Last weekend I ran a local 5k. As I mentioned in my training log, the morning was a disaster, to say the least, but the problems were mostly my own doing. I hadn’t done a lot of research about the race and had thought it started at 8:30. At 7am, I looked up directions and realized it started at 8 am. I didn’t have time to run home and get to the race, so I had to race with random things in my car: oversized leggings, a spaceman puffer, and an old long sleeve. Never the less, my race outfit seemed to work out.
I usually like to do 3-4 miles warmup, however, due to being late, I only had time for 1. During my warmup, I felt awful. My stomach wasn’t ready to run and to be honest I contemplated why I was even there. After debating whether I should just donate my race entry fee and leave, I decided to just run. My goal for the next 2 months are solid workouts, and while my stomach was in knots, I could gut out a good workout.
After chatting with my good friend and fast runner Joe, we were off. I didn’t feel as bad once we got moving. My legs were tired. However, my stomach felt as though it would hold out. I ran with a pack of people for the first mile, and we hit the first mile in 6:08. I was happy, but also surprised. I didn’t feel as though as I was moving that quickly.
My goal for the next mile was just to stay with the pack. The race made several turns around the neighborhood, and I felt like I was sticking with them. We hit the second mile in 6:03 and I was feeling better.
The goal of the last mile of any 5k is to finish. It never feels good, and this one was no exception. I was just trying to grit through. To my (unpleasant) surprise the final part of the race went over grass. I felt as if I could break 19 again but the grass was not my friend. Not only that, but the last .2 made 3, right-hand turns. Not the fastest finish!
I crossed the finish in 19:02 which was exactly the same as the Medford Turkey Trot over Thanksgiving. I’m happy with my time. As I mentioned, the next two months are going to be dedicated to more workouts, and I’ll still run 5ks, but I won’t taper for many, if any. The plan is to get quality workouts in this winter to prepare for Spring races.
Questions for you:
Are you training for anything during the winter?
How much warm-up do you normally do for a race?