tl;dr -- it was a good summer of 5K races.

This was the last Al Goldstein race of 2015.  I felt like it would either go out with a bang, or with a feeble little whimper… and I was leaning towards the latter, since I slept like total crap the night before and — surprise! — my digestive system was having a very unhappy day.

The sun was shining when I left the house, so I wore sunglasses.  Before I reached the end of my street, a few fat raindrops had begun to fall.  They were weird raindrops, too — somehow they were hitting my eyelashes.  Which were behind lenses.  It proceeded to rain for the next fifteen minutes or so.  My run to Lakeside took a bit longer than sixteen minutes.  The rain stopped then, but I was already wearing wet clothes, so thanks for nothing!

The sun couldn’t seem to make up its mind whether it wanted to stay behind the clouds or show its face, but I decided not to wear my sunglasses for the race.  I rarely do this (unless it’s actually raining).  But, you know, saving myself those few grams might yield a couple of seconds…

…because even though I’ve achieved my sub-21:40 goal this summer, I’m just not wired to take it easy.  Ergo, I was now aiming for 21:38 or faster.  And I wanted to run every mile in under 7:00.  Ben had run earlier that afternoon, so he wasn’t going to race this, which meant I could chase him without dropping dead.  Except that then Tifenn stole him to be her pacer, which meant I’d have to do this on my own.  (Again.  Yeah.  What else is new?!)

But I didn’t!  Antonia was standing right next to me at the start line, and she wasn’t planning to PR either.  In the past three Al Goldstein races, I’ve placed one spot behind her in our AG; I always pass her on Zoo Hill, and then a couple of miles later she passes me and there is no hope in hell of me catching her again.  She is better than I am about being patient going up the hill.  So I was just going to follow her lead and not look at my watch, since she’s obviously done a better job of this than I have!

Such beautiful racing weather!  Actually, the temperature was the same at the R-U-N 5K; it was just a little more humid and windy now (with a few scattered raindrops).  But overall, not too bad.  Without the stifling humidity, I am definitely a warm-weather runner.

There was a little bit of a logjam at the start (kids), so it took some zigging and zagging at first, but I pretty much stayed right behind Antonia.  I wouldn’t say it felt easy, but since I usually zoom past her up the hill, it felt easier than it normally would.  Once we crested the top of the hill, she told me she was going to pick up the pace.  She was ahead of me, but not too far ahead.  Even though I wasn’t looking at my watch, someone was calling out splits at the first mile marker, and I passed him right around 6:45.  Which is faster than I’ve ever run the first mile before, but I think the difference here was that I took it relatively easy up the hill and then sped up, whereas if left to my own devices I’d speed up the hill and then be forced to slow down afterward.  (And the weather didn’t hurt.)

Mile two wasn’t as bad as it could have been.  It helps that it’s the most downhill section of the course.  It’s usually toward the end of this mile, in fact, that Antonia passes me.  She was already ahead of me here, but I could still see her — I figured there were about fifteen seconds between us.

I lost sight of her a little after the second mile mark.  And that is when I committed what was probably a mistake and looked at my watch.  See, normally, around the midway point of the race, I begin to pray for a quick and immediate death.  Because I didn’t kill myself on the hill this time, I got an extra half mile or so before that started to happen.  At which point I looked at my watch and realized that even if I slowed down significantly, I would still be able to PR.  I don’t know whether that slowdown would have happened anyway, or if I did it consciously — but I really should not have looked.

Kristen was at the three mile mark; I think she was calling splits, because unless I was hallucinating (entirely possible), I heard “20:56” when I passed her.  A few seconds later, I caught sight of the clock; I knew I was going to PR, but I sprinted anyway.  (Evidently when I miss a PR, it doesn’t matter by how much; but if I’m going to get a PR, I want to squeak out every last second I can.)

I don’t even know where that came from.  I really have no idea.  And the Fourth Place Specialist strikes again!   Antonia was third.  She finished 28 seconds ahead of me.  I am not at all upset about placing fourth — I’d take a PR over an AG award any day.  And she was a great pacer, so I can hardly begrudge her that!

