Prologue: After a couple months of dedicated training race week had finally arrived. I was all geared up for a final taper, followed by a fun Memorial day weekend family trip to the Grandparents house and culminating in the Herrinfest races... until a round of head colds hit the kids and then me. The family trip was canceled out of an abundance of caution to not pass the cold on to the grandparents, leaving my aspirations of racing greatness in shambles. Friday evening found me lying in bed cursing my stuffy, mucus inflated sinuses, but by Saturday I was starting to clear up, and by Sunday I felt that I was recovered enough to race... I hadn't seen my Dad in 16 months, the projections called for ideal weather, and that I had really focused on this race, so I decided to make the drive down to Carbondale Sunday afternoon by myself and stay at a hotel so I could at least salvage a small bit of the Memorial day weekend experience I had been looking forward to.
Race Report: The 4 hour drive on Sunday afternoon had me questioning if it was worth it, but as I drove the final miles on the back roads of Southern Illinois; windows down, cool breeze, and a beautiful wispy sunset over fields and trees I was glad I'd made the trip. I checked into the hotel and they had me sign a "No Party" policy sheet promising I wouldn't throw any parties in the room (not an issue with this guy any more). Other than that it was uneventful and I got a decent night sleep before waking up at 5:00 am to start my pre-race rituals.
Getting ready for a race is a bit cathartic for me.... Almost a meditative experience. Every action is done with purpose as I prepare myself for the starting line. I warmed up the coffee I had brought down in the hotel room microwave, and then headed out of the room to walk around outside the hotel a bit and get the legs moving. This was followed by foam rolling, getting on my racing clothes, eating a small snack, and using the bathroom one last time before I headed out to the race. I arrived at 6:30, an hour before the 7:30 start. I picked up my t-shirt and number, pinned on my number, and then walked over to the starting line to begin warming up.
I ran a slow 5K to warm up and by the time I was done it was about 7:05. I headed to my car, changed into my Vaporflies, did some dynamic stretching, and headed to the start line. It was 7:20... 10 minutes to race time. Got some strides in and finally ran into my dad around 7:25.
It was sunny and maybe 55 degrees with about zero wind, just about perfect weather (in fact the race director later commented in an email that this was the best weather Herrinfest race has ever had). We had to cross a mat to record our chip time and the starting line and the mat was fairly narrow (slightly less than the width of a lane of traffic) so I made sure I was in decent position near the front; Not toeing the line but maybe 2 or 3 rows back. Then the race started and we were off.
The lead group of 4 guys took off hard but I did not let them sway me from my strategy. I WAS NOT GOING TO RUN THAT FIRST MILE TOO HARD!!! I just tried to run easy. The plan was 6:10 for the first mile. I was running closer to 6 and it felt easy. I'd rather run by feel than by pace so I went with it. I could see the pack of 4 up ahead and then there was me in 5th. I figured a bunch of other people would go out too fast and then falter but no one really did (at least no one going 6 minute pace). The first mile was all straight and slightly downhill. I hit the first mile in 6:04... just about perfect and my HR had steadily climbed to 164. I was feeling good. Into mile 2, the course continued straight then turned right for a block then another right so that we were running parallel to the street we started on. I past the first water stop but waved them off. I could tell I was slowing down slightly so I revved it a bit. I hit the 2nd mile with a 6:07 split. A slight positive split but I was still feeling good and right on overall pace. I don't remember much about the 3rd mile except that I was still feeling pretty good but was still slowing slightly. I just tried to stay relaxed knowing I still had 4 miles to go. The front pack had splintered off ahead and I was locked onto the runner ahead but not really gaining ground. I hit the 3rd mile in 6:11 and the 5K mark in 19:01. I was planning on 19 for the 5K mark so I was happy with that.
The second part of the race things started taking a turn for the worse. When I hit the 5K mark my HR was at 170 and I really still felt pretty good. Mile 4 I started feeling bad. During this mile the 10K runners encountered the 5K walkers. Passing them wasn't really big deal but it takes me off rhythm a bit. Mile 4 and 5 were slightly uphill....not steep but sneaky. Not sure if my head cold might have had some effect?!?... Really I don't know what the deal was but I suddenly went from feeling exactly how I should be to really hurting. Maybe it was just my fitness... Like most runners I have a lot of hedges and excuses but the real summary is that normally when I race I excel and exceed my expectations and today just felt slightly off. Mile 4 was 6:15 and mile 5 was 6:21. Looking back, my only regret is that I didn't push myself a bit more on mile 5. I think I probably could have cut a few seconds off but probably not significantly. Based on my heart rate the effort was exactly where I needed it and I probably didn't have too much more to give but it all just felt slightly off.
Near the end of mile 5 was another water stop. By then I was heating up and strongly considered grabbing the water but waved this one off too. I rounded the bend, ran a block, and then was back on the main road, heading slightly downhill, back towards the finish. Not sure if it was knowing that there was only just over a mile to go or the fact that it was downhill but I was able to find another gear and pick it up. I was still hurting but I wasn't feeling off anymore, and it was like a cloud had lifted. My HR rose from 175 up to 180 during mile 6, as a I dug deep to tick off a 5:59 mile, my fastest of the day. During this mile I fought the urge to look behind me... the race was ahead and I kept locked on the runner ahead, still not gaining any ground even as I pushed myself. Finally I could see the finish shoot up ahead so I picked up the pace even more for the last .22 finishing at 5:37 pace. I still had a bit of kick left in my legs but no one to use it on... 4th place had finished 20 seconds ahead... 6th place was 45 seconds behind.
Distance: 10K
Final time: 38:18
Final pace: 6:11
Place: 5th Overall
The top 5 finishers got plaques so at least I got an award. My dad ran 53 minutes (8:34 pace) which he was happy with. Some young 70 year old showed up randomly and beat him so he only got 2nd place in his age group. I had a good trip and was satisfied with my race. I was hoping to break 38 minutes but it wasn't quite my day.
Epilogue: A quiet and uneventful drive home involving a fat burger and followed by a bunch of cake and ice cream. After a decent nights sleep in my own bed I woke up feeling pretty good; a bit of stiffness and soreness in my quads from racing but nothing significant.
Also, I had been feeling a little burnt out on running but this morning that feeling was gone. I headed out for an easy recovery run and it turned out to be really enjoyable. I planned to go 7 but wound up feeling so good I stretched it to 8.35 at 8:11 pace. My plan is to take it easy in June... run by feel, minimal mileage goals, and no workouts except for fun. After not quite achieving my 10K but executing my race perfectly it's time to cool the burners, get back to basics, and get some more time on my feet.
No comments:
Post a Comment