Warm Hearts 5K

Well today was my first race since November.  I ran the Warm Hearts 5K in Nazareth.  To say it didn't go well would be an understatement.  The course was tough, but I ran slower than I did at the Blue Eagle 5K back in August.

It was a beautiful day compared to the weather lately.  It was in the 40s with sun.  There was still some wind though.  It was so warm that I wore just a singlet and shorts.  That worked out fine.

I started off with a mile warm up.  The race began at Holy Family Church.  What made the warm up tough was that the entire area was hilly.  I ran out towards the circle in the center of town.  I saw my friend April warming up right in front of me.  She turned around and headed back and I kept going.  I ran farther than I wanted because I didn't want to stop at any lights.  I ended up walking a little to get to the start area.

The start was a little annoying because there were a few speeches and we had to stand there waiting to get going.  I lined up in the 2nd row.  That was frustrating because the woman or women in front of me started off very slow and got in my way.  I had to sprint to get into the position that I wanted.

Very early on in the run, there was a steep uphill.  I knew it would be tough, but I thought the warm up would've helped.  It didn't and I struggled to the top.  I was breathing so heavy.  I did pass a girl on the Nazareth High School team.  I was wondering why she started so far up front.  I knew she wasn't that fast.  A few people passed me on the uphill.

I knew after the hill, it was a long downhill and then flat for awhile.  I was looking forward to that.  I cruised down the hill and began enjoying the run.  It was still fast paced though, so I was never able to recover my breathing.  It continued to be heavy.

The first mile seemed great.  I came in at 6:45.  That was better than I would've expect, especially with the hills.  The downhill helped a lot for that one.

I held steady for quite a while.  I think for another half mile anyway and about halfway through the race.  We did pass a couple walkers and I think one guy commented that I was breathing hard.  I guess I didn't realize how much I was struggling.  I didn't feel great, but I still felt kind of good.

There was a tough uphill alongside the high school and Shafer Elementary School.  I started to catch up to the lead woman, but I was struggling.  She actually began walking up the hill.  That was amazing.  I ran by a house and one of Nazareth's girls basketball players was actually shooting in her driveway.  That was funny.

At the top of the hill, the lead woman began to pull away.  The second mile dropped to a 7:11.  I really slipped in the back half of that mile.  Knowing the course was kind of a downfall to me.  I was struggling so much and knew that I had a lot of hills yet to go.  Rather than killing myself, I decided to just shut it down and cruise to the finish.

I passed my friend Linda, but that didn't help.  I was already cooked.  I was then passed by the 2nd place woman.  I told her that the first place woman was up ahead, but she had on her headphones, so I'm not sure if she heard me.

I have hardly run anything fast all winter.  When I did run fast, it was basically 2 miles of hard running.  That's pretty much as long as I was capable of running hard today.  It is amazing how that works.  The pace was there for a short time, I just have to increase how long I can carry the pace.

I did hang fairly close to the top 2 women.  I was impressed that the woman that was walking was able to keep her lead.  She walked again until the 2nd place woman was on her heels.  She then pushed through and took the lead.  I had a good seat to all of that action.  Maybe I could've pushed myself and mixed it up with them, but there was really no point.  There are times to push through tough patches and other times to just shut it down.  I clearly wasn't ready for this race today.

The final mile was 7:57.  That is basically my easy run pace.  That is pathetic.  It was over a minute slower than my fast first mile.  It sure gives me something to work on.  I definitely need more speedwork now as the weather gets warmer.  I was coughing a lot after the race and I'm not sure if something else might have been bothering my breathing too.  My lung capacity is definitely my limiter right now.

I did still finish the race 13th overall and was 2nd in my age group.  A high school track teammate's brother actually won the race.  A fast 13 year old from Pleasant Valley was 2nd overall.  I've seen his name before in some 5Ks.  I assume he will be a very good runner for them at the high school level in a few years.

I'm hoping to run tomorrow.  It is supposed to be beautiful again.  I'd like to run 10 to 12 miles.  I have no idea where or when.  It will probably be on the D&L Trail somewhere.  That's usually my go to long run place.  I broke 30 total miles this week and hope to go over 30 again in the upcoming week.

Warm up 1.11 mile - 8:45 (7:54 pace)
Race 3.13 miles - 22:55 (7:19 pace)
Cool down .5 miles - 4:33 (9:11 pace)