But very little gain...
19:36
First Prize in my age group (45-49)
(12th overall out of 360 runners)
RESULTS
It was a hard run with a wicked headwind on the second 1.5 miles on the Greenway levee by the river.
This PR was my smallest gain ever, just one second faster than my previous race. It left me a little depressed, disappointed, feeling that even with a hard effort, no significant gain ... a feeling like I've come to the end, this is it, the best I can do.
Again, I ran a dumb race. My first mile was an insane 5:42. It felt pretty easy. I thought I was in better shape, I thought I could hang for the last mile, but I died, as usual. I was passed by several runners and I only passed one myself in the sprint to the end. If it weren't for that last painful sprint, I would not have had a PR. My knee held up ok. It's not 100% but it stopped hurting after the first few hundred meters. I was also around 2 lbs heavier today than last race (142 lbs) , I'm sure that didn't help.
I don't know if a headwind really makes a difference in a racer's time, but it sure made it feel harder psychologically. Maybe I'll do what coach says and get a heart monitor and take a more clinical approach to training. Coach thinks that I should take 3 weeks completely off to give the knee strain a chance to recover.
I can't complain, it's been a great season. Three age group Gold medals in my last four 5K races (Zoo Run, Beat the Blues, Purity Dairy Dash), and a Gold in the Beat the Blues mile (after my 5K). To this day I still have NEVER run a 5K race that was NOT a PR !! So, the pressure is still on if I choose to race again. It will take a lot of hard work and a fast race course to improve. Maybe I'll just retire "undefeated" ... it's not a competition against anyone, I compete with myself and so far, I've won every time. (Again important to note, there were faster guys in my age group that were counted in the overall masters results).
Thanks to Dirk for the encouragement and advice, thanks to Theresa for running with me (miss you), thanks to Zane for the inspiration and advice, thanks to Jimmy for the camaraderie and competition, and to Lisa ... who instigated this life changing pursuit for me on a suggestion that I should try and run my first 5k back in Dec.
2 comments:
It can still be "fun" if you let it. I know everyone has various reasons for running. For me this season, it's a PR on how much snot I can sling on the course or on my face. FYI, I'm going to get checked for allergies. It's time to stop denying that I have them.
As for your training, yes, you probably need a break. Definitely allow that knee to heal, but you will certainly miss these races if you stop completely.
Congrats!!
let the knee heal. seems that's the number 1 reason for "former" runners, that ride bikes now.
You've got the speed. 5:42 mile 1, man, that's quicker than my PR for that distance.
Symrna has a mile race in August, rest up and run that.
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