Mason State Bank 5k Race Report (Read 640 times)

MASON STATE BANK 5k MILE ONE I took my spot near the front of the pack. I felt I could break my personal record today of 20:17 and really felt a sub 20 was possible on this course. The gun went off and I started strong. After 600 feet we reached the top of the steep downhill. I let gravity plunge me down the hill without using too much energy. I passed 56 year old Steve Miller who had beaten me by 5 seconds a couple weeks ago. I hit what I thought was the half mile mark in 3:10. Now I started to work to gain some speed. I have been too conservative in the early going this year so in this race I was going for a faster 1st mile - hopefully around 6:30. I found a nice pack and paced behind them. Just before the mile mark I passed a couple runners. Went passed the mile marker in 6:37. I was disappointed as I thought I was giving a good effort. This was still my fastest opening mile of the year but I was tired already. MILE TWO The 2nd mile is pretty flat. I wasn’t passing too many runners which is never a good sign because so many runners start out too fast I tend to catch them in the last couple miles. I saw the leaders coming back on the other side of the road after they had passed the halfway cone. I saw a couple runners who are comparable to me about 15-20 seconds ahead of me. I just chalked this up to me being a slow starter and decided I would try to catch them by the end if I had anything left. I was tired but I felt I could still get a good placement today. I passed a couple more runners but it was a struggle. Around the halfway cone. My watch read 11:00 so I realized that wasn’t exactly the halfway mark but a little past halfway. Here came the 2 mile point and I was at 13:27…a 2nd mile split of 6:50….I knew I had slowed on mile 2 but I also knew I could still post a good showing in my age group if I finished strong. MILE THREE Steve Schneider a 45 year old runner was about 10 seconds ahead. I have to pass this guy. He weighs at least 80 pounds more than me but I know he has run marathons in the past so he has a huge endurance base. At the end of this Mason5k is an uphill spanning almost 2 city blocks. So like last year I planned to run the ½ mile before the hill as if it was the finish since I knew I could will myself up the hill with the finish line in sight. I was barely gaining on Steve though I ran very hard. A young teen boy was running with Steve and about ¼ mile from the finish the boy moaned and got off the course to let me pass. Steve was about 5 seconds ahead now. We turned onto the street with the hill. My watch was reading 19:40. Last year I had my friend tape this race on the camcorder and I knew from here to the finish I had run 1:08. My 1st race this year I had run 20:47 so that gave me some motivation not to get my worst time of the year. I went up the hill and finally passed Steve. Then passed an older guy to finish in 20:47 by my watch. Officially I was clocked in at 20:49 though. POST RACE What went wrong? During my warmup I was feeling a side stitch and tried to work out the kink. I ran a couple miles before the race but did not do any fast runs as I normally do because I was afraid of aggravating it. Perhaps 3 races in 12 days also left me a little burnt out for this one. I cannot believe a sub 20 is this hard. I think it is partially mental but I know I will see some results if I keep at it. The best part is all my determination to break 20 has suddenly made me quite competitive. I earned 3 points in my age group for finishing 4th place. I am still in 9th place for my age group after 3 of 12 races but three runners are tied for 1st with 10 points. So in the next 3 races I could very well position myself to be near the top. It all depends who shows up at the next 3 races. 2008 Playmakers Series Races April 20... 20:47 ………..41/744 Overall, 5/35 Age April 27…20:30 …………59/1223 Overall, 7/66 Age May 2 …..20:49 …………46/ 659 Overall, 4/33 Age