Skyline 5K 17:16 4.25.09
I was up Saturday morning at 5:30AM and making final preparations before heading down to the Skyline 5k.
I was not feeling that chipper. Maybe the heat from the Waxhaw race took more from me than I thought.
The prerace stuff went as usual – packet pick up, bathroom break, and some chatting with runners that I had not seen in a while.
Then, it was off for a pre course run.
In comparing the Waxhaw and Skyline courses definitely the Skyline course is tougher to the two courses. The first mile is mostly uphill along with about ¾ of the 2nd mile. The only saving grace for the course is that the 3rd mile is lights out fast if you have anything left which usually I don’t.
As I was prerunning the course, I looked for a few good spots to make a push during the race. Usually, this a place where I like to throw in some surges. I did pick out these spots but forgive me if I don’t share them here. Steve might be reading this blog. :)
My legs were feeling a tried but nothing too terribly bad. Usually, when I run back to back races, my 2nd race is faster.
The start was another tight one between the Stadium and the CPCC campus. Even with the crowd of runners, Steve and I were running almost side by side by the ¼ mile mark.
I think I pushed the pace up the hill - probably a bad idea on my part. We hit the first mile in 5:42. Coming over the top, Steve must have been feeling good because he was really pushing it for the next half mile. We were pretty much stride for stride through 2 miles. I had 5:27 on my Garmin.
Once on the downhill section, either Steve was throwing in some small surges or I was just struggling to keep up. Either way, I was barely hanging on.
As we were started to round the stadium, Steve got a couple of strides on me. I could have given up and let him go but that wasn’t the thought that entered my mind. The only thought was “close it back up” but easier thought than done. :)
We hit the 3 mile mark side by side (My Garmin said - 5:12) and I might have gotten a step on him by the time we made the right turn in to the CPCC campus. However, this is the point where I needed that extra gear and didn’t have it at this point in my training. Steve put on down a sprint and gapped me by 2 seconds.
My congrads go out to Steve on his race. I pushed him almost to the finish line and gave everything that I had.
Honestly, I was disappointed at losing by a few seconds, but there was a bright side. I had one of my best races with Steve yet. I improved my time over last year when Steve beat me by some 25 seconds. And, when I could have faded and let Steve go in the last mile, I didn’t. I dug deep and hung on.
After the race, Mike and I did a nice little cool down over the course. It was perfect way to recovery after a hard race.
On the TrySports Team front, Mike, Stan, Kylee, and I picked up the mix team award which was a party at Jillians. I have to work on getting it scheduled
For now, Twilight is just 2 weeks away and should be fun.
I was not feeling that chipper. Maybe the heat from the Waxhaw race took more from me than I thought.
The prerace stuff went as usual – packet pick up, bathroom break, and some chatting with runners that I had not seen in a while.
Then, it was off for a pre course run.
In comparing the Waxhaw and Skyline courses definitely the Skyline course is tougher to the two courses. The first mile is mostly uphill along with about ¾ of the 2nd mile. The only saving grace for the course is that the 3rd mile is lights out fast if you have anything left which usually I don’t.
As I was prerunning the course, I looked for a few good spots to make a push during the race. Usually, this a place where I like to throw in some surges. I did pick out these spots but forgive me if I don’t share them here. Steve might be reading this blog. :)
My legs were feeling a tried but nothing too terribly bad. Usually, when I run back to back races, my 2nd race is faster.
The start was another tight one between the Stadium and the CPCC campus. Even with the crowd of runners, Steve and I were running almost side by side by the ¼ mile mark.
I think I pushed the pace up the hill - probably a bad idea on my part. We hit the first mile in 5:42. Coming over the top, Steve must have been feeling good because he was really pushing it for the next half mile. We were pretty much stride for stride through 2 miles. I had 5:27 on my Garmin.
Once on the downhill section, either Steve was throwing in some small surges or I was just struggling to keep up. Either way, I was barely hanging on.
As we were started to round the stadium, Steve got a couple of strides on me. I could have given up and let him go but that wasn’t the thought that entered my mind. The only thought was “close it back up” but easier thought than done. :)
We hit the 3 mile mark side by side (My Garmin said - 5:12) and I might have gotten a step on him by the time we made the right turn in to the CPCC campus. However, this is the point where I needed that extra gear and didn’t have it at this point in my training. Steve put on down a sprint and gapped me by 2 seconds.
My congrads go out to Steve on his race. I pushed him almost to the finish line and gave everything that I had.
Honestly, I was disappointed at losing by a few seconds, but there was a bright side. I had one of my best races with Steve yet. I improved my time over last year when Steve beat me by some 25 seconds. And, when I could have faded and let Steve go in the last mile, I didn’t. I dug deep and hung on.
After the race, Mike and I did a nice little cool down over the course. It was perfect way to recovery after a hard race.
On the TrySports Team front, Mike, Stan, Kylee, and I picked up the mix team award which was a party at Jillians. I have to work on getting it scheduled
For now, Twilight is just 2 weeks away and should be fun.
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