A few days late on this report but we just got home this afternoon.  DW and I ran this 5K on Martha's Vineyard this past Saturday while on vacation.  This is a tough little 5K course as these things go.  Not as bad as some of the crazy stuff I've seen on RA, but still not entirely easy.  This was our third year running it.  Here is the elevation profile:

Not a PR-friendly course, but I've been rebounding nicely from knee surgery and running well.  I wanted to run under 22:16 so I could get second corral seeding for the Thanksgiving Day Manchester Road Race (a 15,000 person five miler), but I also thought a PR would be a lofty but possible goal.  My PR was 21:23, set on a flat course when I was at my best last year.

This event sells out all 1500 or so slots quickly.  It's a point-to-point race on a narrow road so it can be quite crowded at the start.  I thought I could finish in the top 100, so I lined up near the front of the field.  DW and our two cousins lined up a little further back.  I did about a mile warm up.  The race is scheduled for a 10:30 start but that could mean anywhere from 10:30 to 11:00.  I wouldn't know how to time a warm up, so I just did a mile to loosen up my knee.  The race started at 10:43.

Mile 1:  6:41.  As you can see, the first 1.5 miles of this race is a steady but gradual uphill.  Lining up near the front was a good move.  I was never crowded as I had been the prior two years.  I felt good from the start.  I was feeling the thick, salty, humid ocean air and breathing was tougher than it should be.  My legs felt good though...nice and jumpy.  This is the fastest mile I ever ran.

Mile 2:  6:46.  Just trying to keep my pace steady through the first half of the race, really hoping that downhill would finally arrive.  About halfway trough the race my legs really started to burn.  Not a good sign with half a race to go.  I wasn't ready to back off though.  I finally got to some downhill, and much to my disappointment it wasn't much of a relief on my increasingly tired legs.  At the two mile mark, a volunteer shouted "13:30!"  Some quick math indicated a 7:30 pace the rest of the way should net me a PR, but I also knew the biggest hill was ahead of me and it slowed me down a lot the last two years.  I figured my 'B goal' of 22:15 was in the bag.

Mile 3:  7:12.  The last hill was about 100' of uphill over a half mile.  It was hell on my tired legs.  It's an easy enough hill on a random training run, but it was a mountain when trying to PR a 5K.  I was battling though...pumping my arms and pushing my legs up that little hill.  My lap pace pushed up over 8:00.  Last year my pace was 10:00 at this point.  Good improvement.  I got to the top of the hill and was absolutely spent.  Garmin showed over a half mile left.  This race needed to end.  I was done.  Thankfully the last 6/10 mile is downhill.  It didn't feel any easier but my pace picked back up.  I found it hard to care about the PR because of the incredible discomfort I was in, but I managed to stay focused.

Mile 3.1:  5:33 pace.  The end of this run is on the steepest downhill.  My first glimpse of the clock saw it click to 21:00.  "Oh shit, this is going to be close!"  For the last .1 miles, my eyes never left the clock.  "Dig, dig, dig!"  I could not have been going harder as I saw that 21:23 PR time approaching.  As my foot hit the timing mat, the clock hit 21:22.  I was exhausted.  I had the PR but was too tired to relish it as I crossed the finish line.  Of course it occurred to me that official times are net times, but I wanted the clock to show a PR.

My official time was 21:13, good for a 10 second PR on the hardest course I run.

Overall 87 / 1463

AG 13 / 140

Age grade 64.35

Honestly, I don't know how I dropped down a 5K PR so soon after my knee surgery, let alone on a tough course.  I thought maybe I could threaten a PR by the end of the year.  I never thought it would happen so quickly.  Now I feel like I can go sub-20 on a friendlier course.  My next race is a flat 10K in two weeks.  My 10K PR is 47:36.  That PR  is going down.

Thanks for reading!

Great job, Robo-boon.

Nice report, and a PR on a tough course, wow.  Go get that sub-20.

WOW!!!!! Fantastic! Congrats! tough course, few months after knee surgery.....truly truly impressive PR!

Maybe you had the same doctor as this kid......

hahaha

Maybe you had the same doctor as this kid......

 

 

I think some down time inspired you.  You're all Adrian Peterson this year.  That 10k time is about to get smashed I do believe.

Congrats  on a strong race after that surgery. You are going to smash that 10K

Congrats and nice RR!! I love going to MV, but have never been there the same day as a race.