I had a choice of running a 5k on Saturday or 10k on Sunday this week….or both. I decided to go ahead and run the 5k and decide later in the day about the 10k tomorrow. Looks like I’ll skip the 10k since severe weather (thunderstorms) is predicted for tomorrow morning. It’s just as well. Doing both would really be over racing.

 

The Unicorn 5k is a race that I first ran last year and really liked the course. It’s a perfect 1.5 mile loop that is run twice, plus an extra .10685 mile to the finish. The start line is also the 3-mile mark, which also makes it a 1.5 mile marker. Similarly, the 1-mile marker doubles as a 2.5 mile mark and the 2-mile marker as a 0.5 mile mark. So, you can get half mile splits. Also, running the same loop twice permits you to know exactly where you are on the course in the late stages of the race. No real hills on this course. Just a few gentle inclines.

 

The weather was OK, although a little warm for my preferences. Moderate humidity. Sunny. Little shade. Light breeze.

 

I ran 25:11, which is 43 seconds slower than last week’s 5k race. My average pace was 8:06 (7:52 last week) with splits of 8:15, 8:06, 8:01 and :48 (7:29 pace) for the last .10685 mile.

 

I knew after the first half mile that this one would break my string of second-running-life PR’s. I felt strong.....and stayed strong to the finish, as indicated by the pace of my finishing kick. But, I simply didn’t have the drive and speed that I’ve had in my races the last 3 weeks. So, I decided to just make it a tactical race by picking off people in front of me as often as I could. I simply focused on the nearest person in front of me, rather than how I felt. After the first mile, no one passed me for the rest of the race and I passed 31, including 6 in the last half mile. I raced the last person within reach of me to the finish and beat her by a couple of strides. If you can’t run a fast race on a given day, at least it helps to know that you ran stronger all the way to the finish than most others around you.....and running negative splits help.

 

What happened today? Maybe I just wasn’t mentally strong today. However, it probably was due to slacking off on my running and getting a little careless with my diet for the last couple of weeks. We have had visitors during this time and have eaten out a lot.....too many big pancake breakfasts, fried fish and oysters, and Guinness. J

 

You know, it’s funny in a way. Three weeks ago, the time I ran today would have been a second-running-life PR for me and I would have been elated with it. However, since it was slower than the last two 5k’s I’ve run in the past 3 weeks and slower than I had hoped to run today, I consider it to be an "off day" and am a bit disappointed. J

 

Jim2

 

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