TURKEY LEG 5K
Well this is my final race of the year. It's a medium-sized (500-600) in Farmington. My goal was to break 15:00 and gain some confidence back in the process, as Big Sur really took a big bite out of my confidence. But after driving the course with Amy last night I realized it was a lot more hilly than I anticipated, so I wussed out on trying for 15:00 and made a new goal of 15:30. I even toyed with the idea of just running fast enough to win and get a workout. But running slower than I'm capable of in a race of any size is really hard for me to do, it's not really in my DNA.
So I decided to go out hard and push hard the whole way unless my achilles acted up. The race started five minutes late and I was immediately out in front solo. I refused to look at my watch until the mile split. I just ran hard on the slight downhill and the watch beeped at the mile in 4:37. Not bad at all, faster than I thought I was running.
Now you gained about 100 feet in a slow grind in mile two. Again I refused to look at the watch and just wanted to attack the hills. It certainly got my heart rate up and my breathing was labored. But I got to the top and hit the split in 5:06.
Now some downhill to start mile three, if I can hit around 4:40 for the last mile I think I can break 15, which was way better than I thought I could do. So I ran the downhill hard and ran the last mini loop as hard as I could. I felt surprisingly good and hit a 4:38 last mile. I kicked somewhat hard, not a sprint but certainly I picked it up substantially and ran the last .11 in 28 seconds or like 4:10 pace. My final time on my watch was 14:50, though I stopped it a tad late, so maybe official time will be 14:49. I don't know I haven't seen any results yet. Edit: results finally posted (three days later) and it is officially 14:49.
The race director handed me my $50 VISA Card right when I finished. Now that's a prompt award ceremony! I waited for Amy to finish and SHE WON THE WOMEN'S RACE in 19:26! I can't believe how far along her fitness has come and that's a great time for her on a harder course.
After Amy and I cooled down with Bryant and his wife Lisa who live near the course and had jogged over to watch. Overall a pretty good morning and a great last race of the year. It's nice to finish with a good time after taking that hit to my confidence with my slow Big Sur performance. Now time to stuff my face! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Course map and elevation:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/409741472
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