delicate flower
MBC and I ran a 5K today. The race is part of West Hartford, CT's annual town celebration. Beautiful day for a race, if not a little warm (sunny and low 70's). This race started in a Whole Foods parking lot, and they provided some good post-race eats.
My report:
As many of you know, I'm still working my way back from ACL reconstruction in February. I've been back running for about six weeks now, starting very slowly and building the distance. I have not done any speedwork aside from a few strides on a treadmill run last week. My focus has been on endurance and building my knee strength. I wanted to run this race because it supports our running club.
I went into this just wanting to have a decent run and a good time. I didn't know what to expect, having not run fast at all since Jan 3. Sub-23:59 would have been nice since that was my slowest 5K last year, on a day when I completely fell apart. I figured 25-26 minutes was more realistic.
We lined up together near the front third of the field. It was sunny and 70 degrees. The horn sounded at 9:30 and we were off.
Mile 1: 7:13. I felt good right from the start. I tried to pay attention to my knee. At the first sign of pain, I'd back off. I felt fine though. There was a fair bit of bobbing and weaving through people for the first half mile. The first mile had some downhill and I figured this mile would be faster than planned. I settled in and felt comfortable.
Mile 2: 8:03. This mile had some incline and I slowed down. At the time, I wasn't sure if it was my legs getting tired from the speedwork or if it was the incline. I just took what my legs gave me though. I didn't push too hard. If I was 100% healthy, I would have dug in on the inclines and pushed harder. I was just on cruise effort though.
Mile 3: 7:30. I started to get tired here but I held my effort. My pace increased as the last mile drifted into a slight downhill. I was definitely getting tired but I wasn't forcing the pace. My knee still felt good. I could feel the lactic acid in my legs and torso. Itchy!
Mile 3.1: 6:15 pace. The race ends on a downhill and I took advantage of that. I pushed a little here. Still no knee pain but tired legs. I crossed the finish line and stopped my Garmin. 23:32 Garmin time. Sweet!
Official time was 23:39 (gun time...no net time)
119 / 844 OA
17 / 87 M40-49
To compare, I ran four 5K's in 23:XX last year, and my PR is 21:23 from last December.
I gotta say, I'm really happy with this. Solid effort and time having done no speedwork and not a whole lot of running this year. I'm really surprised I ran this fast. Running this four months and four days after major knee surgery without full effort is more than I could have hoped for. This is promising for my fall races. More importantly, I had a whole lot of fun being able to race and finally doing a race with my wife again.
Next up is the BAA 10K on June 23. I need to figure out how to approach that one.
Thanks for reading!
<3
running is bad for you
I ran. No real expectation other than to "not blow up."
mile 1 9:04
Mile 2 9:19
mile 3 8:59
last .15 6:55
avg 9:00
I'm nothing if not consistent.
28:21 GARMIN time.
25/118ag
295/845 OA
Caretaker/Overlook Hotel
Congrats to both of you!
Coming back from injuries always makes me cringe! Glad the RR didn't have a, "then I heard this pop!". (Shudder)
I assume doc gave you full release to run?
Randy
Congrats to you both! Awesome finishing kicks...well done & best of luck in Boston.
As of May 1. But more importantly, the wife gave me the ok to run.
Barking Mad To Run
Congrats to both of you! Speedy paces, Baboon, for only 6 months after the reconstruction, way to go!
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt
Great job to both of you!
Baboon, great progress so far. I am sure you'll get down to 21:XX really soon!
Damaris
As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.
Fundraising Page
Very impressive comeback Baboon. Can't wait to see what you're going to do after some speed work.
Always fun racing with your DW. This is something my wife and I have a lot of fun doing together.
First Race
Hot Chocolate 5K Chicago November 4, 2012 30:17
Second Race
Penguin in the Park 5K Decatur Illinois March 23,2013 27:08
Scott
LIke I wrote on FB Phil, nice race.
If I ever have knee problems I want the name of your doctor.
Will run for scenery.
Yeah I was relieved to see it not end bad, glad to see it go so well.
Keep up the good (healthy) recovery !
Stupid feet!
Stupid elbow!
Wickedly Average
Nice runs, Baboon & MBC! Hope it felt good for both of you!
Tom (formerly known as PhotogTom)
5K - 25:16, 10K - 55:31, 15K - 1:20:55, HM - 1:54:54
Mmmmmmm...... Is that an effort to make us a little more exciting like the L & O?? It sure sounds saucy.
Phil, congratulations! I'm happy that you ran so well. Good luck in Boston!
Congratulations to both of you. Nice comeback.
Congrats to both of you! Baboo are you f9ing kidding? probably low 23 chip time on a reconstructed ACL? Holy cow, in real life I'd give you a big hug and smooch. It's probably better it's not in real life then, huh.
Also pretty big of you guys to share an RR