uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI
Who: Jack Klompus
What: Bryan Clay Fit4Fall 5k
Why: This was my first race since coming back from injury so I wanted to see what I could do.
When: November 22, 2014
Where: Glendora, CA
Short version:
Time: 21:03
OA: 31/1251
AG: 4/51
Longer version:
A bit of background: I had a bad piriforimis issue that caused me to take almost three weeks off. When I started up again, I ran everything slow and easy, slowly building miles each week. After about a month of this, I slowly started adding in some Daniels type speed workouts on the track. One, then two a week. They were nothing serious, just faster than easy pace. Now I am at about 33-35 mpw and my LR is 10 miles. I did no 5k specific training for this, but I did pick up the speed workouts the last two weeks to get ready. I really had no idea what I could do today and my goal was 22:00.
This is the one local race we have in town and this year I could do it so I signed up for it. Bryan Clay lives here in town and this race is a big fundraiser for his foundation. I have met him a few times about town, usually at Costco, and this year he gave DD's XC team a nice pre-season motivational talk. I knew a lot people out there today that ran the race or were outside their homes cheering. It was a lot of fun. There were many kids from DD's XC team that ran with me, but DD did not run because she is "on break." I did drag her out of bed to be my official photographer. DW did not run because DD2 had a swim meet so she went to that. Also, I had FE #2 with Redrum.
Redrum is the handsome one.
My warm up consisted of two easy miles and four pretty hard strides and I finished it about 5 minutes before the start. When the gun went off, I was fresh from the strides and ready to go.
Mile 1: As with many local 5k fun runs, there were a lot of kids and strollers lined up near the front where they should not have been. I wanted to race this thing and I had to do A LOT of dodging and weaving at the start and for the first minute. The first 1.5 miles or so were uphill so this help me control my pace. First mile in 6:58, a bit faster than I wanted but it's a 5k so whatever. Oh, here is the elevation.
Mile 2: This was all downhill. I have some friends that live along the course and they were out there cheering with bells and beer. That was funny stuff. Beer at 9:10 in the morning. I was feeling good here and knew I wanted to step on it. I live nearby so I am very familiar with the course and the roads. I have run these streets hundreds of times, thousands, and was feeling comfortable. I saw many of DD's friends and they patronized me by running with me for a bit. Funny kids, they are. Mile 2 done in 6:40
Mile 3: Still downhill and still feeling good, really good, actually. I am pushing harder because of the downhill. It's funny, but I get adrenaline boosts from silly things. There was a lady, must have 90, out front of a house in her driveway standing there ringing a bell with one hand and waving with the other. For whatever reason, that gave me a boost and I hit it harder. Mile 3 in 6:24, but the pain was setting in.
The last bit: The last bit was an uphill finish back to the start. Now I was hurting. My legs were burning and I wanted to puke but I freakin' pushed hard. I passed a guy with about 30 seconds left and that felt good but he passed me back! I didn't care, I just wanted it to be over. The last .17 I had 6:00 pace.
Trying to kick and not puke at the end. I should NOT had that beer last night.
I talked to more people from town and found Redrum and we munched on a bagel. Bryan Clay walked by and we got a picture with him.
From the race, Redrum, DD, and I went to get a breakfast burrito around the corner and that was that.
The race was quite fun. Lots of good post race food and drinks, good vendors, nice t-shirt, well organized and it was just fun seeing so many people from town.
What's next: Like I said, I had no idea what to expect so I am more than happy with today's race. MORE than happy! I am feeling good and it feels good to race again. Marathon training starts in five weeks so I hope to be up to 40 mpw by then with a LR of 13 or so. DW are signed up for the Avenue of the Giants Marathon on May 3 if you care to join us. I hope to train well and race that thing.
Thanks for reading and Happy Thanksgiving.
Congratulations on a job well done and comeback race!
And you got to meet Redrum, nice!
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
Wow nice race!
Feels good to race again post injury. Congrats!
I'm glad you are past the injury; congrats on such a strong race! Your splits look great. I agree that the 90-year-old lady sounds awesome. I think I would have gotten a boost from that too!
PRs:
5k - 22:53 (May 2015)
10k - 50:00 (unofficial; part of 20k race, March 2015); 50:33 (official; July 2016)
HM - 1:48:40 (Apr. 2015)
Are we there, yet?
You can do a lot with a good base and just a little speed work. I think this race was just a teaser. Imagine what you could do in the shorter races if you focused on them.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Congratulations - you did great. It probably wasn't the beer that made you want to throw up, you just raced all out. Good job.
Very impressive comeback! That steady climb the first mile seems like it would be tough. Nice splits too. Looks like you'll be in good shape for marathon training. The 90 yr old lady with the cowbell- that is cool
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Traci
Great job Klompus! Gotta feel great to make that kind of a splash in your comeback, I know how frustrated you were struggling with injuries for so long. Keep it up! Got any more races planned during marathon training?
Dave
Return To Racing
Nice going, running over the kids and strollers, Jack....CONGRATS !!!!!
Thanks, you guys. It feels really good!
DaveP: Nothing on the calendar now, but I would like to do a HM or at least a 10k during training. The vDOT from this race puts me on a 3:21 marathon so we'll see. By the way, did you catch the Seinfeld reference in my report?
Jerry: Oh, you have no idea. DD got a picture of me running in a line with six or seven LITTLE kids and she calls them my "running crew."
Caretaker/Overlook Hotel
SERENITY NOW!!!
SERENITY NOW!!!!!!!!!
They clocked me at a 25:32 so I definitely dogged this one. I saw my Garmin pace dropping down slowly from 8:14 after mile 1 down to 8:03 by the end & figured I'd clock 24x for sure, but apparently I got hoodwinked. In reality I *should* have turned in something in the 24's, but oh well. I might have to check if I've fubar'd my Garmin settings with all the cycling I've been doing lately but whatever.
Still felt good to slap a bib on & run. Glendora's got hilly charm as that whole area does. Very nice & charming downtown area. And another FE w/ Jack Klompus himself is always a good time!
Avocado, mushroom & egg breakfast burrito w/ some pico also gets 'er done!
Randy
Nice work, Jack (and Redrum).
You really crushed that goal time, can't wait to hear how you're doing with the injury in the distant past.
From the Internet.
Nice race! Congrats on the comeback, and sending stay-healthy vibes for your upcoming marathon training cycle!
Jack, congrats on a strong comeback! FE's are always cool.
What sparked Bryan to start the foundation?