Super B****
I always write a RR, but it's mostly for my own reference so I don't post them. But I just reached a goal I've been chasing for over a year now, so I feel like bragging a little.
This was my third year running this race. In 2012, I got a huge PR and broke 24:00 for the first time. In 2013, in terrible slushy/icy conditions, two days after a wisdom tooth extraction, I ran the exact same time as 2012, albeit with an AG award to show for it (since the speedsters tend to stay home in nasty weather). Since then, I have been chasing that elusive sub-23:00 finish; I got close in July, but missed by nine seconds. This needed to happen, because it was driving me crazy to know that I had the ability to do it, but I couldn't manage it officially since I always run long by my watch.So you can imagine my displeasure (okay, I'll be honest -- utter panic) when it appeared that the injury which started off the year is making a comeback. The knee issue is semi-resolved, and I really don't need to go back in a circle and do this all over again. I really, really don't. Particularly since I never figured out how to fix the damn thing, or even what it was -- it just went away. After seven months.But I gamely headed out to Roosevelt Island to see what would happen. You'll never know if you won't try, right?Well. I ran a 4+ mile warmup, and while the pain wasn't unbearable, my legs felt totally dead. They just... weren't there. But I recall a couple of instances in the past when I felt like that prior to a race, when even a few strides at race pace felt impossible... and then the race itself worked out okay. I was determined to make today one of those occasions.Fortunately for me, determination was enough today. Just barely, but it was enough.The splits please me because they're relatively even. Hopefully I don't ever return to my "go out like a bat from hell" ways... I mean, I still do that, but I manage to rein myself in a lot sooner. Practice makes perfect! I'm just a little irritated with myself that I didn't push as hard as I could have at the finish -- I saw the clock and knew that I'd make it under 23:00. Had it been a little closer, I would have been sprinting like a madwoman.It was a lot colder than I expected. I always forget that it's an island, and it's going to feel colder there. That was particularly unpleasant. I wonder whether I'll ever be able to outrun my nose during the winter. Probably not.According to my Garmin, I ran 3.14 miles in 22:46, 7:15/mi. That's the shortest 5K I've run in ages! Unless you count the Our Place 5K, but if it's 2.97 miles... I don't. Anyway. Official results -- 3.1 miles in 22:43, 7:20/mi. 59/405 OA, 14/247 F, and 4/79 F30-39. Yep, the fourth place specialist strikes again! It's all good, though -- I'd rather have my PR than an AG award.Now we can play the McMillan prediction game!1mi — 6:32.74mi — 29:31 (7:23/mi)5mi — 37:40 (7:32/mi)10K — 47:11 (7:36/mi)10mi — 1:18:51 (7:53/mi)HM — 1:45:11 (8:02/mi)FM — 3:41:21 (8:27/mi)Um, yeah. These are all just a few seconds faster than the predictions from the Turkey Trot (because I beat that 5K prediction by seven seconds). Pardon me while I laugh hysterically. Except for the HM, that's okay, since I've already done that. But the rest of them? Yeah, right. As if.Now it is time for a serious cutback week. I am overdue for one, and I need this leg to behave.
YAY FOR LOOKING LIKE A DERANGED LUNATIC
chasing the impossible
because i never shut up ... i blog
I love it when a race comes together, trouble is it's so damn rare.
Congrats on the breakthrough! That is a nice way to end the season! You have had by any measure (except yours ) a great year.
I would not say a 3:41 is out of the realm of possibility, but of course you would.
Give that mile a try and remember the 10k is your friend.
Good luck in 2015!
Congratulations! I'm really glad your injury behaved, at least for 23 minutes. Great splits.
Nice job, congrats on the PR! Beautiful splits. And 4/79 AG sounds pretty damn good!
The McMillan predictor is evil, I can't even stand to look at it. Of course I can't stop doing so.
Dave
Congratulations on this race. Wishing you a healthy body for 2015 so you can beat the MacMillan calculator.
Barking Mad To Run
Great race for you, congrats!
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt
From the Internet.
Those splits could not be any nicer. Great job, what a satisfying way to end 2014!
LRB -- it looks like a great year on paper, I can't deny that (I did PR in every distance)... but I could have done without the nonstop injury! That kind of put a crimp in things. I don't know about 3:41, but I feel like I probably could pull off a 3:45... if I can make it through a training cycle without getting hurt. And that seems pretty much impossible. I do not have a good track record there.
And you can't make me run a 10K. I hate them!! (I do plan on the mile. Not really going to train for it specifically this year, but I'm going to give it a shot anyway.)
Ginny -- thanks!
DaveP -- it is evil, but I do it after every PR. To, um, keep things in perspective. Right. That sounds good.
Cyberic -- thanks, though there are some things that won't ever happen even if I never get hurt again! (Starting with the "never get hurt again," probably.)
scotty -- thank you!
Lauren710 -- thanks! I'm not going to complain. For once.
Great job! Way to beat 23!
5k - 25:15 (11/18/12)
10k - 1:01:51 (2/14/15)
10mi - 1:33:18 (3/2/14)
HM - 2:06:12 (3/24/13)
Upcoming Races:
Benched until further notice. :/
Everything you need is already inside. [[Bill Bowerman]]
uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI
Running in the cold is no fun! Was it so cold that your eyeballs and lungs were cold? I hate that. One thing; I think you need to work on your consistency, your splits were just a wee bit off.
Great race!
Oh I understand it is impossible not to. That thing is the bane of my existence, specifically for marathon distance. Every time I look at the times it spits out, I can almost hear McMillan laughing at me.
And you can't make me run a 10K. I hate them!!
In my experience, a properly paced 10k will do wonders for a 5k. Just something to think about if you are toying with the idea of a sub-22 and beyond.
My season schedule is set up around them but yes they do suck.
Nice splits.
Thanks, all! It's more exciting when you've tried to do something for so long, isn't it?!
In my experience, a properly paced 10k will do wonders for a 5k. Just something to think about if you are toying with the idea of a sub-22 and beyond. My season schedule is set up around them but yes they do suck.
The weird thing is that when I run a 10K with intent (as opposed to running a couple of miles and then deciding I don't give a damn), my splits tend to be very even. I don't know why, since I usually can't manage it in any other distance! Actually, I do know why... it's probably because I hate them so much that I'm not running them as hard as I should. Oops.
Great job, Blue! Congrats on the PR. You don't look like a lunatic at all, but I am curious as to what's up with the big skirt(?).
I wonder whether I'll ever be able to outrun my nose during the winter. Probably not.
Haha, love it. My nose thinks it's a sub-elite when the temperature is below 40.