Notes
Argh. I ran a PR but I definitely didn't feel like I earned it. When I ran 15:09 in college it was a great race. I was even paced and everything went right. I felt strong through 2.5 and then finished strong. I have vivid memories of that race. This was everything that one wasn't. But in the end it's a mental game. I've got lots of excuses queued up for why the race didn't go according to plan, but that's bogus. I need to be able to perform regardless of the pressure or mental aspect leading up to the race. The two things that were out of my control were my leg still being super swollen and banged up from Tuesday and some intense GI stuff so I couldn't really hold anything today from Friday evening on. The other stuff I need to be able to respond better to. Part of it is practice in higher caliber races.
The run down of the race itself is something like this:
33 first lap - felt relaxed and comfortable sitting in maybe 6th or so. I wasn't sure what people were looking to run but the pace backed off so I stayed up there. We went through the 1k in 2:56/7 so right on pace to run 14:45-50, which was my goal. A coach was yelling splits and they just confused me so I'm not sure of most of my splits after that. I did hit the first mile in 4:44 and then the pace slowed significantly to about 38/39. I held back for a lap or two thinking that someone would take it or we'd all just speed up. I got antsy when it didn't happen and knew that I came to run a time not a tactical race to win the heat. I sped up (maybe too much) and hit a 33 or 34. Felt good and I held the lead for a couple of laps. I got passed at the 2 mile mark and I struggled to hold up at 36/37 pace, closer to the 37 end of things. I just watched myself fade out of sub-15 pace lap by lap, which was frustrating, but I just couldn't seem to get my pace back under control, or rather, I was running super even splits I just couldn't get them to dip back under 36. I had a really strong finish which was good, but not important at that point.
I'll settle for a PR given the conditions, but I'm definitely not satisfied with this time or performance. Eager to get back out and race. It was kind of nice to go through the 3k at 9:02. I think that's about what I ran in a time trial during the summer.
33 (200m)
2:57 (1k)
4:44 (1 mile)
6:00 (2k)
9:02 (3k)
12:08 (4k)
15:05 (5k)