Race Diary - Part 6 - The 5-Miler

Sunday, March 29, 2015
Race day!

The competition juices are flowing. I love mental imagery. So, I have been visualizing myself running the course for the past few days. I have only ridden my bike around part of the course, which is located in North Cambridge. The ambient temperature when waking up: 26 degrees!

I plan to wear shorts.

I'll report back here with the results...after church.

Well, the race is over. It felt good to run in another road race even if the temperature was around freezing. Still ran in shorts and short sleeves too. The 5-mile route around Fresh Pond is a good one. Upon my arrival, I had some time to warm up. Almost right after I finished, the horn for the race start blew just as I was approaching the pack  to try to start close to the front. Needless to say, I spent the first mile of the race weaving in and out of the crowd of at least 825 runners...all due to the delayed start.

The first mile time was 8 minutes flat, which is well off my fastest mile time. The second mile made up a little time with a 6-minute + time. Part of my strategy was to get an idea of where the 2.5 mile mark would be (I guess I could have Googled it, may be). But, having all the mile markers on course would help. No so fast! There was not a timer at the 3-mile mark. In fact, when I thought 3-miles had past, it was actually close to four miles.

Get this...the last mile includes a nice little hill. Reminds me a little bit of the Capitol Hill Classic in that design. I did learn a few things:

• I did not achieve my goal time. According to the clock, I finished in just over 37 minutes. If I subtract the time it took to get to the start line (no chip timing today), then my official time would probably be 36 minutes +.
• Start at the front to decrease weaving time. I still think 34 to 35 minutes is very do-able.
• I am more confident that I can destroy my best 10k (6.2 mile) time now. I have never run faster than 52 minutes. Let's put that 10k goal time at 42 minutes for right now.
• I can finish a 5-miler strong with a good kick. What does that mean for training? My anaerobic training is good (I'll attribute that to ice hockey!)
• I could improve my interval running.
• You have to run distance aggressively and get past the mental roadblocks. They creep up no matter what.
• I am thirsty for more races.

All in all, this entire short race diary was not about my training experiences and result. How does it affect you and your health and fitness endeavors? How will you push forward?

With heart,
Derek

Derek Arledge, MS, CSCS        www.teempt.com        TEEM Performance Training