I ran the By George 5K yesterday, finishing in 21:59 by my watch (22:01 was the official time, which was based on hand timing after the electronic timing system failed).
(Note: this was a $15 race, so the fact that they even tried electronic timing was a plus - I was expecting hand-timing anyway.)
I did this as a rustbuster, knowing that it was going to be ugly and awkward and awful as most rustbusters are, but that it would also be good for me.
This race offers a 5K (once out and back) and a 10K (twice out and back) and I momentarily debated swapping to the 10K on grounds that I wasn't going to be able to run any faster for 5K then for 10K. Then I remembered that I probably didn't have the fitness to hold any sort of fast pace for 10K and decided to stick with the 5K.
Parking and bib pick-up were quick and easy (as always for this race), so I headed out to jog the course for my warm-up, including my normal warm-up fartlek of about 15 minutes easy, 3 minutes at half-marathon effort, 4x30 seconds at 5K effort, and 4x10 second strides. Running fast felt awkward, just as it did during this Tuesday's track workout (which was rough). But that was what I expected, so *shrug*.
I finished warming up about 10 minutes before the race, which was enough time to run to the bathroom (very small race, so no line) and then back to the start to do strides. I had hoped to jog to the start line right before the race start, but I wasn't so lucky as the race was delayed three minutes - just enough time for my legs to stiffen up a bit. Oh well.
Then we started. My gait was rough for the first mile, and got worse when I started thinking about catching up to people in front of me. The best response to this is a mental shell game where I try to stay relaxed without slowing down and also without trying to run fast. It's pretty tricky. But about 3/4 of a mile into the race, I managed to find a compromise and began to reel people in.
This race is an out-and-back, and so as I approached the turnaround I was able to count the runners ahead of me. The first three were teammates of mine and I was fairly sure that they would continue to pull away from me. But I was only about 20 seconds behind the fourth place (I counted 10 seconds from when she and I ran past each other to the turnaround) and the fifth place was right ahead of me.
Knowing that I would only get faster in the second half as things loosened up, I was pretty sure I could pass both before the finish. So I went to work. First I passed fifth place - by now I had enough control of my gait to pull slightly ahead in a controlled manner, then pause to let her surge ahead (and use up some energy). Then I accelerated again and pulled ahead, my focus now on fourth place.
Over the next mile I was able to chase fourth place down - an odd combination of trying to stay relaxed while still working hard. I could tell she was slowing in the third mile, and sure enough I passed her with a half mile or so to go.
From there I just had to focus on enduring race suck and wondering where the finish was. Experiencing race suck (and the corresponding tiny voice asking me to take a break for a moment) was exactly why I was here, so I reminded myself over and over that this was a good thing.
Then my watch buzzed for the third mile (I used autolap because there were no mile markers) and I could see the finish line ahead, so I tried to kick. Kicking involved trying to run hard, which meant leg stiffening and so I had to navigate that, but somehow I did manage to accelerate. It didn't feel pretty, but that was OK.
I finished and stopped my watch and checked it - 21:59. NOT a personal worst (which was what I was expecting) and far better than I had expected, based on recent workouts. And I also felt pretty good about having managed to truly compete in the race while managing the leg stiffness and balance issues, instead of being distracted by them to the exclusion of all else.
Splits (Garmin autolap) were:
Mile 1: 7:12
Mile 2: 7:02
Mile 3: 6:51
last .13: 52 seconds (6:40 pace)
So...not a badly executed race, albeit with the traditional slow first mile. And I felt much better and more confident about my running (and specifically my ability to race) as a result of this 5K, so I got what I came for.
Other notes:
- It was a ridiculously good day for racing - high 40s temps with no wind and overcast skies, on flat and fast Hains Point. We got really lucky.
- I wore the Nike Vaporfly 3 for this race, rather than my Takumi Sens or Deviate Nitros. I was really excited about this, actually. Last year I picked up a pair of Vaporfly 3s and did a workout in them, but I was really uncomfortable in them (specifically ankle pain), so I decided that they didn't work for me. I meant to sell them on eBay, but never did.
Then on a whim on Friday, I decided to do some strides in them and see if I liked them any better (comparing to the Adios Pro and the Deviate Nitro). Surprisingly, they felt fine for the strides - much better than I remembered. So I decided to give them a spin for the 5K. And they were fine. Sure, I was awkward and stiff, but it didn't feel any worse from any other pair of shoes. It was me, not the shoes.
So that's exciting - I'm now thinking that a year's worth of ankle strengthening and balance rehab has paid off, and I can wear these shoes again (I used to like racing in the Vaporfly before my neuro issues hit and I couldn't handle them any more). Perhaps these will end up being my spring marathon shoe.
- I arrived at 7 am for the 7:50 start. This was just barely enough time - had there been an issue with traffic or bib pick-up or bathroom lines I wouldn't have had enough time to warm-up. Next year I need to arrive about 15 minutes earlier.
- The really good news was that my running stride felt much better the next morning after this race - which is par for the course for me. But also pretty cool. This race may have rebooted my gait issues some (as really uncomfortable fast running seems to). So yay.
