posted Jul-07-2007 05:32 PM               

I went to the bathroom about 8 minutes before the start so I had to quickly get to the start line and did a couple striders first. I had to sneak my way in towards the front of the racers before the 2 minutes to race signal was given.

I said hello to Vlad a guy I had shared e-mails with online in the past few weeks. He was also trying to break 20 minutes and his best time so far was 20:46 the only race he beat me in this year so far. He said he had come to the US from Czechoslovakia. He asked what I planned to do today. I said I was going to try to run under 21 minutes though I was secretly hoping for a PR (20:22 was my previous best).

I told Vlad to run relaxed and have fun. The signal sounded and away we went. My goal for mile 1 was 6:28-6:32. I was near the front but the leaders quickly ran far ahead. I felt I was keeping a good clip going around the first turn. Then to the half mile mark and I still felt good. Occasionally I would pass a runner but since I had started so far up I was running with the big dogs so my pace was not altered very much. I figured if I could get up closer to the front in this race I would be pulled along by faster runners. So far so good. I still felt good and saw the mile mark approaching and could see I would be a bit under 6:30 so I coasted the last 13 seconds to the 1 mile mark. I passed the mile marker in 6:24 a very fast time for me.This was a good start. Hopefully I could claim a similar time for mile two.

We ran across a bridge then along some Michigan State buildings. I thought about how I felt. Pretty decent and I can keep up this pace. I saw a female 46 year old runner (Connie) who usually wins the masters with times below 20:00. She wasn't far in front of me so I was going to stay with her as long as possible. She must be struggling today to be back here with me but I will use it to my advantage. Now we started up the long uphill. I had a race plan and ran it to perfection here. I sped up my stride and shortened it at the same time. I breathed in deep and out making sure to get some oxygen. I pulled right in behind Connie. She was breathing hard and I was breathing nicely.

Nearing the top of the hill I was going to grab some water but I was too close to Connie and she grabbed the cup I was going to take. I usually do not take water so it wasn't that big a deal. I passed Connie on the downhill as she splashed her water in her face. Letting gravity speed me up on the downhill I was still going strong. Connie caught back up to me before the 2 mile mark. I was impressed with her willpower as she was not in top form today. I tried to pass her but she sped up and stayed even with me. So I settled in behind to draft...that is until she had to spit over her left shoulder. Perhaps she doesn't want me here drafting I thought so I pulled past her on the right. Here came mile marker 2 and I passed it in 13:07 for a 2nd mile time of 6:43. Not bad but 6 seconds behind my record pace 2 months ago.

I had just over a mile to go so I tried to keep the feet going strong. Once I hit 2.5 miles I was starting to hurt but I knew it wouldn't be long now. It seemed as if the last half mile was extra long. I tried to lengthen my stride to put some distance on Connie. With about 1/4 mile to go I was catching a 34 year old (in my age group). I knew a nice downhill was coming and I was going to run it hard. Should I draft off this fellow and then hit the downhill hard? I thought of Connie gaining on me and decided to try to pass this fellow. I went around him just before the downhill and surged ahead. I glanced at my watch which read 19:00. There must be about 90 seconds left I thought so I have to dig now. I then saw Jim a 53 year old I used to work with whom I had passed at the end of my best 5k race two months ago. He was sweating alot and you could see he was slowing. He starts out fast in races then hangs on at the end. I could hear the announcers at the finish but it seemed I couldnt quite beat 20 today. I saw the finish just as I started to pass Jim and my watch read 20:00. It wasn't too far away perhaps 100 yards but I would have to hit it hard to beat my record. I gunned it past a fading Jim and heard the race announcers calling out 20:20 as I was coming to the line in a full out sprint. My chip finish time came out to be a new PR of 20:17!!!

Mile splits
6:24
6:43
6:37 (estimate)
0:33 (estimate)

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posted Jul-07-2007 05:51 PM            

When is your next 5K?

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posted Jul-07-2007 05:52 PM               

Here is a nice picture taken at end of race showing my seriousness at the end of the race! Hope it works for you if you link to it. I will credit tinman for the CV 200 meter runs at the end of CV runs (I did 3 X1 k earlier this week followed by 4 X 200 meter at 1 mile race pace)

http://danieljcarey.com/pics/displayimage.php?album=21&pos=57

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posted Jul-07-2007 05:55 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Docster:
Good run Michigan! From the sounds of the race layout, I think you ran your splits well. When I broke 20:00, I went out faster than I really wanted in the first mile, but surprisingly was able to stay within 10 seconds of that pace for the remainder of the race. Had I not gone out that fast, I wouldn't have broken 20:00....that much I'm pretty sure of.

When is your next 5K?

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Thanks Doc...I may have to start out faster as adrenaline may carry me in races. I am looking at a 5k on July 22 which is flat and fast. I think it is the fastest in the Lansing area.

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posted Jul-07-2007 09:24 PM               

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Todd

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posted Jul-09-2007 08:35 AM            

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posted Jul-09-2007 11:25 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by joev9:
Great job Michigan!!! How much of the race was on grass? I bet if you had been on pavement the whole race, you would have been very, very close to 20 minutes. I spent a week recently in NH running on dirt roads and my daily pace was 30 to 40 seconds per mile slower than normal at the same effort.

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You must have looked at the nice pic of me sprinting at the end on grass. The last 70 meters or so was on grass thats all. The rest was on concrete sidewalk or bit sidewalk. My knees hurt something fierce from the concrete pounding I took. I ran an easy 5 miles yesterday but the knees are still sore.

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posted Jul-09-2007 12:09 PM            

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