RACE REPORT - OLD SETTLERS DAY 5K

I woke up at 5am, 3 hours before the start of the local Old Settler’s Day run.  After brewing an espresso I walked out of my house sipping my drink and enjoying the dawn as the morning light began to creep over the horizon.  As I walked down the street, stretching my sleepy legs, I felt focused and ready for the task at hand.  As I was walking a truck passed me by… It was volunteers from the race, prepping the course.  They laid orange cones at the intersections and marked arrows on the pavement with chalk.

After a brief walk I headed back to the house and finished my preparations; foam rolling, lacing up my racing shoes, sipping water.  I laid on the couch and tried to relax and stay focused and calm... nervous energy building inside me as the time progressed.  40 minutes until gun time, I started listening to some hype music to get myself into the zone.  30 minutes til I took my asthma medication. 20 minutes til, it was time to leave the house and jog down to the starting line. 
..By now other runners were on the road outside my house doing their warmups.  I jogged along at a shuffle as I continued my own warm up routine.  After about a mile I was at the starting line with 10 minutes to spare.  I said hi to a few people I knew and hit the porta-potty one final time.  My legs didn’t feel great and I was a total ball of nerves.  Only racing once a year with a single goal race really amplifies the pressure and I had high hopes for this race after training harder than I’d trained in 10 years.

5 minutes to start I approached the line (about 3 rows back from the young kids who crowded and toed the line).  I shuffled in place trying to stay loose… trying to stay calm. 
And then we were off...  It started fast.  My heart rate was red-lining immediately.  I could feel the adrenaline pulsing in my veins… I focused on my form as we ran out of town, and by the first turn I found a rhythm, but I could tell the pace was harder than I’d run in many years.  The first mile felt fast but not terrible.  I willed myself to stay loose.  As I approached the mile marker a man read off the times, 6:23, 6:24, 6:25.  And then I was passed him and onto the second mile...  

As I hit the back stretch of the course, I could tell I was slowing down a bit.  I tried to stay to keep the pace strong but the pain was creeping in and I didn’t quite feel like I had the will or desire really reach for my maximum pain threshold.  The 2^nd mile was uneventful as I ran past the water table, forgoing, and around the corner to the 2^nd mile marker at 13:05, for a 6:40 2^nd mile… then around the corner and down the hill and past my house.  

My wife and daughter Maya had woken up to see me run by… the cheers spurred me on as I started down the half mile street that I live on.  By now exhaustion was starting to win and I willed myself forward.  Halfway down the street I was passed by another runner; A strong woman with a runners body (I’d later find out she was the age group winner for 50-54F).   Until now I had been running by myself, but now I had someone help push me along.  I struggled to hold her pace as I lagged 10 feet behind.  As we hit the small hill at the end of my street she slowed a bit and I quickly gained ground.  The hill felt good as it worked slightly different muscles on my tired legs.  600 meters to go as I ran 2 blocks to the final turn.  400 meters to go as I turned the corner and now I could see the finish line.  

I bore down and shifted up a gear as I began to engage my kick.  I propelled myself past the woman who had passed me on the previous stretch and lumbered down the road.  As I approached the finish line I saw two younger kids (17 and 14) slowly finishing.  I realized too late that I should speed up even faster and catch them… I passed one of them but the other finished right ahead of me.  Final time:  20:25, 6:34 pace.  

I drank some water and dumped some more over my head and then slowly jogged home to grab my daughter Maya to take her back downtown for the kids fun run and award ceremony.  Maya ran the fun run and said she came in 5th.  She really wanted to do the 5K but I convinced her to wait for next year... partly this was selfish because I didn't want to distract from my race but I also wanted to ensure she had at least run/walked the course once before she raced it.

I was happy with my time.  I broke my goal of 21 minutes and shaved 2 minutes off my previous years performance.  I felt like possibly I could have run a bit faster, especially after finishing  strong, but I don't think I could have broken 20 and I do enjoy finishing strong... the run hurt but not nearly as bad as last year.

Award ceremony started and I wound up running 1st place in my age group!  Always nice to get back on the podium ;)…  23rd overall...  Winner ran 16:50.  10th place was 18:53.  12 of the top 15 were XC kids.  Number 1 runner of the 35-39 yr old division ran 18:03 and he's 39 years old.  I guess the goal for next year is sub 18.