Hammertime Hustle 5K Race Report

Goal: 18:15. Dream goal: 17:59. Minimum goal: PR (18:31).

Preparation for this race was less than perfect. After the good 10K last Saturday, I developed a toothache. I could still run 15 miles on Sunday, but Monday and Tuesday were out. (By Tuesday my tooth was fine, but I was too tired from work and stress to do the prescribed hard workout, and I ended up resting another day.) I did my hard workout a day later, on Wednesday, which was one day too close to race day. Perhaps I also ran it a bit harder than I should have. Then I ran 10 miles on Thursday, 4 on Friday, and here I was, Saturday morning, ready to race. It was way too cold (25F), but at least the sun was out. Too bad we ran most of the race in shade.

It was a very low key race, and church fundraiser. The advantage is that there was a free bathroom in the church even 7 minutes before the start. By that time I warmed up with two easy miles. I got to the start area 5 minutes before start, and did a few strides. I felt strong, but less adrenaline than usual.

After some short speeches, the race started. A few people darted out from the start line, and I was at 6th place for the first few hundred meters, after which I passed two people, who didn't think this pace seriously. I settled into 4th place, maintaining a 5:45-ish pace. At around 1/2 mile, the kid at 3rd place slowed a lot, and I passed him, keeping the first two runners within 50 meters.

This race had a gzillion turns; so many that they affected the pace, and the GPS readings. I got 3.06 miles at the end, but the course was probably of the correct length. My GPS readings show me cutting corners through buildings. So I'll adjust my GPS splits by proportionally dividing them out by 3.11/3.06.

I managed my pace to keep it around 5:45/mile, but in reality, it was probably a bit faster. It did feel pretty hard. The first mile was net downhill, but only by about 10 ft, so pretty flat.

Mile 1: 5:43 (adjusted pace: 5:38)

By this time, I was solidly in 3rd place. The first two had about 50 meters on me, and I saw nobody glancing back. I knew I slowed a bit. I tried to keep the effort hard, but manageable. I had some entertainment as I watched the two leaders battling for first place. The 2nd place runner pulled up to the leader, and they ran together for a while. They increased their distance to about 100 meters by the time we hit the second mile marker.

Mile 2: 5:59 (adjusted pace: 5:54)

I knew that unless something radical happens, I'll finish this race in third place. I was in pain, of course, but maybe I could have pushed harder... it's just pretty hard when running alone. The original leader pulled away again, so much so that I lost sight of him, but I still saw the 2nd place runner most of the time. At around 2.6 mile I accelerated, but it was actually quite pathetic.

Mile 3: 6:10 (adjusted pace: 6:04)

Just put down the hammer for the last portion and covered it at about 5 min/mile pace.

Final time: 18:11. Placing: 3/66.

Not too bad for the temperature, and for a "B" race. There were no real awards: the first few places could pick a prize from a table, and I picked up a gift card. I also picked up a banana, met up with my family briefly, and then I ran a 5-mile cooldown. Very long, I know, but I wanted to get in some mileage after this short week. Legs felt fine, and cooldown pace was 7:30-ish.

Just in case the course was short, I should break this time in 2-3 weeks when I run some (probably) certified 5Ks in (probably) Indiana.