...how much running in a 5k can hurt! Chad had done this race last year and said that it was a nice small, local 5k. I like the atmosphere at these races, and seeing as I have organized a couple of my own 5k's I know how difficult it can be to get people to participate. So I decided that it would be a good thing to do, and honestly I don't remember the last time (if ever) I have run a stand alone 5k fast.
The race was well organized, great volunteers, plenty of parking and it seemed as if there were a lot of participants, I'm guessing well over 500. I really didn't have much of a plan for the race as I had no idea what to expect. I haven't run "hard" like that since the Lake Mills Triathlon, and so this would definitely be a test for me. I thought that I would treat this like I treated the 10k I did in Naperville earlier in the year. So I went out with the lead group, there were 5 of us through mile one...and when we went through mile 1 I heard the split time and used my better judgement to back it down and to let them go. They were all high school cross country kids, and as hard as it was for me to let them go it's what I had to do! So I was running about 10 yards behind when one of them started to drop, I caught him, ran with him for a minute or two before he dropped well off of me. I could see the other three ahead of me, two about 30 yards up and the leader about 45 yards ahead. At this point we were running on a road which was all brick pavers...it sucks running on those. That and the fact that this was about mile 2 and I was doing everything I could to keep my breakfast down, yea I was definitely ready to puke! I knew I had about 20 seconds on the guys that were behind me, but they were charging hard and I would HATE to get caught within the last mile, so I did what I could do to stay away from them. I kept it together and ended up running a 17:39 (on my watch, there were no chip times so who knows what they will come up with) which is a 5:39 pace I think...so I'm happy with that, wasn't sure what to expect but that's a nice result. 4th overall with those high school kids finishing ahead of me...those kids can run, and I'm sure there are others who would completely dust me!
Chad ran a great race, especially coming off of a half ironman less than a week ago! I know the goal he has set for himself, and he's going to break that time before Ironman Arizona for sure. I know a 5k time can't really compare to, or shouldn't factor into ironman training, but everyone has goals. Keating ran a great race as well, and for some reason bailed on running more with me and instead chose to go to the pool.
Time for some yard work, bike riding, and more running!
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