Notes
[I disagree with the chip time as the official clock said 19:03 when I crossed, but with a big PR I'm willing to be magnanimous and give of the 3 secs. I'll take em back and more next time around.]
Well... I almost made it. And the great thing is that I had no expectation to be anywhere close this early in the year. I've been training for a half marathon and didn't figure I'd be close until this summer, but I started speedwork a month ago and by necessity it's all been on snowy trails. That may have helped me a bit.
The race was a 'Polar Bear' 5k, where you try to beat a runner dressed as a bear and get a shirt to prove it, and I kind of entered on a whim because I liked the idea. I didn't get a lot of chance to warm up and at the start of the race my breathing was feeling pretty constricted and I thought I might have to dial it back to deal with an off day... looked down at my watch to find my pace was around 5:30. Ok, so dial it back already! I passed a couple of people and hit mile 1 in 5:52, feeling pretty good and feeling like it couldn't last. Of course it didn't. A couple of little inclines were all that it took, but I held the pace at 6:34 for mile 2. No places changed after mile 1, and it turned out to be a gruelling self-battle with no competition to fuel the fires. I could *see* the guys in front of me (~200ft) but I was just trying to hang on. The final half mile was particularly tough - a long straightaway with the finish line in clear view. I have never felt so slow in my life, but despite how it felt, I actually had managed to pick it up a little and did the last 1.1 in 6:37 for a finishing time of 19:03. Coming in and seeing the clock ticking out of sub-19 land stung a little, but it was soothed by knowing I'd just shaved a full 50 seconds off my PR, set only 2 months ago. Sub 19'll happen eventually. Especially when I learn to hold a more consistent pace. I was accustomed to paces around 6:30, but this is a whole different ballgame.
Oh yeah, and I beat the bear. She was a total midpacker.