Mississauga 5k (May 6, 2017)
I can’t believe that it’s been almost four months since I’ve posted my first blog! I was just rereading what I wrote last time and saw that I specifically mentioned about elaborating on my first marathon experience. The problem is that I’ve been putting it on the back burner for a while and I still haven’t gotten to it. Talk about procrastination! On top of that, I had wanted to write a blog on my recent travels to Eastern Europe in early March. It’s been two months and I still haven’t written a word! My next big trip is coming up next week, so I’m definitely digging myself a huge hole. This is honestly the most I’ve ever procrastinated in my life! For those who worry that I don’t relax enough during my sabbatical, rest assured … I’ve swung completely the other way! I promise I will get to those two posts! However, this time, I chose to do a race report instead … Last Saturday evening, I had my first comeback race of the year at the Mississauga 5k. It was my first race since my half-marathon last fall. For the past two months or so, I have been gradually rebuilding my mileage and intensity, as I took significant time off running during my big trips in New Zealand and Australia (yes, you’re reading chapter 4 before chapters 2 and 3!). I had been having some issues with my right big toe and arch after my trip, so the buildup was slower than I had expected. Looking back, I can still remember my first tempo workout in early March. The 4 km session, on paper, looked like a piece of cake compared to the tough workouts I’ve done in the past few years, but I was huffing and puffing all along and I was shocked at how much I’ve lost! Thankfully, I knew my marathon would be in October and I had plenty of time to rebuild. Going into this 5k race, I was a little nervous, even though I knew that it was just a measuring stick to see where I’m currently at in my training, as Coach Sarah Crouch and I both agreed on all along. Our goal was to use these first few months to develop my top end speed through short distance races as a form of strengthening for my marathon in the fall. My last 5k race was last June where I had a PR of 19:22 on a hot and humid day. Running in that red zone was still firm in my memory. My past nine weeks of training have been solid, but I knew it was no cakewalk completing a 5k under 20 minutes, let alone getting a PR. To add to the challenge, the race was at 6 pm. I was definitely walking on unfamiliar grounds as I’ve always raced in the morning. The weather forecast also called for rain and wind. In the end, I decided not to stress too much about it and just run, but deep down, I wanted at least a sub 20! As luck would have it, the weather turned out better than I thought as there was no rain. It was still windy, but nothing to complain about. Even though I was in shorts, I saw most runners were in their long pants and I started having second thoughts. It was chilly and I still had over an hour before the start of the race. After staying warm at a nearby Starbucks for some time, I went outside and began my typical warm up routines 50 minutes before the race with a 3k jog, some loosening exercises, and a few drills and strides. It helped me calm my nerves as I was able to gather my thoughts. I kept telling myself that as long as I hover around a pace of 4 min/k, I would be alright. As for the race itself, there really weren’t many surprises. Once the gun went off, everyone was scrambling to get ahead, especially the kids up front. The nerves disappeared almost immediately and I was just focused on running the right pace without going out too fast. I checked my Garmin after the first kilometer and my first split was 4:02, right where I wanted to be. Even though every second mattered in such a short race, I wasn’t overly concerned about being slightly over 4:00, as I knew I would most likely gain that time back and I wasn’t feeling wasted at this point. The next kilometer split was 3:57, so I knew everything was going according to plan so far. The third kilometer was where the mind started playing tricks on me. By this point, I was breathing heavily and knew that I could easily blow a tire if I ran any faster. This was where the devil in my mind tried to negotiate with me to settle for a 4:00 to 4:05 pace. I had to resist this temptation because I couldn’t dig myself a big hole and expect to go super-fast the last 2k, since that was never a guarantee. It could be a difference between making sub 20 or not. I decided the best course of action was just to slow down slightly but maintain my rhythm. It turned out I didn’t slow down too much as the next split showed 3:58, so overall I was on pace! I started to recover slightly and was able to maintain another 3:57 for the next kilometer. When I say recovering, I mean suffering less, since a 5k race is always a suffer-fest no matter how you look at it! Once I knew I was on my last kilometer, I just went all in and ran as fast as possible. I was certainly in the red zone here. Doing the math in my head, I knew a PR was unlikely, but I wanted to get as close to it as I could. Also, from my past experience, with a smaller race like Mississauga, I knew it might be possible to get a top 3 in my age category and I couldn’t pass up the chance. I kept telling myself to not settle for fourth, which has happened a few times in the past when I didn’t empty the tank! I didn’t want to have any regrets this time, so I had to put all my chips on the table. In the end, I crossed the finish line with a final split of 3:45. I ended up with a chip time of 19:32, which was just 10 seconds slower than my PR last year. A pretty solid race! The bonus? I found out I got second in my age category and 10th overall in the race, so that was pretty awesome! It felt good to check that first race back off the list. In a few weeks, I have another 5k race in Kortrijk, Belgium, so hopefully the weather will cooperate and I can track my progress at that point. Until next time!
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