One Mean 5k

In this sport there are many highs...and many lows. You spend all your time training for an event. The competition is the reward. But then you cross the finish line and recall how much you hate it. That was my weekend.

I live in a very runner friendly area and only about a mile from one of the most popular running stores in Atlanta. Each May they host a local 5k that basically runs past my house. Hard not to participate. Last year, I ran about 6 miles prior and still managed a 22:18. It was my first stand alone 5k in nearly 3 years. This year provided me the opportunity to compare results.

My running has slowly come back around and after 2 decent weeks of running, I felt ready. I didn't anticipate leaving tread marks on the road but I thought I might be able to pull off a decent race. Plus, I knew that I didn't push the run at John Tanner. So I wanted to push this 5k and use it to obtain new pacing zones to use at Rev3.

Fortunately, I run these roads all the time. However, I usually run this route in reverse due to the long hill that awaited me. It is nearly a mile long with three different sections of incline. While I still wanted to set a pr, I was not willing to power up the hill too hard. I know my body well enough to know it will leave me injured.

I left my house at 7:30 and jogged for 10 minutes to the start line. Summer also decided to show up that morning. It was the first really humid day of the year. 1.25 miles later, I was soaked. This was going to be slightly more challenging than I anticipated. I toed the line toward the front and took off at the sound of the gun.

First mile was pretty fair. A small bit of climbing, mostly flat with a bit of a downhill toward the end. Mile 1: 6:15. Gulp. Too fast. This is going to hurt. I hit the bottom of the next hill and started climbing the long hill. The pack sorted itself quickly. You could tell who ran hills and who didn't. And then you had me in the middle. Mile 2 fell to about 6:47. Once I hit the top of the hill it flatted out. I remembered that last year everyone died at the top. That didn't change. I was struggling and hurting quite a bit. I pushed hard the last mile and saw my pace picking up but the damage was done. Mile 3: 7:11. I hit the final .1 of a mile with some added effort.

Total time 20:58
Last years time 22:18

I will take that type of improvement. The course is pretty tough so I know there is easily another 30 seconds in the legs without trying. What kills me is that the winners went low 15:00. That is nearly six minutes faster than my effort. That is crazy.

Overall: 72/789
Men: 64/412
M30-34: 14/77