Race: Colder Boulder5k
Conditions: Overcast, low 50s, slight breeze, CU Campus
Goal: Sub 17, or to improve on my 17:25 from last week.
Result: 17:18 (5:15, 10:49, 16:44)
Report: Again, the race seemed to get out pretty fast for me. We were rolling downhill and so I knew it ought to feel a little quicker but I tried to gear back and relax a touch. A bunch of guys got out real fast and I tried to let that go, but I was pretty determined not to get beat by the guy in the pajamas.
Lesson learned here - I am getting out a bit too fast for 5Ks right now. I am getting out at goal pace (5:20) but that is not the smartest for me to assure my best race result. I need to step it back a bit in the first mile for better execution later.
As is typical after the first 600, the crowd thinned out and the places began to settle in. There was a good climb after about the first half and I passed a guy. I passed the mile in 5:15. Wow. A little hot but that is okay - I need to get used to this.
There were a LOT of turns and some decent climbs (for a road 5K) in the second mile. I slowed in mile two in 10:49 (a 5:34). I worked my way up to a guy in the second mile and was able to pass and gap him ... slowly.
I hit a bad patch here. That is expected I guess at this point in a 5K, but the hills and the turns were slowing me down. There was a guy ahead of me by about 40 yards after the second mile and I thought I'd try to get him but he just kept picking it up and got farther away.
I knew I was struggling but I was not sure how much until I saw the third mile - 5:55! For 16:44. Given that my last .1 was supposedly in (with a real hard right turn to finish into the field house) 34, I am suspecting that the last mile might be a touch long ... but whatever.
4th place, results will probably be up later.
Things Done Right: While I did not achieve my goal, I am showing progress. Last week, 17:25, this week 17:18. Not huge, but I talked to a few folks who did both races and all ran slower here.
Things Done Wrong: Out too fast, finished too slow.
Take aways, tweaks, modifications, lessons learned:
I am getting closer. Really. 18 seconds. That means I am 100 meters away from where I break 17.
I am not sure what to make of the weight thing. I was 146.5 this AM before the race and 141.5 post run. I think I am fluctuating on water quite a bit.
Basically, keep on plugging ... be smarter on first mile pacing, continue to do work that forces me to focus on pace in the last mile.
I can't force my fitness just to come and magically drop 20 seconds in a 5k. I remember when I first moved out here to Colorado, I thought that it would take me 8 weeks to get back to HS fitness. It took me 2 years ... and that is no surprise since I had been out of HS for 8 years! I have not done this sort of stuff for four years and so it is going to take time to get back to where I can be. If anything, fitness teaches patience.
Other stuff: 2 mile warm up, 3 miles in the race, 9 mile cool down (this was not easy). 1:43 on the day, 14 miles.
Saw Jenni K out at the race and chatted with her some ... Lisa G was out there as well (we warmed down together). She is doing some last 5Ks before starting a build up for Boston. Lisa nabbed a rare 5K win and Jenni took 2nd. The depth in this town is nuts.
Week
M- 11 (5,6) (77)
T - 12T (78min)
W - 4 (26 min) (+3 on eliptical)
Th - 14 on mill, with quarter strides, mile, quarter strides (90 min)
F - GOOSE EGG
Sa - 9 miles (66)
Sun 14mi, 5k race - (103)
Week, month mileage 64 miles
Week, month minutes 441 minutes
My mileage and minutes took a hit this week and so I need to keep on top of that. Some of that is life and I need to be more disciplined in running when I get the opportunity ... (like early AM).
But that said, I am pretty sure that the overall velocity and pace of my runs is getting faster ... and I think that is good.
Food log ...
(wait, OBAMA SMOKES? WTF?!)
AM - banana, w/pb
lunch - 2 veggies breakfast burritos
dinner - homemade pizza (3 slices), 2 beers
I'm not a marathon runner, but I actually like running quite a bit. I recently stopped running for over a year due to illness. I've just started running again. My body is suffering. It's a good suffering. I'm amazed at all the races you have been in andintened to be in it's encouraging.
ReplyDeleteThank You
Need4trth
Nice work George, glad to see you are showing improvement despite a tougher course.
ReplyDeleteThe weight thing is odd this time of year, I can/have been jumping around between 142-147 and it never seems to really coincide with when I think I "should" be lighter/heavier (i.e. railing it up Grays/Torreys today, big meals etc....).
I have been doing as much or more than in the summer lately which is unusual for this time of year and I know you are hitting it pretty hard too. My eating habits have been all over the place lately which I think has been throwing me off a bit (not quite as regular lately if you catch my drift ;)
solid run for this time of year!! that much of a weight fluctuation has to be water/fluid.....you should track that too along with your carb heavy/fruit-veggie free diet ;)!!!!
ReplyDeletedo you ever snack on fruit? apples? oranges?
need4trth - I wish you the best in your recovery. Some have said nothing good comes without suffering, or that pain is weakness leaving the body ... it is probably for each of us to determine if that is truth for ourselves.
ReplyDeleteJV - I am less concerned about the weight at this point ... just observing. I do think I'd benefit to drop about five pounds but I am not going to get to geared into that at this point. I think my time on my feet will climb a bit in the summer and I will drop some pounds anyway. I also have wondered if when it is hotter, you have to expel more heat ... and hence energy and hence calories and hence ... you drop a bit more than a run in the winter.
KW - I think I get a bunch of veggies in ... less fruit (unless you consider everything with a seed a fruit) but they get pushed in via other foods (spag sauce, veggie burrito, veggie calzone, etc). But I want to talk to you about the carb heavy thing. I am not ready to go paleo diet or raw foodist but I am very interested (in a kind way, I promise) to hear what you think.
And beer is not a fruit.
I don't get a lot of mid day snacks in of any kind right now.
awesome job in your race btw....an improvement is an improvement!
ReplyDeletegood run down on the thing too- i can never remember anything!