Balloon Fest 5K
Two weekends ago I decided to deviate from my normal Saturday morning long run and participate in my first 5K race. I have been hesitant to do any of these short races in the past, because, well, I haven't been training for them. However, with the intervals and tempo runs that I have been doing as part of my current marathon training, I thought that I might be up for the challenge. So, I went for it.
The race had an 8 o'clock start time, so I showed up a little before 7:00am to give myself plenty of time to register, stretch, and warm up. The competitive juices in me started flowing and I found myself sizing up the competition (like I actually had a shot at winning the race). With the exception of one of my training buddies and his 15 year old son, I didn't recognize anyone else.
Right before 8 o'clock, the race volunteers moved us all into the starting area. The nerves began to set in. There were 64 of us, which wasn't too bad for a small, local event. Some runners were trying to get to the front of the pack where they wouldn't get held up by the slower ones and others were trying to move to the back where they were out of the way. I stayed at the front. I just felt more comfortable there. After a brief talk from the race official, the horn sounded and we were off....in a flat out sprint!
Immediately, I found myself anarobic and at the front with a highschool cross-country runner and a college 5K specialist. I knew I wouldn't last at their pace (sub 6-minute miles), so I eased up a bit around the one mile mark and let them go on. As I exited the park into the neighborhood, I got my first chance to glance behind me. I was about 100 yards ahead of the next guy, which I wouldn't be able to hold off until the end. With about 3/4 of a mile left, he passed me. I was running out of steam. The next runner behind me was a ways back and I was able to finish before he caught me.
In the end, I finished 4th overall and 1st in my age group - my time, 20m 5s. My original goal was 22 minutes, so I was pleased with the effort. It was a great learning experience and something that I would certainly like to do again in the future....not the near future though.
The race had an 8 o'clock start time, so I showed up a little before 7:00am to give myself plenty of time to register, stretch, and warm up. The competitive juices in me started flowing and I found myself sizing up the competition (like I actually had a shot at winning the race). With the exception of one of my training buddies and his 15 year old son, I didn't recognize anyone else.
Right before 8 o'clock, the race volunteers moved us all into the starting area. The nerves began to set in. There were 64 of us, which wasn't too bad for a small, local event. Some runners were trying to get to the front of the pack where they wouldn't get held up by the slower ones and others were trying to move to the back where they were out of the way. I stayed at the front. I just felt more comfortable there. After a brief talk from the race official, the horn sounded and we were off....in a flat out sprint!
Immediately, I found myself anarobic and at the front with a highschool cross-country runner and a college 5K specialist. I knew I wouldn't last at their pace (sub 6-minute miles), so I eased up a bit around the one mile mark and let them go on. As I exited the park into the neighborhood, I got my first chance to glance behind me. I was about 100 yards ahead of the next guy, which I wouldn't be able to hold off until the end. With about 3/4 of a mile left, he passed me. I was running out of steam. The next runner behind me was a ways back and I was able to finish before he caught me.
In the end, I finished 4th overall and 1st in my age group - my time, 20m 5s. My original goal was 22 minutes, so I was pleased with the effort. It was a great learning experience and something that I would certainly like to do again in the future....not the near future though.
posted by Chris at 9:14 PM
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