Distance - 1WU, 5K
Pace - 8:12
PR - 25:17
Splits .. 7:51, 8:19, 8:27 and 7:52 for the tail.
My PR starts with a "25!!!" My PR starts with a "20 friggin 5!!!" One WHOLE minute shaved from Jog Days PR. How friggin awesome!?! Clearly it was good I earmarked 24:59 as 'rest of 2016' goal. If I had done 25:30, I'd be taking an early retirement. :)
About this run
The morning didn't feel "perfect." Something was off. And not me just thinking my usual "I am going to f' up." More the opposite .. I just didn't feel "go-y." In addition to physically not being 'all wound up,' which isn't normal for me, I also knew that I had taken a few mental hits this week, too, what with the dunk, and the pmsing, and in general, the burn out that is now life for the next 6 weeks. But I hydrated really well leading up to it, and ate well enough for a 5K, nothing hurt, and I woke up, so we have to run today.
I ran a full warm up mile before the race, knowing I needed to throw a lot of "time on feet" in the bucket by any means. Kept it an easy 9:57 average pace. Had that "how can I possibly start at or under 8 if this is 10" feeling, but I am getting better at knowing that, if anything, I am too fast out of the corrals.
This conflicts me because I am pretty sure that if I started a little slower, I WOULDN'T make up for the lack of banked time later. Banking time is a necessary evil for me, I think, which essentially ensures PR but also makes the second half of all 5Ks MISERABLE. The second half of this race, I forgot, had much tougher sections in it than mile one, too. Thank god I had Brad running with me. The final two miles were brutal and I literally just checked out 110%. Brad and autopilot non-stop to the finish. In fact, it reminds me A LOT of how HARD Singleton felt toward the very end. So hard that you don't even have much of a kick, because you are just that gassed, and the final step is just about the last one you could possibly take at that pace. I yelled at myself (and Bob and Brad around me .. haha) up the final hill, because if I didn't acknowledge the hurt, I was pretty sure it would eat me up, spit me out, and have me walking in the blink of an eye. The motivational comments kept coming, and I did not give up. Checked out, yes. Giving up, not allowed. The only moment I "really" got "it" back again a tiny bit was in the final straight away. I sure wish it had been longer there, and shorter somewhere else (preferably knocked off one of the hills!).
At some point, I am going to try a negative split 5K, running out at a pace over what I need for goal in mile one, and just see how that changes overall impact, and ability to hit goal. That said, I think that for the most part, this is what it feels like when you set and hit tough goals. But I'll try it once for something less important, just to see.
Right after finishing, all my thoughts were on Chicago. Is this what will make me happy in Chicago? The HARD goal? I think the answer that came was definitive: No. I want a moderate goal. I can't hurt like that for more than a 5K. I'll break myself. Bye 4:30 ... I'll catch you next time.
After the race, (some ten minutes after me ;) ) I saw some cadets sprint and racing each other to the finish. They were smiling and just INSANELY sprinting. I know for a FACT that feels AWESOME. That is 'wonder woman' to me. That also comes at a price: easy, happy go lucky effort followed by kick ass fun effort. Maybe I can live with that being a moment in my Chicago instead of a time goal that is just at the edge of possible?
Next .. picture time. This was about when the emotion set in. How lucky am I to have such amazing and supportive people in my life?????!!!!???? <3
Hulk strong with my escort, Brad, and speedy Kyle continuing to make sure I don't forget to "bring it" because "he's coming!" LOL. :)
Post-post-race
Really frustrated by the mechanics and logistics of a missed chip time. My official time was 27:20! First I did bad math: oh, I must have messed up my watch or the efficient running. I failed big time. But even Brad's watch had 25:17 ... that's like what .. wait, that's like 2 minutes. I can't have missed starting a watch, or lost two WHOLE minutes by not running tangents in a 5K!? And Kyle started *right* behind me, how can that have given him two whole minutes better time??? What gives?
Next, I figured I had messed up the finish line time by taking pictures around it, and racing someone else to "almost" their finish. Neither ended up being the case. For some wonky reason the chipping didn't take at the start line, and default "gun time" was applied.
This seriously hurts because: 1. its my PR now, and an unofficial PR doesn't usually "count." This first thing I can discount fine .. because using even another friend's start, who was one row deep closer to the start than I, I get 25:17. Brad and Kyle's starts are just a second or two behind hers, and I was right smack in between. So WORST case, 25:20, when the gun at B went off, and STILL crushed PR. I'm okay with that, even if it never appears online anywhere. 2. though .. 25:17 beats #1 leader in F35-39 for Grand Prix point allotment. 27:20 comes in 3rd or maybe even doesn't place for extra points, which drops me out of Top 3.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I sent an email to the race directors, and am really hoping they have a good back up system like Sizzler did last year. Otherwise, a year's worth of effort down the drain on a technicality beyond my control. :(
After the running, as I thought, I didn't feel like a whole heck of a lot else. Morning running Sunday because .. I have breakfast and a baby shower to get to! :)
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