Sep 28
Anna’s Angels 5K
A couple of weeks ago i made a resolution to participate in at least one 5K race each month through the end of the year. The Anna’s Angels 5k & 10-Miler event was the first of these, and it was this morning. Last year i ran in the 10-mile race in preparation for the half-marathon, and it about killed me! But i knew the course to be fairly flat, so i wanted to do this race.
I dragged myself out of bed at 6:30, had a hard-boiled egg and some V8. Lance drove me to the race. Got the timing chip and we walked around for a bit. It was a little humid, but the temperature was nice. The race started at 8 am.
Mile 1: I started off too fast, which is not unusual, as you’re surrounded by hundreds of people at the start, and just have to go with the flow until everyone spreads out. I kind of like that part though, and i like to look ahead and behind and see the huge column of people stretching out. My left foot was not bothering me much, just twinges here and there. My whole right leg, though, was burning. I tried running through it, but at the first hill, around the half mile point, i just decided to walk it. Picked up the pace again at the top, and i was running at about a 10:30 pace. At the one mile point, the time was 11:24.
Mile 2: In the first part of the second mile, the burning in my right leg abated. I did walk up one short hill in this segment, and then walked again at the water station at the halfway point. At some point, i realized i had not pressed the correct button on my Garmin GPS watch at the 1-mile marker. I had stopped the timer instead of marking the mile time. Grr. I restarted it, but i knew the time would be off. The second half of this mile was a nice stretch, part flat and part downhill. I was finding a second wind. My pace increased to about 9:30! And i was very comfortable. The time that was shouted to me at the 2-mile mark was 23:16, which meant my second mile was just under 12 minutes.
Mile 3 and the final stretch: Still at the 9:30 pace, a song came onto my ipod whose beat matched the rhythm my feet were beating onto the pavement, Hey Ya by OutKast. My breathing was also at pace with the music - in-two-three, out-two-three. As the song came to an end, i restarted it - everything was just meshing too well to not take advantage of a repeat. At this point, i was passing a LOT of people, which also felt good. The final half mile had a couple of rolling hills, and i did have to stop to walk up one of them - my 9:30 pace for nearly one full mile was a bit much for me, and my breathing was extremely heavy. After that short break, i ran the rest of the way, albeit at more like a 10:15 pace. When the finish line came into sight, 3 kids, who couldn’t have been more than 12(!), sprinted past me. I took their cue and picked it up to a sprint. I waved to Lance, who was right there cheering me on, and smiled for the camera as i crossed the finish line. The clock said 34-something. I wish i had operated the garmin correctly! But i’m pretty sure that my last 1.1 miles was faster than my first mile, which is a pretty cool thing.
After it was over, i felt great. I had a real runner’s high. Which was probably due to too much oxygen because of my heavy breathing. But i truly felt awesome, like i could do anything.
The next race I will participate in is the Second Empire race in downtown Raleigh a month from now. I’m really glad to be back into running, and i’m trying to take care of myself and my foot so i can keep doing it.
September 29th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Congratulations! Yes, the important part is you FINISHED but when I run these races, there’s nothing that can make you more proud of yourself than finishing in a negative split. I think I used to start out too fast and now, I think I start out too slow. I worry too much about starting out too fast that I save my energy for the end and I *still* don’t have any energy at the end!
Great job. Races are great at keeping you motivated. Tim is doing Second Empire; I am running with Cerina and Mia for the 1 mile and the kid’s dash…
September 29th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Race results are located here:
http://results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?pubID=3&rsID=70348
My chiptime was 34:35 - which i was quite pleased with, being as i’ve not been running much. I’d like to set a goal for myself for the next race, but i don’t know what’s reasonable. I guess i’ll just say i want to be under 34 minutes.
September 29th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
What is your training regiment these days? I’ve been doing as many as 5 miles per day on the elliptical (usually 45 minutes or so) since I’ve gotten on my health kick. I think I’d almost be interested in running as well. Real ground is much more difficult, I know … but still, could be fun.
Hmm …
September 30th, 2008 at 8:58 am
It’s a hodge-podge-whenever-i-feel-like-it regimen. But i’d love to have a running buddy sometime. In fact, if you’re free this weekend, i think we should get together and do it! I’ll be in touch..