After quite a bit of up and down marathon training over the past few weeks, I decided I should jump in some races to get myself motivated and test my level of fitness. I found several races that fit perfectly within my goals...the only problem is that two of them were 5 days apart. Not one to be deterred by pointless details, I decided to run them both.
First up was the Oldham County Day 5k. This was a small race out in Buckner, KY that was sponsored by New Balance, meaning I got a free entry as a member of the New Balance Racing Team. I went into this race with no concept of my 5k fitness, but only the knowledge that I hadn't run a mile faster than 5:35 in months. This worried me because, since graduating high school 14 years ago, I've only failed to run under 17:00 for 5k on three occasions. The most recent time was actually the last 5k I ran back in March, and I was still bitter over that experience, so I wasn't looking forward to a repeat performance.
I drove out to Oldham County in a steady rain on a cool and humid night. This steady, hard rain was the 10% chance the weathermen had mentioned, and I was mildly annoyed. I pulled up to see a decent crowd assembled, and immediately found a couple of my New Balance teammates, which told me that at the very least I would have some competition in this race. Considering I hadn't won a race in almost 3 years, I had no grand vision of victory, only the hope that I could run a respectable time and get an idea of how fit I actually was.
As I've gotten older, I realize warming up is much more important than it was in my mid-20's, so I did a slow warmup jog of about 2 1/2 miles with one of my teammates, and got back to the start area about 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. I had a long internal debate about whether to wear trainers or racing flats in the race, because I had yet to buy a pair of New Balance flats. I walked to the start in my trainers, expecting to race in those. However, after about a 15 minute delay due to the running of a 1 mile Kids Run beforehand, I decided at the last minute that my trainers were too heavy due to the rain and quickly ran back to my truck to put on my racing flats (and cover up the logos on them). I sprinted back to the start line with about 2 minutes to spare, and shockingly felt that familiar spring I get in my legs when they are ready to run fast...it had been a long time since I'd had that feeling, and suddenly at the start line my confidence began to return.
The gun went off and a pack of about 6 took off into cool and humid evening (the rain stopped a few minutes before the start). The course immediately crossed some train tracks and slick gravel before starting a steep descent that was probably about 1/4 mile long. I thought this was going to cause us to run a fast 1st mile, but as the course flattened out at the bottom, we settled into a steady pace and crossed the mile mark right around 5:15.
I was content to let others lead for the time being, but just after the mile someone (I now forget who) made a strong move to the front and picked up the pace. I decided to let him go but stick close behind, so I gradually increased my pace and the two of us and one other immediately formed a gap on the rest of the pack. I thought we would stay like this for awhile, so I prepared to settle into this increased pace and follow for awhile. However, the strong move must have cost my competitor because he quickly fell of the pace and next thing I knew I found myself in the lead, with just one runner on my shoulder, drafting off me.
Now, lots of runners get annoyed when they are being used like this. They don't like someone following close behind, letting them lead and expend extra energy. For me, though, I've always enjoyed leading because I feel like I'm the one controlling the race. So without ever looking back, I crossed the halfway point in the race and decided to turn this into my race.
At this point, I had steadily increased the pace to the point that I felt I was running hard, but controlled, and my competitor sounded comfortable behind me. This kept up for a few minutes...however the course was about to make a huge difference in the race.
I mentioned the steep descent at the start of the race. Well since we had hit the bottom we hadn't gone up at all, and I knew the race finished very close to the start line. I had been mentally preparing for a climb, and right around 1 3/4 mile we hit it: a steep climb of about 1/2 mile that took us back up to the same elevation where we had started. While I was tired, I've always considered myself a strong and smart hill runner, so I attacked this thing. I didn't increase the pace, but focused on maintaining a similar effort and pushing up the hill. At first, my competitor stuck close by. But as the hill dragged on and we passed 2 miles, I slowly began to hear his breathing fade in the distance. I pressed on and finally crested the hill, firmly in control of the race.
Now, more important than strong hill running is what you do at the top. If you push hard up a hill, only to be absolutely spend with dead legs, then the strong hill running was all for nothing. For me, as I hit the top of the hill my legs seemed to take on a new life. Somehow, they were fresh and ready to attack the last mile! I hit a flat area that ran alongside some neighborhoods and started to press hard, knowing I only had a few minutes to run. With each stride I could tell I was increasing my lead, and when I looked up ahead and saw the finish line about 400 meters in the distance, I knew I was about to claim my first victory since October of 2011.
I couldn't see the clock very well, but as I got closer I was certain I was seeing it click up from 16:50-17:00, and my heart sank a little at the slow time I was running. However, as it changed from :59-:00, the first number also changed...from 15 to 16. I was on my way to a pretty respectable time and I ran hard to the finish line, crossing in 16:26, a full 30 seconds ahead of the runner-up, who had been on my tail less than a mile before.
We gave each other the obligatory congratulations at the finish, but I could tell he wasn't too happy, as he immediately walked away and began griping to his friends about losing. All I could do was smile and wait at the finish line for my New Balance teammates, who came in not long after, rounding out the top 5.
I had originally planned on running a tempo run after the race as a bit of marathon preparation (running marathon pace on tired legs) but instead decided to savor my victory and do a long, slow cooldown with one of my teammates. I would say it was the right call.
We got back just in time for awards, and I
claimed my certificate for a free pair of shoes. This would end up allowing me to finally get a pair of New Balance racing flats, which I would wear proudly in my next two races (to be posted soon)!
All in all, this was a successful return to racing for me, and really ended up setting the tone for my running the rest of the summer.
