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.