My first race report: Cove Family and Sports Medicine 5k (Read 954 times)

And first race in 7 years! Event: 2nd Annual Cove Family and Sports Medicine 5k Run and Walk (to benefit Defeat Diabetes) Location: Huntsville, AL When: 3/22/08 Distance: 5k Course: Flat and winding on neighborhood streets and paved greenway trail weather: 49°F and sunny at gun time (= perfect. It's all downhill from here.) Time: 19:42.2 Place: 12/72 AG (35-39): 3/6 Gender: 11/42 Splits: Mile 1: 6:16.3 Mile 2: 6:20.5 12:36.7 Mile 3: 6:28.4 19:05.1 Finish: 0:37.1 19:42.2 It's hard to beat having a race that's about an 8-minute drive away from home. I got up around 6am and proceeded straight to the toilet. Sadly, what came out was but a preview; I could sense a main event lurking. I arrived at the race site and could tell right away that it was gonna be a tiny race. I hadn't pre-registered, so signed up on the spot. I looked with dismay at the white t-shirts with black writing. That is, until it was handed to me. A technical shirt -- this put a big smile on my face. I ended up with race #68. Naturally, I considered stalling and letting someone go ahead of me to get the next number, but since they'd already written my name down with #68, it would be a hassle to change and would make it all too obvious what I was up to. I got geared up, this being my first race in the gadget era. I put on my HRM strap, attached the Footpod to my shoe for recording cadence, and put my trusty 305 on. To my horror and dismay, Garmie had somehow been running for the previous 13 hours. Concerned that it would die during the race, I also kept my trusty old Timex on. Fortunately, Garmie held up just fine through the race, so there's nothing more to that story. But there were more pressing matters -- despite having consumed a lot of hot water, I was still in vicious need of a satisfactory bowel movement. So I started my warm-up, about 30 minutes before race time. I was starting to panic after around 2 miles of jogging, but finally, after 2.25 miles, a turtle head poked out. I made it to the port-john and finally blew my morning mud with about 4 minutes to spare before the scheduled start. As for the race itself. Only about 100 people total (72 runners, 24 registered walkers), so I moved close to the front, but back about 2 rows from the line. The last thing I wanted was to get sucked into a too-fast first mile, so I kept telling myself to let the leaders go. This is where the Garmin was very helpful. I had it set to show me lap pace and total distance on my main page. Periodic glances helped me verify that I was running close the to 6:20 pace I was hoping to start out with. I started focusing on picking people off during the second mile. I had long since lost contact with the leaders, so I instead kept my eyes forward looking for the next person. However, after the two mile mark, I could feel myself fading a little. One of the people I passed, the lead female, passed me back, and I wouldn't end up catching her. I'm not bothered by getting beaten by anyone due to their gender, but I do hate getting beaten by someone who I've already passed deep into the race. The third mile wasn't a horrible collapse by any stretch; it was 6:28. But it felt really slow compared to the first two, and it points to my lack of tempo training. Anyhow, I was unable to muster a kick of any kind, and sort of cruised at my finishing pace. Having not actually practiced an HTFU moment in many years, I guess I'm not surprised that I didn't magically HTFU at the end of this race. I finished in 19:42, good for 12th overall and 3rd in my AG. My primary goal was to get under 20:00, so I was quite happy. I feel between the fade in the last mile and the lack of a kick, I may have left about 15 seconds out there on the course. It was a nice, well organized race. Lots of pizza afterwards, and good prizes -- got my a $5 gift cert at a local running store, and a free 30 minutes sports massage. And it was a fast field considering how small it was -- 16:22 won it (a 15 yo!), and there were two other runners in the 16s, and 3 in the 17s. For comparison, 19:38 won a 183-person 5k in a small nearby town two weeks ago. I guess the size of the town has more to do with it than the size of the field. Overall, I'm just happy to run a race again, and am looking forward to re-awakening my inner Animal so that I can once again experience HTFU!

Jeff, Nicely done! Congrats on the race as well as the pre race mud blow.(thank you for your restraint with the adjectives) I think I am going to run sub 20:00 in my next 5K, Being the same age as you, and making a comeback as a runner after 20 years of no running, it is awesome to watch your progress. You also give my many a chuckle. Thanks for the nice race report, and again nicely done. Kenny

Congratulations, Globule!!!

Well done Jeff. Got that HR up there didn't you?

Yeah, but I know I didn't max it out. So I'm still stuck with a guess for what my current max is (I estimate 193), until I decide to suck it up and blast up a hill. Or HTFU and finish a race strong.

And just b/c I love this pic and to make fun of you, I imagine this is what you looked like post "mud-blow":

Yeah, that's pretty close. I was quite happy when I knew I didn't have to worry about sharting during the race.

Yeah, but I know I didn't max it out. So I'm still stuck with a guess for what my current max is (I estimate 193), until I decide to suck it up and blast up a hill. Or HTFU and finish a race strong.

Jeff, you and I are about the same age. I turn 37 on 4/12. I think my max is about 195, but the highest reading I have had on my HRM is 192 and that was after running a 90 second interval at 5:00 pace. Curiously, our HR is about the same for 5k's...low to mid 180's.

Curiously, our HR is about the same for 5k's...low to mid 180's.

Yeah, but you're running about 45~50 sec faster than I am. I need to up my mileage. Don't think I'm not watching.

Yeah, but you're running about 45~50 sec faster than I am. I need to up my mileage. Don't think I'm not watching.

Well, again, great job and keep the info flowing for all of us noobs! It comes in handy. And ditto to your comment to Marcus. You're a LOT faster than I am, but don't think I'm not watching.