Saturday morning I finally ran my first 10K! I was out the door by 6:30 to get to Dearborn for the race that started at 8. It was an early morning to be sure but that’s always fine if it’s for running. I was pretty conflicted over whether to eat anything when I woke at 6 because it was right in the span of time where I may or may not regret but also I was unsure of if I would need it because this race is longer than I’m used to (normally I wouldn’t need to eat for a 5k). I didn’t end up eating and we got to the race in time for me to get ready with a bathroom visit and a bit of a warmup (only a mile, would have liked to do a bit more but it worked out nicely).

A few minutes before the race I lined up at what I thought was not too far back but it turned out I got boxed in after the start. This happens too much – other runners really don’t consider where they should be based on their starting time. I was doing a slow jog for probably almost a minute before I could get through the crowd at all and then really pushed for the first mile to make up time.

I went into the race planning on running just under 7 minute pace for each mile and had decided if I could do that then I’d be at least satisfied with what I ran. The first mile turned out being around 6:45 between the adrenaline of the start and me being angry and running hard to make up time from the start.

The next few miles went by easily. The pace felt pretty relaxed for me compared to my usual constant exhaustion for a 5k. The second and third miles I ran in 6:53 and 6:55 respectively – right on pace! Additionally I really didn’t feel too fatigued after this which was part of the plan. My breathing was easy and my legs felt good. It turned out that miles four and five were a little more difficult but not so much that I noticed. Either I completely missed the 4 mile mark or it wasn’t up yet but I caught the 5 mile mark. They were actually just setting up that mile marker as I passed it and I was no where near the front of the pack so this was pretty surprising to me. I averaged 7:01 for those two miles and went into the last mile ready to push a bit harder.

Now the last mile was actually more difficult but still wasn’t bad – I guess this means I could have raced faster but I was just sticking to the plan. There were a few good sized up hill portions towards the end of the race and those were rough but otherwise the last 1.2 miles felt good because I knew I was almost done. The last turn was made right around the 6 mile mark which gave a straightaway of about 200m. This I really liked because it gave you time to see the finish coming and really push. The last 1.2 miles I finished in about 8:22 which is under 7 minute pace as well – so I did a pretty good job of sticking to the pace!

I finished in a total of 42:53 and I’m happy with that. It is definitely something I can improve on but it’s a good starting place I think. Overall it was a good day to race. It was a bit rainy early on but that cleared pretty quickly and the course was pretty nice. Like I said, there were a few rough uphills but otherwise I think the course was pretty fast. It was winding and there was enough room on the course (granted I was only around 3 or 4 other runners for most of the race).

Full results can be found here.

Aftermath

The rest of Saturday I was limping around and my right leg was bothering me quite a bit when I put weight on it. Sunday I felt a bit better and even went for an easy 5 mile run with some friends and it didn’t bother me too much but I could definitely still feel that my leg wasn’t 100%. Monday was worse again and I even cut my run short (4 miles instead of 5) because I didn’t want to aggravate it any more than I already had.

I’m going to take today and tomorrow off and ice a bit before I reevaluate what to do but I’m really hoping things get better. It kills me not to be able to run.

The other week I sort of decided to run this 5k at the last minute. The course was almost entirely flat and overall organized pretty well. The downside was that I didn’t improve on my recent 5k times at all – I guess things weren’t as smooth as I thought last post. Anyhow, I finished with a 20:54 which somehow got me the age group win as well. I was actually very disappointed with my time and really felt like I shouldn’t have won the age group either – especially since the course was so flat. Full results can be found here: http://runmichigan.com/r_view.php?id=15130

Since then it has been training as usual. Last Friday I actually ran the first hard track workout that I’ve done in a while with some friends. We did 4×5:00 hard with 3:00 rest in between and then 3x200m hard as well. This workout was actually very encouraging for me since all of my laps on the track were very even and I was right on pace for 6 min miles all the way though. So maybe in the past that would have been nothing for me, for now I’ll take it!

I was very sore over the weekend following that workout (I forgot how much speedwork hurts!) but managed to get over it by Monday and then yesterday I was able to run a 12 mile long run which turned out to be right at 8 min pace average. This was another hugely comforting workout and it turned out today I felt pretty good on my group run.

I’m getting excited for the Martian 10K – it’s just about a week and a half away!

This morning was the Shamrocks & Shenanigans 5k hosted by Running Fit. It was really a fun morning and they did a great job hosting this race. This really was a big event – I heard estimates that about 3000 people participated. (UPDATE: There were 2113 finishers) The final results haven’t been posted yet for me to get an actual count but I’ll update this post when they are (This also means I don’t have my official time yet but I’ve got my watch time).

Before the race I met up with some friends from the Running Fit Monday run group. We hung around the race area a bit afterwards as there was a lot going on and it got really nice outside after the race. The weather today is beautiful and I almost want to go for another run!

