Saturday, January 30, 2016

Run for the Paws 5k

It's been awhile since I've raced a 5k; it's been even longer since I truly trained for one. I signed up for this race months ago when I made the decision to focus on short distances and speed.

I was a little nervous getting ready this morning. Since running 20 last weekend, my left foot has been a nuisance. It doesn't hurt when I stand on it, but lifting it hurts. The pain is on the soft, outside part. Anyway, I didn't run all week, and my foot was feeling mostly better during the day, but every evening after being on my feet all day at work, it would start to ache again.

I decided that if my foot really bothered me during the race, I'd give up on running the full in February so that I could truly rest it.

I originally went in with no goals because of the pain, but was secretly hoping that I'd be able to break 30, which is always my fallback goal.
47 degrees at 7:30. Thank you, Florida. 
Matt and I got to the race about 45 minutes before it began, which was more than enough time to pick up our bibs, use the bathroom, and walk to the start line. I have to say, I'd forgotten how low-stress 5ks are! No fueling to worry about, no need to carry a million things. I knew that even if it hurt, it would be over quickly, and that was a great feeling.
The staging area was packed with dogs; they all got special bandanas to run in. It was very cute!
The race began at 8am, which I originally thought would be too late, but ended up being perfect because we've still got winter weather here! After a pretty unorganized lineup and very little warning for the countdown, we were off!

I took off pretty quickly in the first mile, and .25 in I realized I was pushing a 9:06 pace. I back off marginally; I felt good, but I didn't want to burn out. My foot was uncomfortable but not painful. In a way, it felt like I was stretching the tender spot, which felt nice.

The course was a simple out-and-back around the airport grounds. Around 1.5 miles in, I started to see the leaders coming back. I was impressed to see my pace staying steadily in the 9:30s; I didn't feel like I was really pushing it much, but I didn't know how hard I could really go without burning out, so I stayed there.
My finishing sprint was in the 8:50s.
The 9:30s ended up being comfortable and just challenging enough; I could have probably done the last mile in the low 9s, but because I'm out of practice with 5ks, I didn't want to take the risk. Considering I've been in the 10s and 11s for awhile now, I was really pleased with my performance.

The volunteers were really great. We've had a lot of rain and flooding, and they made sure to point us toward the dry parts of the paths when necessary.

The finish snuck up on me. I finally pushed the pace and passed a girl I'd been watching the entire race with a quarter mile to go, but still didn't really dig in for a sprint until the last tenth or so.
Matt got a couple pictures at the finish.
Matt had finished ahead of me in 25:37 (his chip got messed up and at first clocked him at 30:11, but we got it fixed) and met me at the finish. My time was 29:37. I was really pleased to have felt strong and consistent the entire race and to finish in under 30.
Originally the results said I placed 8th, but Matt's wasn't the only chip to get messed up. These are the official results. It's no top 10, but it's not too shabby!
Because this was a 10-year anniversary race, they had finishers medals! I used to be a little bit of a snob about medals for 5ks, but I've gotten over it; in fact, one reason I chose this race was because of the promise of bling!
My first medal of 2016!
I'm happy I ran it, and I reminded me how much I do love shorter races! I'm excited to do more this year; this one will serve as a baseline for the rest.
Finally, depending on how my foot feels, I'll be continuing a normal taper for A1A (15 miles this Sunday and 8-10 next Sunday). Fingers crossed. I'd like to have the choice - I don't want an injury to make the decision for me.

PS: As of Sunday morning, I've skipped that 15-miler. My foot feels almost normal; I think a couple extra days rest is called for, and then maybe it'll be totally normal this week!

When's the last time you ran a 5k?
Do like races that allow dogs?

ABK

14 comments:

  1. Congrats on your sub 30 and a very strong, consistent pace! You will have fun doing these shorter races this year for sure. I hope your foot continues to feel good! Did you find any stretches or exercises that help it or is resting it the best thing?

    The first and only 5k I ran was... almost 3 years ago, I THINK? It was before I had my blog. I had a sub 20 goal and I made it! I would love to run another and try to PR. But you know me and races.

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    1. I think resting has been best, although I've been doing some massage and that seems to be helping, too.

      I'd love to see how fast you could do a 5k. I bet you'd blow it out of the water.

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  2. Congratulations on your first race of 2016! And also congratulations on getting in under 30 minutes. I find 5K races very tricky to run actually. I pretty much suck at them LOL

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    1. I think they're tricky too! Mentally, I always start to cave in around 2 miles. It's hard to remind myself that the last mile should just be a sprint to the finish!

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  3. great run! I did a handful of 5ks this fall - mostly because they're quite cheap (15-20bucks) 5ks are my hardest distance since I don't generally have enough time to warm up/make up any time. I run with my dog a few days a week & even bring her to my running club, BUT she is a pain. She is determined to the be the pack leader (and some folks in my club are a LOT faster than I am) she also isn't super friendly to other dogs while on leash - off leash shes great! So while I love the idea of taking her to a race, I probably wont.

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    1. The dogs at this race were supposed to start at the back, but many of them started closer to the front. They were fast enough, so it was okay...they mostly stayed out of the way. I was relieved that they were so well-behaved!

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  4. Arf, arf arf arfarfarf, arf. From Charlie.

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  5. Congrats on your finish! That looks like a pretty decent medal for a 5K. I'm going to be limiting myself to 5K's this year (or for the near future anyway) too and I'm really looking forward to a different kind of training plan.

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    1. It was such a cute medal! This race doesn't usually give medals, but it was the 10th anniversary so they did. It's going to be such a relief to focus on short races!

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  6. Nice job on another sub-30! And congrats to Matt, too! I always find that short distances are really tough for me, 5k's especially so. I just suffer way too much during the race. Maybe that means I need to practice them more. I hope you heal up well leading into A1A! I can't wait to see you there!

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    1. It's funny how painful a 5k can be! I guess that means you're racing it right!

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  7. I don't mind dogs at races as long as they are well behaved! For the most part, I haven't had any issues. :) Awesome Sub30 time! You did great and I can't wait to see how you improve as you focus on faster and shorter distances. :)

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    1. The dogs at this race were really good! It was so cute to see them around. I'm excited to see where this year's short-race-focus takes me.

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