Airshow 5k (2.9 miles 6:48 pace)

I went into the Edwards Airshow 5k with no expactions. First, military base 5ks rarely ever cost money so not paying for something alleviates the pressure to perform.

But also the day before I finally went to the doctor for my ongoing issues of not feeling great and struggling with vigoursly exercising. The doctor mentioned they thought I might have some residual stuff in my lungs from the flu but also there is a high chance I am anemic (both likely caused by the flu). Two things I’ve never dealt with. While there is no guarentee it’s those things, they want to start there.

For now, I still plan to run, (unless we determine that is the wrong choice) but obviously be smart about it. I don’t have any expectations right now other than to wait for results and then get healthy. I had no idea what that meant for the base airshow. Maybe I would run a 7:30 pace. I hoped I could run faster pace than RnR San Jose, but I also know I must take it day by day and even that was questionable.

Before the Airshow 5k:

I decided to park at my work building and jog from there. I could have run to the Airshow 5k from my house and run back but I worried that I wouldn’t get a parking spot at my building at 8 am. My building backs up the flight line and we had distinguished visitors parking there. I was correct and by 6:30, the lot was pretty much full. I jogged about 2.5 miles and headed over to the flight line. At the race start, I sw a bunch of friends and just chatted.

Airshow 5k:

They never really said “go”. Someone was just like oh we should go…and we did. I had no idea how I would feel and never really looked at my watch again. The course was just a bit flat loop around the runway and around the airplanes. I’ve done another Runway 10k, but that one went on the dirt (lakebed) part of the runway and was super windy. This stayed on the pavement and it really wasn’t too bad. It was a fast day.

I found myself behind the top two finishers and with a pack of another two men. I knew one of them to be an incredibly fast runner. I figured out quickly he was pacing his friend. Little did he know, he was pacing me too. I just stuck with them for the first mile and to my surprise, we ran a 6:46. It was hard to breathe, but I didn’t feel like I needed to stop. It was also much faster than I’ve run in a while. Truthfully, I can’t remember the last time I ran a 6:XX mile.

The next mile went around a big loop and we headed back where we came from. I found myself running alone and I stayed there the rest of the race. There was a male and female way far out, then my fast friend, then me. I just focused on staying relaxed and not trying to over exert myself. My breathing was getting hard but not overwhelming. I was just trucking along. I could see people getting further away but I didn’t let it discourage me.

Around mile 2.5 we headed back towards the start. I could tell the course might be a little short but truthfully I did not mind. Breathing was getting harder but I didn’t feel like I needed to stop and walk. I say that because sometimes I do feel like I need to walk, especially at paces under 7:30 right now. I had to twice at RnR San Jose and I was running around 7:30 pace. But I just powered to finish and finished at 6:48 pace.

I was fairly surprised that my average for 2.9 miles was 6:48. I ran that race the smartest I have in a while, with not too much variation (6:46, 6:48, 6:48). Of course I forgot to stop my watch at the end.

Airshow 5k Thoughts:

While I can’t say this was the best ever 5k based on speed, it was a good race for me and I’m looking at it as such. I don’t fully know the extent of my health issues. While I’m fine to run, running fast can be challenging and sometimes I need to stop and catch my breath…other times I don’t. Sometimes it’s not even running fast that triggers it, but running in general. That particular day I did not so I can’t complain. Plus any time I get to run along the runway, I really can’t complain either.