Fake, Confidence-Boosting 5k PR

Well it's about time!  I have been training, seemingly endlessly, for the past couple months to take down my 5k PR.  It finally happened!  I ran the Hollis Fast 5k last night and let me tell you, it's FAST.  The course drops a little over 200 feet on the 3.1 mile course.  The race was the USATF New England Championship for 5k this year.  There were so many talented runners and teams that came out for the race.  The men and women started separately to allow the competitors to be with their field.  We actually started at two different locations and then merged onto the same road.  At the start, the weather was in the 50s and lightly raining.  Runner's do not mind this for a June 5k!  Due to the initial combustion at the start line, I was actually (and thankfully) prevented from going out too hard.  I ran the first mile in 5:14.  About a month ago, I hit my first mile (on a flat course) at the NE Distance 5k in 5:12.  This time, I ran a pretty controlled first mile.  I actually did not know my split for the first mile because the battery on my watch died.  There was no clock and I did not hear anyone shout out a split.  This is the point in 5k races that I want to work on most.  I know I can get out fast and I know I have a solid finishing kick.  It is the middle mile and first part of the third mile that I have to work my hardest to maintain pace.  It is much easier to drop off pace at this point and "coast" the last two miles.  Right after I crossed mile 1, a couple runners I was with dropped off a bit.  Another runner came charging forward and was heading towards a pack close in front of me.  I followed.  I told myself that I would not back off, that I was going to get under 17:00.  I could have fell back, but I pushed forward and caught the pack and did my best to "hang on."  The clock read 10:45 when I reached mile 2.  I knew I had been delayed a few seconds before crossing the start line so my time was right on 10:40 (5:20 pace).  Awesome!  I knew I would still have to keep pushing in the third mile to get there.  I positioned myself behind a masters runner from the Greater Lowell Road Runners.  He was still going strong and I stayed close behind him as we moved past some runners in the last half mile.  When I hit the three mile mark, I had no idea what my time was.  All I knew is that I was going to pick up my pace as much as I could and sprint until I crossed the finish line.  I moved my arms furiously, put my head down, and kicked.  I crossed the line and saw the clock read somewhere in the low 16:40s.  I knew my gun time would be in the 16:30s because of my delay before the start.  This was one of those moments where I finally felt the joy in running again.  I train hard and sometimes do not see the results of that hard work.  I need a race like this to give some life to my running and to encourage myself to keep training.  It is worth it and it will always be worth it.  You cannot let results that do not live up to expectation get the best of you.  There will always be another race and another opportunity to improve as a runner.  I finished in 16:37 (5:21 pace): 5:14, 5:26, 5:24, :32.  My third mile was faster than my second, which is very encouraging.  The funny part of this race was that the best of the best in New England showed up to race: both men and women.  I placed 113th overall.  There were about 1400 finishers.  I cannot think of too many 5k road races where 16:3x does not give you a chance to win or at least finish somewhere in the top-5 or top-10.  The top 4 runners were all sub-14:00 with the winner Tim Ritchie of the BAA finishing in 13:47.  Around 150 runners were under 17:00 and 350 under 20:00.  Hollis is quick.  That brings me to the main takeaway from this race.  I ran a PR on a downhill course.  I finally felt happy and satisfied after a race, but I know the course did some of the work.  I do not know how much though.  My old PR was 17:24.  I know Hollis is not :47 seconds faster.  I picked a good day to run well and now I have a new time to strive to meet and surpass in any upcoming 5k.  The race did give me quite a bit of confidence.  I was having some truly bad races trying to get under 17:00.  It was a mental nightmare.  I psyched myself out before a couple of races and doubted myself.  There is no reason I cannot come close to this time on a flat 5k course.  I have a 10k coming up and another 5k.  I am going to put in more quality workouts and keep my mileage steady in the 70-80 range (a week).  I feel that I am now ready to start serious training.  I am ready to begin to attack half marathon and marathon training for the fall.  I know there will be challenges.  There will be some ups and downs.  The important thing to know is that all of this is worth it.  I can feel the joy in running again and encourage everyone to find it too.  It makes everyday running that much better.

Gaspee Days 5k

This was an exciting one!  The race takes place amidst the Gaspee Days Parade in Cranston, RI.  This parade commemorates the 1772 burning of the British revenue schooner Gaspee in Pawtuxet Cove ahead of the Revolutionary War (Boston.com).  I had put in a solid workout the Tuesday before the race: 2 mile repeat, 800m, 4 x 400m, 800m.  This went well and I ran solid late in this workout during the 400s and last 800.  I then did a light 8 x 1:00 hard workout on Thursday.  The Gaspee Days 5k would be on Saturday.  I took the Friday before the race very easy and felt reasonably good heading into the race.  I am still looking to improve on my 17:24 personal best, which I ran last February in the middle of marathon training.  I know I am in very good shape now, as I am running faster in my workouts than I have ever done before.  My plan for the race was to try and go out conservatively, meaning 5:30, and try and hold this pace.  Three miles at 5:30 would place me at 16:30 and then I would cut it very close to the 17:00 barrier.  Race morning was met with some sunshine.  The original forecast called for possible rain or clouds but the weather turned out a little warmer with the temperature being in the low 60s.  I executed my race plan well in the first mile.  I went out right at 5:30.  Looking back on this, I should have tried to run 5-10 seconds faster and stick with the small pack of runners in front of me.  At the first mile, I was running with a small group of about three other runners who fell of the pace shortly after.  Then, I was all alone.  The second mile featured a gradual downhill followed by the same uphill, as I hit the turnaround point on the course.  The uphill took something out of me and I slowed to a 5:46 mile.  Too slow.  I did a 5 mile tempo at 5:46 pace before the Boston Marathon.  My third mile was even worse, right around 6:00.  It did, however, include a decently sized hill at the end of the race which did not help.  My sprint to the finish was fine.  I ran the .1 in 31 seconds, proving I still had something left in my legs but should have tried to use it in the second and third miles.  I keep putting myself through these shorter races and have not seen any improvement of late.  I expect a lot from myself but my last two races were 18:03 and 17:52 (time for Gaspee Days).  This is where I was last summer.  I have not felt right since Boston.  I have not felt the same "pop" in my legs I felt throughout the marathon build-up.  My workouts were much longer and I was running fast.  I recently ran a sub-5:00 track mile and have put in some quality workouts.  I am hoping that I will see everything come together very soon.  It is difficult to train as hard as I do (or as hard as I think I do) and to not see the concrete results of my hard work.  This brings me to the present.  I am running a 5k tomorrow night and have the opportunity to give myself a break.  I have a chance to cheat a little bit.  I am running the Hollis Fast 5k.  This is the USATF New England Championship for the Grand Prix Series at the distance.  The course is very fast.  It is a point to point course that drops 224 feet from start to finish.  Last year, I ran 17:28 and grabbed 1st in my age group.  I was really in 18:00 shape at that point last summer but let the course work its magic.  I feel like I am knocking on the 17:00 barrier on the right day.  That day is tomorrow.  If I get the right day and run a good race I should see an end result that will make me happy.  Even if it is not "official" it would still pick me up and help improve my attitude right now.  I have been letting my nerves get the best of me lately.  I have given in too early in the races I have run.  Not tomorrow. 

