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Saturday, September 30, 2006
The 5K "Run for Erin"
Run Time: n/a + 28 minutes flat
Total Miles to Date: 9.3m
Thoughts on the Run:
It was nice to participate in my first race in quite awhile and what will be part of a regular schedule moving forward.
I did not special last night - no crazy "pre-race" ritual as it is just a 5K.
This morning I woke up at 7:00am. I got dressed and was excited to don the new running pants my wife bought me for warming up now that it is starting to cool down in Atlanta. I think it was mid-to-high 40s this morning, probably mid-to-high 50s during the run.
My pre-run nutrition was a cup of water and a cuban coffee with some cream mixed in. I do cream instead of sugar so I get a few calories but without the crash from a sugar high (so it wasn't a true cuban coffee - no sugar).
I convinced one of my co-workers to run with me and he showed up at 7:45am with his roommate. We decided to jog to the location (1.7 miles away) to warm up and it was a good decision because we needed that time in the cool air. We arrived to much excitement with loads of people. I know the race has capped at 300 runners in the past, my number was 330 so I believe they had a phenomenal turnout. We stripped off the extra layers and shortly were ushered to the start line.
I wasn't sure what to expect so I settled into a pace that felt comfortable and was a notch above what I train at. My intention was to run the race at a 9:30 pace which would have me finish at about 29:30. The initial run was through a parking lot - no worries there. The group started to spread out and distribute. There was a group of may six serious runners who began blasting to the front, while we were sort of in the front-to-mid section.
The parking lot then dipped onto the road - no worries there. Then, at the bottom, time for guts, as there was probably a 3/4 mile stretch going up hill. I made the decision that I would not stop and would keep a steady pace and plodded to the top. It was actually a relief to have plenty of energy there when we looped around the cones and began descending the same stretch heading back to the school. This is where our little group separated, first with my co-worker's roommate pulling ahead. We followed it down and then back up a steep grade (the welcome "downhill" from the beginning of the race) and then began two loops around the school.
Here, I broke away from my co-worker. I felt good so I settled into a steady stride and kept the same pace going up and down. I realized this was my opportunity to run my first race nonstop. All other races I'd been known to come out blasting away and then ended up walking a bit. One loop done, another to go. I knew I had it so I pushed forwarded a bit more and next thing I knew, I was done with the loop and routing onto the track.
In hindsight, I wish I would have pushed harder here becaue I wasn't sure if I had a lap on the track. Turns out we just went onto the track and straight to the queue. I opened up into a solid sprint and finished at exactly 28:00 or just over a 9-minute pace. I was very happy.
We waited and cheered for my co-worker to finish and then grabbed some refreshments. I had a small chocolate chip cookie, a banana, and a Gatorade. Everyone was fishing for the ones in the cooler but I definitely preferred mine at room temperature.
It was great to have nearly a 2-mile walk back - we all agreed it helped to cool down. I'm very happy to have run this race and feel it is definitely a stepping stone. The next race will be a 10K and then it's the Half Marathon!
posted by Jeremy Likness | 11:26 AM
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