 posted Jun-21-2007 09:23 AM
  
Decided to sign up at the last moment for a 5mi/8km race along the Toronto waterfront last evening. I haven't run any 5-10k races for over a year (I ran this one a year ago), but was hoping to establish a benchmark to help me set some training paces for my next marathon later this fall. I also wanted to see what I could do at a shorter distance. (Everyone talks about 5k pace, but I had no idea what mine was.) Arrived about 6:30, picked up my race kit and met up with four members from my running group. The race was to start at 7:15. Two of us went off for a one-mile warm-up run about 6:45 only to find out after we got back that the race start was pushed back to 7:30 (they had a mix up with online registration). I decided to "race" this event, although race is a relative term. Having very little experience at this distance, I didn't have a very good sense of how fast to start out, what kind of pacing to maintain, etc. I decided that 8:00 mpm would be a realistic goal to shoot for. The gun went off and I moved out at a quick pace (for me) along with the several hundred other runners. At about the 1/2 mile mark I realized I was going pretty fast and started thinking that I might end up crashing at the half-way mark. But I decided to keep going anyway with the goal of seeing what I could do and pushing my HR a bit more in the process. Mile 1 passed with one of the race organizers calling out 7:56 ...not bad. Mile 2 went by quickly with the time being announced at 7:51. I tried to pick out runners with a fairly steady pace and stay with them, focusing on form and easy pace as much as possible. I was working harder than I normally do in a race but felt pretty good. We arrived at the turnaround and now the breeze was at our backs. Still felt good as mile 3 passed with the time being called out at 7:50. The return leg runs along the boardwalk following Lake Ontario. This time of year, and especially tonight, there were people everywhere. We passed 2-3 courts of beach volleyball in progress, an open air patio bar and plenty of walkers, bikers on our return. We got lots of cheers and "pick it up" as we passed. Mile 4 came and went and I still felt good. My time was 7:51. I was actually passing people. With one mile to go, I decided to push a little harder. My HR was getting up there (high 160's), but my breathing was good. About 1/2 mile from the finish we headed back out onto the main road and climbed a fairly steep hill about 1/4 mile in length. I surprised myself with how strong I felt as I passed a few more runners on the hill. Another 1/4 mile push into the finish line with a final mile time of 7:22. Final result was 5:04 mi. in 39:06 with average pace 7:46 and average HR 161. This was a PR for me at this distance. Overall, I was very pleased with how it worked out. I had a little bit left in the tank which leads me to believe I might have a faster time somewhere in the future. What I have learned for future races ...
- make sure I get in a good warm-up run (something I learned here at B&B)
- not be afraid to push it a bit more (if it feels good) and work at higher HRs
- focus on running form and maintaining a steady pace Placement results haven't been posted yet, so may update this later. Thanks for reading.
PJ
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