Training Update, Hello June!

I quickly got back to work after a disappointing result at this year's Boston Marathon.  I still managed a 2:56 but I was not feeling it from the start.  I definitely wanted to be in the low 2:40s there.  I ran a solid half marathon (1:19) in Providence four weeks after Boston.  I came in 7th overall and won my age group.  I then ran a 5k the following week and put up a less than ideal 18:03.  This is well off my PR, which I was poised to break.  I went out too fast in this race (5:12) with the early leaders and faded the last two miles.  This race had a more humbling effect on me.  I cannot show up to races and expect good things to just happen.  Last week I put in two quality workouts.  The first was a 5 x 3:00 workout with equal recovery on the roads.  I felt great during this workout and was running fast throughout the repetitions.  That was on Wednesday night.  On Friday morning, I went to my old high school track (with my coach) to be paced through a 5k.  The plan was to run consistent 5:30 miles and finish in the low 17:00 range.  I stayed on pace through 1.5 miles and fell off by about 200m or so at the end and finished in 17:40.  This was not an entirely encouraging effort, as it is still off my road PR.  I was running a little tired from Wednesday's workout, but I still wanted to be faster.  This workout, however, was good in indicating an area I need to work on.  I need to work on running fast late in 5k races.  I need to be able to come through 2 miles in 11:00 or under and still feel reasonably good.  This is something I will begin to work on improving this summer. 

On Wednesday of last week, I ran an all-out track mile.  This is something I rarely do and something that awakens my nerves.  In practice, I feel comfortable doing workouts.  I complete them, hit my goal paces, and leave them feeling strong.  When it comes to racing, I get nervous.  Right now, it has a lot to do with running into the unknown.  I am trying to run times I have never run before.  Whether the training indicates I can run a certain time or not, I need to be confident that I have what it takes to reach a time.  As of late, I have looked at my training and thinking I should be much farther along in racing.  This is different from knowing you can set a new PR in a given event.  I need to put the fun back into racing and be excited for an opportunity to run fast.  I need to be confident in myself and know I have what it takes to finish a race strong because it will hurt.  This brings me back to Wednesday.  Before the track mile, my coach asked me if I was excited to try and break 5:00.  I sort of shrugged and did not show much emotion.  My response should have been something like: YES! LET'S DO THIS.  Instead I stayed calm, which is fine, but went to the start line lacking some confidence.  I was to be paced by my coach through the mile, running a steady 75 seconds for each lap and then kicking at the end.  I put on my track spikes and we lined up at the mile mark to ensure we would be going 1609.34 meters.  Then we took off.  We rolled through the first lap hitting it exactly in 75 with the little add-on 9 meters.  Another one of our club's coach was reading us our splits as well.  I was not looking at my watch during the mile, but stayed tucked in and focused behind my coach.  The second lap was another 75.  We were right on pace through halfway.  The third lap is often a difficult lap in the mile.  I did my best to hang on and prepare for the final lap.  I heard Hunter (that's one of our club coaches who was there) yell out 3:47 when we went through 1200m.  It would take under a 73 last lap to break 5:00.  After going through the first 200m on the final lap, my coach moved into lane 2 and told me to give it everything I had left.  I kicked and I kicked hard.  I flew around the curve and hit the homestretch.  My arms were pumping furiously as I sprinted to the line.  When I crossed the line I hit my watch and looked up.  It read 4:57 and I let out a little bit of a yell.  Yes, I showed some emotion.  It was probably more out of relief than anything else but I was pumped.  I do not train for short distances but I still want to get faster at them and see some improvement.  I got that on Wednesday.  I executed a time trial excellently and broke the 5:00 mark.  This will give me a confidence boost moving forward and get me excited to race my next time out.  I am confident I can break 17:00 in the 5k and I will take my shot in another week.

For now, I am up working and training in Vermont.  I'm sitting at 2000 feet of altitude and hope this gives the smallest boost to my training.  I have plenty of hills and mountains to climb.  After reaching a new milestone in the mile, I hope I can continue to find success on the roads this summer.  I know the training I do this summer will provide big dividends in the fall when I line up for the Chicago Marathon.  I know I will be confident, and excited, to run my best come fall.