Camp Care 5k Recap 9/10/11

Saturday morning was to be a 10 mile workout with 3 miles of up tempo effort. This is all part of my fall marathon plan to get my wheels turning over faster than my expected marathon pace. So realizing that I could do solo effort somewhere or do a race, I opted for a race.

Camp Care 5k fit the bill perfectly. The race organizers were utilizing the McAlpine 5k course for their race. The cost was agreeable - $25 dollars. The start was 9 am which was a little late for me. But what the heck, I got a chance to sleep a little later.

Picked up my packet and then did my usual course preview. Even thou, my workouts earlier in the week had me covering the same terrain, recon on race is still important.

I came back to my car, changed over to my Brooks ST Racers (since I was treating this as a workout instead of a race, I left the racing flats at home), and then headed back to the start for some last minute hard striders.

Going into the race I set upon a game plan. I wanted to get out fast for the first half mile and then settle for the next 2 miles. The last ½ mile would hopefully be run at the same pace as the first half mile.

No cannon firing this week – just a command to go.

My first ½ mile was in 2:41. This was slower than I wanted and my legs felt extremely heavy. The next 2 miles I focused on settling. I eased back going up the hill and took my time coming down the other side. The hill on the McAlpine course and I have never had much in common. This explains why my second mile was 5:55.

Since there are no quarter mile marks on the 3rd mile, I guessed there was a ½ mile of running between coming out of the woods and the 3 mile mark. My 3rd mile was covered in 5:46.

The overlapping of slower runners made the last tenth a little tricky but I was able to hit the finish line in 17:57. I have to admit this was faster than if I had done this solo somewhere else.

Basically, this was more strength running than anything else. I didn't back down for the race. In fact, Friday I had covered 10 miles of running including a Tabata and another 20+ riding. For the week, I will hit 90 miles.

Before the event, I didn't know much about Camp Care, but listening to them describe their goals and achievements I have to remark at their wondrous efforts. The world is tough place and every kid should have an opportunity to excel in it.


 

Thoughts from the Cool Down Runner

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