Week 6 Update - 5K RACE REPORT: 19:32 PR!

Busy week! Got back from the East Coast yesterday evening and jetted from the airport to Geneva, IL for the 5k. Awesome race last night, but before I get to that, here are the week’s prior runs.

Mon 7/25/06

Despite a terrible Sunday night’s sleep, I was able to get my run in REALLY EARLY. I had to – or, with my agenda, I would miss the miles. Can’t explain my occasional insomnia, but it hit on Sunday night.

I was slated for 8 with 4 miles at tempo pace, but I could only get in six. I went straight up Van Dyke to 119th to 248th and 111th -- and then back the exact same route. I had to take the in-laws to the airport and be on my way for a business trip out east. Pushing it the extra two and then making my in-laws miss their flight didn't seem like a smart trade-off.

Wake-up: 4:45 AM
Run start: 5:05 AM – finished at 5:50 AM
The run: 6.28 miles hard (according to mapmyrun)

Time: 45:07 – First half: 23:09 – Second half: 21:58 – NICE SPLIT!
First half est pace: 7:22 – Second half est pace: 7:00 flat

Drove the in-laws to Midway – left at 6:15 AM. Then drove from Midway to O’Hare – flew to LGA for a meeting in NJ.

Tue 7/26/06

6:00 AM - Hackensack, NJ – 5 miles – 44:30

Recovery pace – slow, boring run through Hackensack near my hotel in NJ. I don’t like running in Hackensack. It is not runner-friendly nor is it aesthetically pleasing. I don’t plan to run there again. Heading to Norwalk in the evening.

I was one of a group of team members that received the President’s award and partied with the team late. I got back from the dinner and the bar afterward at 1 AM ET. Went to bed at 2 AM and rose at 6 AM to go to work. Would alcohol and lack of sleep slow me down at the 5k?

Wed 7/27/06 - Geneva, IL 5k Race Report

I left the office at 1PM in Norwalk to catch the 3PM flight back to Chicago. I wanted to make this race. I was tired, but I was able to catch 15 min of shut-eye on the plane. I made it to Geneva at 6:15PM.

Conditions: High 80’s, 90+% humidity – not ideal – not comfortable

The race was a big local community affair. Lots of people. I saw the high school track guys lining up at the front and knew that they would blaze ahead. I wasn’t fazed by that. I just wanted to run 6:20’s if I could.

The gun went off and I was amazed by the pace of the group out of the gate. I thought my 6:20 goal pace would leave me somewhere between the track kids and the rest of the pack – but there were a lot company around me through the first mile. The pace was torrid and I quickly became winded. I hit the first mile marker and looked incredulously at the mile marker timer : 6:00 flat!

I forgot the HR monitor at home when I left on Monday, but I didn’t need me to tell me that I was at 90+% max. This kind of pace was foreign territory for me. I have run close to this speed before but not in a while – and not with these temps/humidity. And not on 4 hours of sleep after several drinks the night before.

During mile 2, I struggled to hold pace. I hit the water stop at 1.75 miles and threw one cup on me and sipped a second. I was sweating and breathing prefusely ... and hurting. This pace was painful. I know now what side stich is. I was questioning that second 1/2 of a power bar at this point.

Mile 2 = 6:22 split

For the final 1.1, my body was begging for mercy. I have logged several hundreds of miles this year and thousands in my life, but none so fast and intense as these. It was a shock to my system.

I left it all out on the race course. I physically could not move my legs faster on that last mile. I could not catch my breath. I sounding like a whooping crane for the last 1.1 miles. I wanted to laugh at myself, but I was much closer to crying. How could such a teeny weeny distance hurt so bad? My 17miles on Sat were easier. This was it. My max output. Aerobic capacity was at max. I could not catch my breath.

The final 400m was on the Geneva HS track. I usually finish strong in all my races, but I could barely hold on. I was in clear position to break 20 min and thought I could beat 19:45 (my true goal), but I rounded that track with doubts if I could hang on.

But I did… crossing the finish at 19:32, in the most pain I have ever experienced in a race. And when I caught my breath and shook off some of the pain. It hit me. This was a PR. I met my goal of 19:45.

Why was this significant? If you check McMillan’s calculator, with my 5k race time, he predicts that my potential is that I should be able to run a 3:10:25 marathon!!!! Good enough for Boston!!! I know it’s only a prediction, but it’s progress.

Lastly, I was greeted with some cool news when I got to the booth to pick up my race card.

SECOND IN THE MEN 30-34 AGE GROUP!

Below you will find my unveiling of my FIRST EVER RUNNING TROPHY IN MY LIFE.

The boxes of dozens of hockey, soccer and baseball trophies from my youth don’t seem to compare!

I opted out of the cool-down 4 miles and celebrated with two slices of the free race pizza & Jamba Juice that they were handing out. I was done for the day. Mission accomplished...

Remaining week runs: Thurs-Rest, Fri-9 easy, Sat-12 miles -- Planned total mileage: 37