Cupid's Chase 5K race report
or how I caught a cold, missed a turn and still PRd

Previous PR: 21:17, Goal: 21:00

The backdrop for the race was less than ideal. I was in prime form for last Saturday, and the race got postponed due to heavy snowfall in Columbia, SC. Last week I had tapered extensively. So I wasn't really sure what to do this week - and since at the beginning of the week, I wasn't even sure I could race this weekend, I decided to resume vigorous training, and skip tapering altogether. My training plan for Saturday reads: "Long run 9 mi @ 8:49 or 5K race".

Add to this that I caught a nasty cold, with sore throat and mild chest congestion in the middle of the week. This kind of thing have never stopped my training, but it costs a little power, too. Really, I'm not trying to make excuses, because the race was actually quite fine. I just want to point out, that I was quite pessimistic.

My wife dropped me off at the race. It was (at last) warm enough to run in shorts and t-shirt! It was a beautiful and sunny morning, but not too hot. I warmed up, and I lined up at the front row. There were only about 50 people running - this was already a postponed race and it was to be low key originally anyway. (I knew there would be no mile markers either.) I settled into a fairly fast pace, with four runners in front of me - including one girl. After about 3/4 mile I passed a guy on a downhill. I though he would pass me back on the next uphill, but he didn't, and he finished a good 40 seconds behind me, even though I almost gave him a gift position (see below).

By the time we got to the halfway point, I lost sight of the runner in front of me, and I ran completely alone. The course didn't have many volunteers. In one intersection, where we were supposed to make a right turn, there were no volunteers, no police cars, nobody. There was an arrow sign on a stop sign, but it was on the right, and naturally, I ran on the left side of the road. I wasn't careful enough, and I missed the turn. After a little while, I heard the volunteer in the previous intersection, and the police officer another block ahead (proctoring an earlier part of the windy course) shouting: "You missed a turn!" I stopped, confused, and then they pointed out which street I should have taken. I turned around, and I ran to the right direction. I think that I lost about 30 seconds here.

When I ran back to the right street, the guy behind me caught up. He was right on my back. I felt totally devastated. I knew I wouldn't run under 21 minutes with the extra 30 seconds, and I also lost my drive a little bit. I just wanted to get over with the run. Nevertheless, I decided I wouldn't lose my position in the race. So I still pressed on, and I got rid of my follower. It was hard to do my usual mental game of dissociating myself from the pain I felt.

When I got closer to the end, I saw my time wouldn't be too bad after all. When I turned into the finish line, I knew that I had a chance to PR. So I pushed a little harder and I got through the finish line at 21:11. A six second PR with my missed turn!

Post-race food was the usual thing for small local races: muffins and bottled water. Good enough for me.

The course was not too hard, but also not particularly easy with many rolling hills, typical of Columbia's residential neighborhoods. To be able to run this time with the given circumstances suggest that I might not be that far from my sub-20 dream. That is good. Also, my missed-turn-mishap didn't cost me a position (I finished as 4th overall, 3rd male). But I am *so* disappointed thinking that if I didn't miss that turn, my PR would read 20:xx now.

Family logistics was extremely complicated today with one car and a postponed race, so my wife showed up to pick me up before I could have received my award. The main organizer lady promised me that she would hold onto it - I will call her office on Monday.

It looks like I can run this weekend, but I don't have much optimism. I caught a cold, and for a change, I haven't tapered this week, but instead I've been training quite hard. I will also run an easy 4 miles tonight, and I will skip only one day before the race. Even though my base physical condition is definitely better than it was last summer (when I ran my current PR), I am not at all sure I can PR here and now. It is still damn cold outside, about 10 F lower than it should be this time of the year. It is freezing every night. And the weather forecast is about the same for next 10 days.

The 5K on last weekend was postponed due to heavy snowfall in Columbia. (It virtually never snows in Columbia, so this was quite an event. My younger daughter is 3 years old, and this was the first time she has ever seen snow.) The race is rescheduled for next weekend, which sucks big time. I'm still not sure how I can participate. I feel strong and prepared. Even though I woke up with a headache on race day, later I ran 8 miles at sub 8-min pace, which is pretty good. I guess I had to run the frustration out of myself.

My tentative race schedule for the first half of the year:

4/3/2010: Resurrection Run 5k. This will be the race where I plan to reach ~20:30.

5/22/2010: Going the Extra Mile 5k or
5/29/2010: Jailbreak 5k. The former has the advantage that it is the same course as this weekend's run. Of course in case I can actually participate. This will be the race I might have a chance to go sub-20, although it is almost more likely than not that something will delay the progress.

Most people work on the sub-20 5K for several years, so even if I don't reach it this year, it is not a tragedy.

Last night I was forced to return to the beautiful Riverfront Park. We used to live by it, and I ran there nearly every day. It is a park between the Columbia Canal and Broad River/Congaree, on a very long peninsula in the river. I almost forgot how cool it is to run there. Last night, I drove to the university track to do my last speedwork session before the 5K less than 2 weeks from now, but the track is (still) undergoing resurfacing (just like last week, gr...). So I drove to the park and ran 8 times 1/4 mile fast, with recoveries, warmup, cooldown, etc. Even though it was quite cold a drizzly, the park is still great. I wish we lived closer.