Wilson Partners in Education 5K

Well today was my first 5K in years. I ran the Wilson Partners in Education 5K. From my previous experience, I knew not to go out too fast. That's easier said than done though. The pace towards the front was really fast early on. There were a couple HS cross country girls ahead of me and they took off. I figured they went out too fast and would come back, but they never did. No one ever came back to me and that was really frustrating.

I tried to slow down and run my own race. That led me being passed by quite a few runners in the first half mile. Adding to the difficulty was that the first mile had several hills. They weren't steep, but long. I'm so used to flat surfaces that it was something I wasn't prepared for. They didn't look too bad when we drove the course last night, but they did beat me up pretty good during the race.

After I settled in, I was only passed by three people. One was a crazy kid who took first place in the 13 & under category. An older lady passed me later on and finally an old guy passed me in the back half. I wasn't able to pass anyone myself.

My time for the first mile was 7:15. It sounded like a pace I would've hope to run, but it was just too fast. I noticed last night as we drove the course, that after the 1.5 mile marker the road was under construction and it made for a rough surface. The plan was too attack after that. However, I went out too fast and didn't have the energy to push it. The other issue was that I really had no one to catch.

That was the most frustrating part of the race. I was too slow for the front pack, but too fast for the others. I basically ran the final 2 miles or more alone. That's not nearly as bad since I train alone so much, but it is always easier to run with a group. I was so far ahead of the next runner and too far behind the guy who passed me to push myself. I should've still run harder though.

I finished at 23:12. That's certainly nowhere near what I used to finish in, but I guess it's not bad considering the circumstances. In addition to running alone, the reality is that I've still only been running for 2 months and without any training partners (other than one speedwork session). It was also raining during the race (although I used to excel in the rain).

I really felt like this was a big waste. It was basically just a training run. I didn't get much out of it. It did give me an idea of where I'm at I guess and where I need to go, but it would've been nice if I had other runners to push me. I didn't test my limits at all. Although I didn't feel strong at the finish, I was exactly dead either.

I'm happy with my early speed, but I still need to improve towards the end of runs. I am wearing down more than I ever used to. I'm really looking forward to getting into some longer races as I work my way towards the marathon. It's hard to believe that I could say a 5K is too fast for me, but it really is. Even when I ran track and 5Ks in my younger days, I was rarely even remotely comfortable. I'm much more in my element at longer distances. I was much more suited for the marathon.

You can't just come back to running 9 years later and expect to run at the level you did before. Today really made me appreciate where I used to be when I ran under 20 minutes on most 5Ks. I don't feel like I trained that well back then, but obviously I was a lot better off than I am now. I dug myself a big hole by drinking and eating too much during my college years and beyond. I'm not buried yet though and eventually I'll get to where I want to. If nothing else, this should be good motivation. I want to be an elite runner and obviously it's going to be a longer road there. Maybe it's too late for that now, but I won't know unless I try to really push myself.