I have mixed feeling about the actual race but this is more an indication that my training is lacking than anything else. My goal was to go under 20 mins today and I think that was within reach. It didn’t quite happen but I am showing progress in terms of average pace from the last 2 races.  You gotta focus on the positives, right?

I mostly succeeded in going out at the right pace. The first mile was a loop around downtown and then sent us down Main St. My first mile was 6:17 which I was pleased with at the time. The second mile really hit me hard it seems. We continued out on Main and turned around right at Stadium and came back down Main. There are a few rolling hills on this portion and I started slowing way down. My second mile was right at 7 flat and now I wish I would have done more to push harder but I know that during the race I was doing all I could to stick with the pack I was in. The last mile I was able to pull it together again get back into the race. This part brought us the rest of the way back down Main and for a set of loops around downtown to the finish. There was a hill immediately before the finish that I got destroyed by – but otherwise this last stretch was good. For the third mile I had a time of 6:19 and the last tenth I ran 0:43 (like I said, hill destroyed me). This got me a finishing time of 20:20. It wasn’t exactly what I was looking for but it IS an improvement from the past few months…

I really need to figure out what happened during that middle mile. If I could have held on a little better in the middle of this race then my goal time could have actually been met since I was able to actually have pretty consistent 1st and 3rd mile splits. I didn’t do any speedwork this week since I was already upping my mileage (I hit 40 miles this week) and I’ve already been worried about injury so I didn’t push it.

As I said after last race, I think mile repeats are going to be essential for me to smooth out the difference between these splits. I just need to find a good day to do them. I’m thinking that Tuesdays are going to be the day. This would be right between a probable long mileage day on Monday with the Running Fit group and the Wednesday A2Runners group that is generally an easy short run that could be good for recovery.

Overall, this was a great day and I will definitely be racing this again! There was lots of fun to be had and the course was pretty nice – except for the hill/turn right at the finish.

Update:Results are posted.

Yesterday I ran the leap year 4 miler. It was in Willow Metro Park and was different from many of the races that I have run in that it was in the evening. The park had no streetlights on the course and it was quite foggy so it was actually somewhat difficult to see towards the end of the race but overall it was quite fun. The course was extremely flat (fast!) and the little bit of rain didn’t really bug me all that much.

My goal was to run under 27 minutes, which I was able to do. My splits were quite embarrassing though – just really inconsistent. I was looking for about 6:30-6:40 pace during the race but that really isn’t what happened. I went out feeling pretty good and thought I was right on pace; It turned out I ran a 6:08 for the first mile which was really quite surprising for how little I thought I was exerting myself and the shape I consider myself in. It turned out that was not sustainable at all though. I tried slowing down a bit but that mile caught up with me quickly.

The next two miles were 6:55 and 7:15 and were quite tough to keep the pace up. There was also a bit of rain but that actually felt kind of good. There was a turn around right before the 3 mile marker and that is where I decided to really start pushing again. I was able to hold a really good pace without feeling like I was about to fall apart for that entire mile. I even had a decent kick at the end which means I probably had more in me for the middle two miles – I just couldn’t find it.

I finished the last mile in 6:34 for a finishing time of 26:51. Overall sometime I’m happy with because I beat my goal. I do think that if I had been a bit more even in my splits that it could have been even better but it is no use worrying about that now. Full results for the race are here.

Some takeaways from this race:

• I ran a faster 5k time than in the middle of this race than I did at the Super 5k earlier in the month
•  My first mile of 6:08 tells me I’m getting some speed back but I know that progress will be slow
• I need to work on pacing my miles a bit better. This is something I already knew that I used to have trouble with and something I continue to work on.

In order to help me keep a more steady pace as I train for some upcoming races I plan on doing more mile repeat workouts. I know in the past they’ve really helped my pacing and improve my speed over the course of a race.

So. Last weekend I ran the Super 5k. This was my first race since October and after only really running for about a month at ~30 miles/week. Between then and now I was only running a day or two a week for 3-4 miles – not very much.

Needless to say, this was a pretty rough race for me because I was so out of shape. Anyhow, I finished in 21:44 which I guess I’ll take for being so out of shape. The course wasn’t bad; it was an out and back and had a slight hill before the turn around. The finish was not straight which is not ideal but I wasn’t exactly going all that fast…

Now a quick update on training: Since New Years I’ve been running with a few groups which I’m hoping keeps me motivated to keep running the rest of the week. This has been going well so far. I’ve also tentatively begun some speed workouts. Most recently some mile repeats at around 6:45 pace. This was actually incredible difficult for me which is extremely frustrating for me since I know that in the past I’ve cranked out long runs at that pace.

That brings me to my running goals for this year:

• Get fast again
• Run a marathon
• Run a sub-17 5k – this one doesn’t have to be this year but I want to make good progress at getting to that level again.

I’ve been getting some good base mileage in the past month or so and should probably come up with a more thought out training plan for at least into late Spring.