me to finish, then we walked back home. Had to stop a few times on the way back, was a little lightheaded and starting to see some spots so erred on the side of caution. Total mileage: 18 miles - splits were: 9:17, 8:43, 8:34, 8:41, 8:33, 8:36, 8:22, 8:27, 8:30, 8:28, 8:26, 8:22, 8:27, 8:35, 8:41, slow, slow, and more slow (turned watch off as soon as I had to stop).
Well, not a good way to end the week, but I am not overly discouraged since I know this was probably more of a product of lack of rest/food/water than lack of fitness. But a solid mileage week nonetheless (44 I think?), and getting closer to starting my 1/2 marathon segment. Tonight, Big River group run, then track work tomorrow!
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