| Date: | 3/2/2008 9:30 AM |
| Type: | Race |
| Course: | Arnold Fitness Classic 5k |
| Distance: | 3.1 miles |
| Duration: | 16:58 |
| Pace: | 5:29 / mile |
| Shoe: | Saucony Grid Triumph 4 |
| Misc: | Quality: 8/10, Effort: 8/10 |
| Field Placement: | 2 / 383 (0.5%) |
| Event URL: | results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?rsID=59883&orgID=234635&pubID=2 |
| Notes: | Ran about a 2 mile warmup and 2 mile cooldown with Aaron and Charlie.
Weather was still a little cooler than I was hoping but it was warm enough that I didn't have to wear a hat or gloves. Before the race, I was non-committal when Aaron said that he, Charlie and I should stick together in the early going of today's race. My goal was to get out fast and try to hold on the rest of the way. I was thinking a 5:15-5:20 first mile and then 5:45 for the next 2. That would have put me under 17:30... and in the back of my mind, I was really hoping that this could be my breakout race and that I would come home with the win (which would have required a significantly quicker time looking at previous years' results).
That having been said, I went out quickly with a small pack of about 5 runners. One guy surged ahead while the remaining 4 dropped like flies one by one. Shortly before the 1 mile mark, I found myself in second place... unfortunately, the first place guy was torching the rest of us and barring some type of miracle I was not going to catch him. I'll be honest and say that I was pleasantly surprised when I went through the 1 mile mark in 5:02. I felt good. Actually, I still felt very good. I pushed on while the first place guy got further and further away until eventually I was just running my own race all alone (which I was used to from finishing 2nd in a similar situation in last year's Darby 10k and Cat Caper 5k). Went through the 2 mile mark in 10:35. That meant a 5:33 second mile which I was also quite happy with. Despite the big drop off, I still felt good and I was about 30 seconds faster than my goal pace. With just a little over a mile left, I concentrated on form, breathing and tried my best not to slow down. Towards the end, I began to get winded since I was running uphill and into the wind with no idea where the next guy was behind me. I didn't hear footsteps but I also refused to turn around and look so I didn't know for sure. Once I reached the curve at the top of the hill, I knew I was home free. I wasn't about to get outkicked and as I approached the finish line, I saw the time on the clock... 16:44. The announcer said something to the effect of "and here comes a runner from the Columbus Running Company." My thought at that moment was "holy crap, I did it... I had the breakout race I was hoping for!" And with that, I sprinted for the finish line and came in with a finishing time of 16:58!
Highlight of the day? Getting our picture taken with Wolf from American Gladiators!!! AAWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! |
| Statistics: | VO2 Max: 60.2 |
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