According to my Garmin, 3.13 miles in 21:22, 6:50/mi.  And I did run every  mile under 7:00 — barely.  But I did.

Officially, 3.1 miles in 21:21, 6:53/mi.  87/324 OA, 16/133 F, and 4/35 F30-34.  Of course, I immediately think, Now I have to go after 21:20, but I do quite like the look of 21:21.  It’s so… uniform.

McMillan predictions!  These get more and more hilarious.  (Hey, I should go back to the predictions I thought were so funny a couple of months ago and see if I still feel that way!  Actually, the truly hilarious part is that according to this calculator, my easy run pace starts at 7:57.  Sure.  On some other planet, maybe, but not on mine.)

1mi — 6:09.0
4mi — 27:45 (6:56/mi)
5mi — 35:24 (7:05/mi)
10K — 44:20 (7:08/mi)
15K — 1:08:42 (7:22/mi)
10mi — 1:14:07 (7:25/mi)
HM — 1:38:51 (7:33/mi)
FM — 3:28:02 (7:56/mi)

I guess I can say that the Al Goldstein Speed Series went out with a bang!  I’ve run six 5Ks this summer, and I PRed five of them — my PR was 22:43 at the beginning, and it’s 21:21 now.  I was just thinking about this summer in comparison with that of 2012 (when I fractured my hip and pelvis in June), and it’s amazing how different they are.  Sure, I feel like a big fat heffalump now (unverifiable as fact since I refuse to weigh myself), but you can’t argue with results, and this, right here?  This is why I chose to get fat and keep running over being skinny.

When it works, it’s worth every pound.

Fantastic!  You have had a superb season.  Congrats on adding another jewel to that crown.  And I think the results speak for themselves- you are strong!  That beats skinny any day in my book.

Congrats on the huge PR!

So what I need to remember is to get fat if I want to be fast. I may try that.

So what I need to remember is to get fat if I want to be fast. I may try that.

Bluerun's idea of fat = not being severely underweight.

Nicely done Blue! That report almost seems positive.

I sense that you are mocking me!

Fantastic!  You have had a superb season.  Congrats on adding another jewel to that crown.  And I think the results speak for themselves- you are strong!  That beats skinny any day in my book.

Aesthetically, I wouldn't agree, but apparently I've decided performance is more important.  (Because it totally is.)

Congrats! And in 81 degrees! 

What's up next?

 I like the heat!  Next... is a 10K.  A flat one on the same course where I improbably broke 50:00 for the first time in 2013.  Mercy on my soul.

Congrats on the huge PR!

So what I need to remember is to get fat if I want to be fast. I may try that.

Hey, it worked for me!    Though I should have specified that I meant "fat" relative to my old self, which is not "fat" in the conventional sense.  I have no idea how much I weigh and I don't want to know -- this is why I pay my dietitian the big bucks to keep track of it for me -- but I'd guess it's probably not too far off from what would generally be considered ideal racing weight for someone my height, which would explain a lot!

 

What's next is she will run one in the fall and be way sub-21.

I will run one (or two, or three) in the fall.  Wouldn't it be hilarious if they totally sucked?!  (No.  No, it wouldn't be.)

Congrats on YET ANOTHER PR!!!, and I look forward to reading your sub-21:00 report come fall

 

 

Word. Skinny does not always = healthy, and sometimes it even means LESS healthy!

I just looked that up... 20:59 = 6:45 pace.  HA!  And hey, I was perfectly healthy!  If, you know, you can get past that whole "my pelvis keeps breaking" thing.  I couldn't.

 

 

Hey, it worked for me!    Though I should have specified that I meant "fat" relative to my old self, which is not "fat" in the conventional sense.  I have no idea how much I weigh and I don't want to know -- this is why I pay my dietitian the big bucks to keep track of it for me -- but I'd guess it's probably not too far off from what would generally be considered ideal racing weight for someone my height, which would explain a lot!

 

A fat me is still a pretty thin Joe, so I get what you're saying. After that (stupid) marathon is over, I might concentrate on shorter distances, get bigger, stronger, faster. Or not.

Great job!  Keep shaving those seconds!  Congrats.