Spring Thaw 5K

Spring Thaw 5K
Originally uploaded by Auberon.

Pros: Nice and flat, out and back with a constant on on the "competition".
Cons: Cold, windy, right on the water

The intention was to get in a nice run with some speed the weekend before the Shamrock Shuffle. I had hoped that I would be right around 6:30 per mile pace. As the race was in Canada, and they don't know how to use the superior system of inches-feet-yards-miles, I knew that the course was not going to be set up with mile markers. That played into my favor, because I would have to force myself to go off of feel and compare that with the ending result. I do have to admit that I have a course set up from my house (out and back) with 1K splits along the way. The Tuesday night Dodge Park group introduced me to that workout, and since then I've tried to know where I'm at, at each 1K split.

As the event was chip timed without a start mat, I knew I'd have to get to the front of the line to ensure I don't give away time due to the lag in reaction time. Even though I was at the front of the line for the start, and even though I felt I had a strong first 50 meters, I'd have to say that I was in 50th place by the first right hand turn onto Riverside Drive. I was already in a comfortable stride by the turn, and was getting passed by and endless number of runners. I've finally been able to control the urge to press harder in the first mile (1.6K) and settle into the proper pace. I didn't know what pace I was at, but I knew that it felt relaxed and easy. I had hoped that I'd be between 4:00 and 4:10 for the first 1K split. This hope was based solely on how I felt effort-wise. Coming through the first marker I checked the watch, 3:54 (rounded up) and I felt like I could have gone about 10 seconds faster at that point. I knew I felt fine, but just to be sure I backed off just a bit. The second split was 4:00 going into the wind, but still felt great.

To give you an idea of how cold it was, the little gatorade cups filled with water were frozen. The water was set up less than one hour before the race, as it was in the middle of the street and couldn't be closed off until the last possible moment.

At this point I could see that the leader was already making his way back towards me. I'm not sure where we crossed, but he had a commanding lead of about 100-200 meters. This is where Nikki Nolte (University of Windsor) passed me. Normally I would have just settled for someone passing me, and having no guts to stay with them, just sort of fade back. Not this time. I stayed with her as we drew in more and more people. At one point, I swear she looked down at her watch and hit another gear, just for a short burst to get away from me. I wasn't going to play the game of never ending windsprints. I knew I had a strong sprint for the finish if it came to it. She was about 30 meters in front of me before she settled back to the same pace, and we went after more people. I hit the next split in 3:55, and the split right after that. No fade, no aggressiveness. Just smart running while teaching my body proper pacing. The last 1K there were about 4 people between myself and Nikki (the only reason I know her name is that so many people were cheering for her). I knew that all of these people were fading hard, so I just settled in and knew I'd take down most of them.
The last stretch I sort of slowed down just to watch a kid spew out his breakfast all over someone's car, and then took off for the finish. A strong finish, but even-paced. The split was 4:01, but the last mile was probably the fastest of the day. I had successfully picked off the people between myself and Nikki, and knew that I could have gone after her and the guys she was pulling in, but saw no reason, so let things finish with a strong stride, not a sprint.

All in all I felt strong and steady. I didn't have any muscular fatigue, and I found a great breathing pattern that seemed to work perfectly.

Finishing time: 19:46 (2004-2007 PR, so far)
Pace: 6:22 per mile, 3:58 per kilometer
Prediction for Shamrock Shuffle: 31:45

To all reading these little running thoughts, good luck on your next race.