Arbor Day 5k Recap 3/31/12
After racing last weekend, Megan and I had been kicking around the idea of doing another 5k this weekend. Having not registered in advance, we were still kind of on the fence even the night before. Even as late as Saturday morning we were considering not going as rain, thunder, and lightening rolled across the Carolinas.
Fortunately, we both decided to go. This weekend, we headed to Statesville, NC for their Arbor Day 5k which was held on the Statesville, NC Parks and Recs greenway.
We had run in a down pour last weekend so we were both hoping the rain would hold off. And for the most part it did. The rain fell but it was more of a study drizzle than a bucket pouring like last week.
Before the race we saw Chad Randolph and talked with him for a few minutes. Then it was time to race.
Last week, my opening mile was really sluggish so this weekend, I wanted to correct this part of my race. To help with it, just before the start, I did a couple of two minute surges with a 1 minute recovery. Getting some leg turnover was my attempt to get my engine rolling before the start.
And rolling it did, I go through the first mile in 5:18. The 2nd and 3rd miles were not nearly as good as last week: 5:42 and 5:46.
When the race started, Philip went with me and we were pushing pretty hard through about ¾ of a mile. Then, he just let me go. When I looked back at 1.5 miles, Megan and Philip were together but a pretty good distance behind me. This look back took too much of my motivation away to push. Mentally, I knew that a steady state run from here would give me the win. And, this is pretty much how it played out. I just cruised to the finish.
At the turn around just past 2 miles, I saw Megan and shouted some encouragement. I then shouted encouragement to each of the runners that passed me on the way back. Showing encouragement means a lot to me and I wanted to share as much encouragement with others as possible.
I crossed the finish line in 17:38 which was 5 seconds faster than last weekend. Megan finished another strong run with 18:52 and finished 2 overall and first female.
Last week, I felt like I struggled in the opening mile but closed well. This week, I felt like I got out well but maybe too well, which cost me something in the final two miles. Next step is to put things together with a strong start and follow it with 2 solid miles to the finish. But this next step will need to wait a few weeks and maybe to the end of this month. There is a relay and 10 miler that need to be completed first.
One final note, when I look back at my history of racing, I realize trophies are a rarity these days. Races are giving just about everything but trophies as awards. The Arbor Day race committee really came through and gave some nice trophies. They were not fancy or big but it was a little marble base with a runner on top. Just something nice, I would want to put on my trophy shelf.
Nice job with the trophies and a well done race.
Sharing one thought at a time,
The Cool Down Runner
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