It was a tough morning from a temperature standpoint. It was around the freezing mark at the start, but it was sunny out. I went with long pants, a long sleeve shirt and even a jacket over it. It was breezy. I had gloves too, but those didn't last long. If I was running faster, I would've worn less.
Kelley wasn't sure if she locked her car, so I ran pushing Evern in the stroller for a bit. The little guy was having a blast, gabbing away. He did that for most of the run. He didn't actually sleep until the end.
Going out was nice and easy. I guess the wind was at our backs. Coming back was a different story. It was in our faces and uncomfortable. Since it was a little chilly, few people were even out at all.
It was good to get the legs going, to prepare for the evening. My foot did bother me in the last quarter mile. Otherwise, I think running on the stone surface was a big help.
I rested during the afternoon and headed to Reading for the evening run. I figured it would be good because the race is cheap, usually fast and in the evening (when I prefer to run). I haven't run a 5k since New Year's Eve or even come close to running those speeds since. Really, I had no idea what I was capable of. I was hoping I could PR and at the very least I wanted to run sub 19 minutes. I ran a 19:16 on New Year's Eve.This course was the same one that I ran on in the fall, when I had surprise speed. That night in October, I ran a 20:29. I knew I'd crush that today. I was interested in seeing the progress that I'd make.
I got there early. Figuring out what I'd wear was kind of tricky. It was still cool and windy. I wanted to wear a singlet, but it just felt too cold for that. I was glad that I brought a regular short sleeve top as well as other gear. It worked out well.
I went out for a quick mile warmup. It was good to get the legs going, but also get a feel for the wind. It was headwind to start and a tailwind on the way back. That was very helpful to know. I also learned that I needed my sunglasses. The sun would be right in my eyes at the finish. Originally, I thought it would be off to the side for the entire race.
The warm up was so so. The legs felt pretty good, but honestly, I thought they'd feel better. I figured I could still do well in a short distance race though. Now wasn't the time to lose confidence either. I had to laugh when I got right to the turnaround. We ran on a bridge over the river. It was so dark in the fall that I didn't even realize that the trail did this. I sped up at the end of the warmup mile and ran it at a 6:59.
Registration had a long line and the race started late. That was a little frustrating because it messed with my warmup. Also, it was cold standing around. Looking at the past results, this series looked very competitive. Because of that, I elected to start in the second row. Since there were so many people signed up, some of the starting line was off the trail and in the grass.
I took off and quickly realized I wasn't in a good position. There wasn't much room and I got hit by at least one elbow. I sprinted past a bunch of people to get into the right spot. I felt good. I decided to begin by running on feel, rather than looking at my pace.
I tucked in somewhere between 6th place and 8th place. I ran right on the heels of these two guys. I saw the one guy earlier and he looked like a Ryan Hall clone. I actually thought he'd win the race. Instead, he provided an excellent wind blocker for me, as we opened into the headwind.
Those two guys were chatting briefly. I was breathing fairly hard, so I couldn't chat at all. I felt pretty good though and like this might be a pace I could sustain. Finally around 3/4 of a mile, I peeked at my watch. It was around a 5:45 pace. I wasn't even sure if I could run a sub 6 minute mile. I was happy thus far.
Somewhere a little past the first mile, which I ran in 5:52, the Ryan Hall lookalike started to pull away. I went with him briefly past the other guy. The pace was too quick though, so I drifted back as well. I was now in 5th place.
I started struggling as we approached the turnaround point. There's a short climb and then a more gradual climb to the turnaround itself. I knew I just had to get there and then I'd have the wind at my back.
Turning around was awesome. There was no wind and now I was cruising downhill as well. I felt so much better than I had a minute earlier. It was also very helpful to see all the people behind me in the race as they were heading out.
It seemed like a long time until we got to mile 2. I came through that at just over 12 minutes. I thought to myself that I had not run 2 miles in that time since high school. Maybe I had during my PR 5k a few years back actually.
I was suffering though. This second mile was a 6:07. I definitely wasn't consistent, but at least I was finding out what I could do. I had really wanted to run a sub 6 minute pace and now I was at that point.
The big issue is I was having some trouble breathing and my legs were feeling it a little too. I didn't know how long I could hang on. At least I knew I didn't have to hang on much longer. Even still, I looked at my watch often and it seemed like the last mile was taking forever.
The guy I passed earlier passed me back. I did hang onto him a little and that did help me a bit. I knew I'd never pass him back again, but at least I could pick it up a little.
As we were going into the sun, I flipped my sunglasses down. I put them back up though and decided to just look at the ground and the guy's feet up ahead. I was glad to be in the final quarter mile.
There a parking lot to run though in that section. Then, it's short uphill finish. That is tough, but at least it is the finish, so you can give your all then, if you have anything left. I was right at 6 minute pace.
I could see the clock and now realized that I was going to come in right around PR territory. I picked it up big time in the final tenth of a mile and finished one second under my PR. I ran an 18:41 back in 2010, although we cut that course, so it was 3.05 miles that day. Today, I ran an 18:40 on a full 3.1 mile course.
I was kind of hoping I might run a little faster than I did, but I was very satisfied. I really wasn't sure what I was capable of. If I actually trained at these faster speeds, I could definitely knock a good chunk of time off of this time. The final mile of this race was so uncomfortable. I guess it is good to push like that sometimes though.
I talked to the young guy that just finished ahead of me. He actually lives in Bethlehem. It's a small world. I ran a cool down in the other direction. I spent that mile celebrating with myself. I saw the women's 2nd place finisher too. I was glad to beat all the women today. That rarely happens and I always consider that an accomplishment.
I almost left early because I didn't think a cheap series race would have awards. It turns out they did and that I won my age group. That rarely happens in this bracket. All 5 guys ahead of me were in their 20s. I guess that's what happens when you run a weeknight evening 5k. All the folks with families skip it. It's nice to not have responsibilities.
AM Run 5 miles - 44:11 (8:50 pace)
Warmup 1 mile - 6:59 (6:59 pace)
Race 3.1 miles - 18:40 (6:00 pace)
Cool down 1 mile - 7:55 (7:55 pace)
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