Last Race of the Year

I made a quick stop at Front Running Sports yesterday to pick up my race packet for the Candy Cane 5k on Saturday. This will be my last race of the year which somehow makes me a little sad even though I’m planning to run the Deleon Springs Half Marathon on January 2.

My luck with bib numbers continues as I drew a nice even number 50 for this race.

It’s been several months since I ran a 5k so I’m interested to find out what impact all this long distance running has on my speed in a short race.

This will also be my first 5k in my Saucony Kinvaras. These shoes make me feel faster from the moment I lace them up so I have high expectations for how well they will perform.

The weather warmed up a bit over the last few days. The temperature should be comfortable in the mid 50’s for the race and there is a slight chance of rain. Hopefully we will get lucky with the rain.

The race course will be the same as the Run for Africa 5k I ran in July. I finished that race in 24:10 and placed 5th in my age group, the closest I ever came to an age group award. The course isn’t optimal for a PR because of some tight turns that cost precious seconds but I have improved a lot since then. My current PR is 23:07 and my best mile split is 7:19. With any luck, I’ll be able to improve on both of those numbers tomorrow.

I've been running well the past two weeks and seem to have completely recovered from my marathon three weeks ago.  On the other hand, I slacked a little bit with my training this week and overindulged last night at the West Volusia Running Group's Christmas Party.  It was worth it though.  We had a great time and the hosts did an awesome job organizing the event.  With about 60 people in attendance, I'm sure it took a lot of work.

Run for Africa 5K

Crash!

That’s the sound of a record breaking. Shattering, like fine china striking tile. I finished the Run for Africa 5k with a time of 24:10, demolishing my prior 5k PR by well over 3 minutes. I missed my goal for the race by a frustrating margin of just 10 seconds, or 3 seconds per mile, but I’m still thrilled with my performance.

The race was organized by Front Running Sports who did a great job. Everything went smoothly from registration right through to the awards ceremony. Even the results were posted in record time. My only complaint for the entire event would be a single parked car that crowded the race course right at the start.

The West Volusia Runners were well represented and we took four age group awards including two first place medals. I placed 5th in my age group, about a minute and a half behind the leaders.

I came off the start fast, jostling for position on the crowded course, unfortunately it was probably too fast. It took less than half a mile for runners to comfortably thin out and when I hit the first mile marker I was happy to see a time of 7:25, 2 seconds faster than my previous fastest mile record. I worried that it was too fast, but I thought I was on target to hit my 24 minute goal.

I settled into the run for the second mile and hit the next marker at 7:59. I knew I had to average 7:45 to hit my goal, I was still on target but I was also starting to suffer for my effort.

At 2.5 miles runners began to fade ahead of me. I had planned to kick it into a higher gear at that point, but I knew it was too soon, there was no way I would be able to maintain it all the way to the end. I struggled to just maintain my pace, but still managed to pick off a few more runners. I bided my time until the final turn and the finish was in sight and then I put the hammer down. I hit Mile 3 at 8:06 with only a tenth of a mile left, but I knew my goal was in jeopardy. I watched the clock at the finish line helplessly as the last few seconds ticked off and the 23 changed to a 24. I crossed the line 10 seconds later, completely spent.

Post race we were treated to music and massages and there were plenty of bananas, oranges and samples of protein and energy drinks. The kids fun run was too cute. The awards ceremony was handled efficiently without sacrificing any pomp so that we wrapped everything up before the temperature hit 90.

All in all, it was a great event.

Post Script:

After checking the race results I discovered that I finished in 44th place overall. That’s bib # 44, age 44, finishing 44th. I think I’ve stepped into the Twilight Zone!

Race photography courtesy of:

Good Omen

I just picked up my race packet for my 5k tomorrow from Front Running Sports.  My bib number is the same as my age.

I’ll take that as a sign of good luck.

I ran 3 miles this morning in 24:12 thanks to some pacing assistance from another member of WVR.  I feel confident about my chances for setting a new PR tomorrow, but a little good luck never hurts.

Final Workout

I ran a good hard fartlek workout this morning with WVR in preparation for the 5k race Saturday. 13 people showed up for the 5 am run, apparently a record.  I stayed with the pack at an 8:32 pace for the first mile to warm up and then tried to chase after the speedsters in the group. I managed 7:38 for the second mile which included most of my fartlek sprints. That is right where I need to be in order to hit my 24 minute goal for the race, but it is going to be tough to maintain that for a full 3.1 miles. I faded in the last 1.5 miles, but I was running on my own at that point. The two fastest members of our group left me in the dust and then turned off at the 3 mile mark. With no one to chase, and no one challenging me from behind, it was hard to maintain my pace. I also stopped the fartleks for the final mile. I averaged 8:16 over the entire run, just shy of 4 miles. That’s just 31 seconds/mile slower than what I hope to run Saturday.

I am a little worried about the heat. I expect it to be well into the 80's when the race starts at 7:30.  Working in my favor is daylight.  Most of my training in recent weeks has been pre-dawn and I usually run faster when I can actually see where I am going.   My hope is that these two factors will negate each other.

My plan is to hold back just a little for the first mile and then gradually accelerate. I’m hoping for splits of 8:15 and 7:45 for the first two miles, then as long as I can finish the last 1.1 in under 8 minutes I will be fine.

I plan to do an easy 3 miles on Friday just to stay loose. It will be hard to hold back.

Calling my Shot

I just registered for the Children of the Nations Run for Africa 5k in Winter Springs, FL on July 24. I haven’t run a 5k since 2006 but my training has been going very well lately and I think I have a good feel for what I am capable of, especially after my performance on the beach at the Daytona 4 Miler two weeks ago.

I have incorporated hill training and fartleks into my weekly training for the past few weeks and as a result have set several new PR’s and have seen more and more of my mile splits dipping under the 8 min/mile mark.

So I’m calling my shot. I have a goal in mind and I am publicly declaring it here and now.

I finished the Daytona 4 Miler in 33:38 with an average pace of 8:25.

My goal for the 5k is 24 minutes. That’s an average pace of 7:45.

Wish me luck. I have eight more days to train.