I decided to run in the Mixed Doubles 10k Relay for the LVRR. It was a race where you would run with a female partner and each of you ran a 5k and the total time determined the placing. I probably could've found a partner, but I just decided to run it alone. Usually, I am taking photos for the Summer 5ks, so it was good to actually run a race for a change. I had my dad take the pictures until I was done and then I assumed my duties. The nice thing about this race was that it was free.
I was quite mad when I pulled up to the Parkway. Nazareth was just finishing up a cross country meet. The paper only listed Allen and Dieruff as running there. I guess I need to get a schedule since I have no idea when they are racing this year.
Anyway, it was on to my race. I chatted with a couple friends before the race. It was getting kind of late when I changed clothes and started my warmup. I'm not sure how far I ran, but it was probably about a half mile warmup. My legs sure needed it as they were quite stiff. They still weren't great after I completed the warmup, but I couldn't worry about that.
We lined up for the start and I didn't have my GPS signal yet. Luckily, I got it before the start of the race. No one wanted to stand at the front of the starting line. There weren't really any fast runners. That was surprising because our Summer 5ks are quite quick. One of my friends, Tim, reluctantly took the front of the line. I knew I'm still a little slower than him, so I hung back in the second row.
I am used to these races starting out so fast that even though you feel that you are going easy, you get pulled along at a quick pace. Since the race didn't have much speed, that wasn't the case. I had to work quite hard early on. This course is difficult because there are a couple rolling hills early on. You aren't warmed up before you hit them.
Although I ran before the run, my legs still weren't ready to go when I approached the hill. I went hard up in anyway because I knew that it was short and would be over quickly. As I recovered on the backside of the hills, I saw that my pace was a bit over my goal pace of 7 minutes. I'm not sure how accurate my GPS was that early in the race.
The rest of the first mile was quite uneventful. My watched showed that my pace slipped. I do rely on it too much. Sometimes I just need to ignore it and run on feel. Although I didn't feel great, I was happy to be done with the first mile in 6.53. I just didn't know if I could keep it up.
One of the cool features of this 5k is that you run over a Covered Bridge. That feels different to your feet, but it is fun. I cruised along and just kind of stayed with a couple guys throughout most of the run. I passed a guy here and there and was passed back every now and then. I stayed about where I started.
After a mile I could no longer see the leaders. I saw them pretty far into the race. That usually isn't the case. I continued along. I thought about taking water as I neared the halfway point, but decided not to. I was still feeling okay and my pace was steady. My legs seemed like crap, but that was the case the whole way. I was working a little harder than I wanted to, but that was okay. I knew the race would be over before I knew it.
I definitely don't enjoy 5k races. They are just too fast and you can never get comfortable. It is hard all the time as long as you are pushing yourself. Even though it is short, it still feels like it takes forever.
I think I passed a guy that was falling back. I then pushed it on the last short hill before the Robin Hood Bridge. I had hoped to go hard after this, but that didn't happen. For one, I wasn't feeling strong enough to push more. They also added on to the course a little, so I wasn't quite sure how far we had to go. My GPS distance often goes a bit over the race distance.
The last mile was all flat and I do remember going around one guy. I think someone else passed me too. At one point, I saw Tim up ahead. I thought he was fading and that maybe I'd catch and pass him. He stayed in front of me the whole time though.
When I got to 2.5 miles, I was somewhere around a 6:58 or 6:59 pace. I was certainly cutting it close. I knew that as long as I was near 7 minutes, my pace would drop with my sprint finish.
I just concentrated on my form as I kept pushing. The weather was much cooler than a week or so ago, but it was still somewhat hot and humid. It was kind of in between what you would think of as fall weather and what would be considered summer weather. It was certainly runnable.
It would've been nice to finish on the cinder path as normal. Since the starting line and finish line are usually at different spots, they had to add on to make the relay work (and the start and finish be the same place). That meant they added a section through the mowed grass near the end. This part was brutal. I hate running on grass as it is. Going from gravel to grass and back to gravel was difficult.
I noticed that as I weaved through the grass that I was hitting the 20 minute mark. I was looking to come in under 21:45. I didn't quite know how much distance was left, but I could sense it was going to be close. As I exited the grass, I kicked it up a notch. I had been following an old guy around the grass and for awhile, but when I put my kick in, I went by him. I passed him right around the bridge just before the finish. I sprinted through the finish and stopped my watch at 21:29.53. It was fairly comfortably under my goal time.
I was definitely happy with the race. I improved my time from my terrible Blue Eagle 5k by over 50 seconds. Not bad for a month later. I'm obviously continuing to get faster. I was pleased too because I didn't feel all that great. My legs are beat and I was huffing and puffing, but I stayed with it and pulled through. The course is tough as well and the competition was light. Maybe with better competition and on a faster course, I could even break 21 minutes. That doesn't matter though as it will happen soon enough (although I don't care much for running 5ks).
It was good seeing a bunch of friends again. Angie and Stan ran together and finished somewhere around 5th. Tim was a couple spots ahead of me. Peter was behind me. Another friend, Joe, ran with his wife. Roger from the BCR was there. Kelley ran with her dad. I missed getting some photos of her in the middle of the race because I thought she went by already. I only got her backside. Between my dad and I, there were some good pictures of everyone. Now, I have to spend a lot of my night going through them.
Tomorrow is the usual group run. Kelley said she isn't sure if she is going or not. I want to get some extra miles in before or after the run. Hopefully with her before, if not I'll run alone. I want to hit 48 miles for the week. That will require about 8 tomorrow, 5 on Friday and my 15 mile long run on Saturday.
3.11 miles - 21:29 (6:55 pace)
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