Starting off the summer

First, a race report.

Emilie's Run seemed like a good way to distract myself. Wish I'd thought of that in time to pay a reduced race fee and get a t-shirt, but there has been a lot on my mind. I woke up around 7 and took the bus down to the aviation museum. The weather was already feeling a little too hot, but this was a race just to see where I was at. Plus, I'd never run a 5K before so my hopes weren't high.

Sort of.

You see, I was doing much better running-wise last spring/summer--more miles, more time, less stress--and at one point, I'd knocked off about 3 miles in 20:20 or so. The weather was perfect, 9C and overcast, and I was peaking for a marathon with a bunch of tough workouts behind me. I knew I wouldn't manage that sort of pace today, but I was at least expecting to run faster than during the first 5K of my last two 10Ks (around 23 min flat). Maybe next time.

At any rate, registering late was a breeze, and the setting was lovely. The museum was open and we were able to use the bathrooms and sit on nice comfy chairs in the lobby...bliss. The museum also had lockers but all of them were occupied, so I put my bag besides a bunch of others. There wasn't much in it although my bus fare back was kind of important.

I had thought about running back home, but the race goody bag ncluded a few magazines and some pamphlets. It felt too heavy to run 6-ish miles with in my hand, but I'm looking forward to perusing it later.

Anyway, I had about 40 minutes to relax before the race. I didn't warm up apart from jogging the 200M to the start. I was already warm enough. I put myself about midway in the field. Usually I move closer to the front, but I knew that this would be a fast race. Last year, about 250 women ran and 45 came in under 20 minutes. I decided that I wouldn't set my timer or look at my watch during the race. Just in case, I changed the setting to show my alarm. lol

And we were off! The start was at the crest of an overpass, so the first km went by easily and quickly. I passed a bunch of people just letting go on the downhill...I didn't want to go out too fast but I didn't want to hold back, either. The 2nd km, likewise, was nice, although I was feeling hot. I think I passed a few people, and a few passed me. The turn around came along pretty quickly. Hey, I could get to like this 5K thing. There was a drink station and I tossed a cup of water over me. It seemed way too soon to drink.

Maybe not. And then I started to wilt. It wasn't terribly hot, 17C? but humid, sunny, and there was no shade. I don't handle heat well, although I can jog about in it for 2-3 hours without any problems. However, when I try to race in it, my heartrate goes higher than normal for the pace (and it's already pretty high during exercise), and it feels like half my blood has left my legs and I'm left with not much to work with. These are the same physiological changes that everyone else goes through in hot weather. Unfortunately, my threshhold seems to be lower than normal. I often looked underdressed compared to others around me, but after about 10C or so, there's nothing left for me to decently remove!

Well, I hung in there and tried to run one bit at a time. At this point in a race, I usually guesstimate the time I have left to run, and consequently check my watch more, too much. It helped not having a watch this time and I think I'll leave it behind during my next race as well. I tried to remember various things, loosen up here, lean more, etc, etc, and I thought of my husband whenever I wanted to stop. I didn't, however, picture him up ahead, which might have helped. I also didn't try to pick it up when I was feeling especially crappy. I'm not good at remembering that one.

One woman breezed by me at one point, but I tried to hang on and caught up a bit. She ended up about 2 seconds ahead of me. I'm not sure what other passing was going on, although a few passed me, I think. At any rate, there were a few turns in the last km, and I didn't have much of a kick, but I tried.

And, gosh, after the race, I really felt horrible for a few minutes, but I got some gatorade and walked a bit. I stayed by the finish until the 30 minute mark, and then decided to hit the loo while the line was still reasonable. My deoderant had foamed up again (doesn't matter which brand I use!) and so I tried to wipe/wash myself as much as possible, and changed my shirt. Usually, I wouldn't care, but I was thinking of the bus ride home. Still, it was sort of payback for all of the times I've had to endure someone else's BO. lol

Anyway, it turns out they timed each km!

1: 4:25/7:06
2: 4:31/7:16
3: 4:39/7:29
4: 4;55/7:54
5: 4:51/7:48

Yeah, I wilted...again. There was some wind on the return, but it felt good. Maybe the return was a bit more uphill...but the whole thing was pretty flat apart from the downhill at the beginning. Still, it was a good first 5K, I think, and hopefully circumstances will be better next time.


So, to recap my last few races:

10K: 47:14
1/2: 1:48:00
5K: 23:18

punching the latest into the mcmillan calculator, I get 48:24 for a 10K and 1:47:42 for the 1/2. The 10K was my A race, so I guess tapering and all do help! At any rate, I think, if nothing else, I've improved in stamina. I'm not sure about my 10K last spring, but my 1/2 PB was 1:50:08, despite faster times at shorter distances.