Trick or Trot 5k

I ran the Trick or Trot 5K this morning.  It was a brisk 28* and I was thinking the sun was not helping until I went into the shade. . .  The race was a small club race sponsored by the Lake Agassiz Pacers and there were normal prizes plus awards for best costumes.  The race was well organized and fun to run.

I came into the race in a bit of a hole. I had a 21 hour day yesterday that included up at 3am, 9-10 hours in a car and poor nutrition including no fruit.  I got about 6 hours of sleep last night after getting home near midnight and also did not have a good breakfast.  Warm-up felt good, but I did feel like I didn't have my full energy reserves or was 100%.

I started out strong, turning the first mile at a good pace.  I mentioned it was a costume encouraged event; I found myself behind two young ladies wearing brown sweats with signs on their backs stating "I have the runs!"  It was pretty obvious that running right behind them was not a good idea and I sped up.

Second mile moved to recreation paths along the river in downtown Fargo.  Due to the river banks and dikes, there were some "hills".  They were not very long, but the downhill ones were steep and pounded my legs and feet.

Around two miles I crossed a bridge between Fargo and Moorhead.  I flashed back to five years ago during the Fargo Marathon; the last time I ran across that bridge.  That was the first point in the marathon that it really hit me and I was positive all the way across (and fortunately wrong) that I would never finish.  This time it was better.

The route then turned onto the riverside recreation paths on the Moorhead side.  I immediately remembered that the last time I had run this path was the Sunday in early September that I "boinked" badly on a training run and had one of the worst running days of my life.

I focused on the mantra "Run Strong, Finish strong" with each word on a foot strike, and matching my inhale exhale to each phrase.  I was watching the Garmin and I did fade in the second and third mile, but overall, I am happy with how my body reacted to the effort despite the hole I started myself in.  I passed multiple people by this time, and there was only one older gentleman dressed as a pumpkin that I had passed once that passed me;  I could no longer see him on the twisting path.

There were two other young ladies that I had traded passes with as we both moved between running and walking intervals.  In the first part of the third mile, I thought I had "buried them" and was looking for my next target to reel in.

About a half mile from the finish, we crossed a wood and metal pedestrian bridge back into Fargo.  The planks were "springy" and my legs really started objecting.  I kept moving forward, although I had lost the first mile pace and my chance of nearing or setting a PR.  Now I was more focused on ignoring the legs (and much of the rest of my body discomforts) and finishing strong.  It was 100% mental game at this point.

I neared the finish line and the young ladies I thought I had "buried" flew past me!  It was too late and I did not have another gear so I simply threw my hands up in the air in frustration and followed them across the timing mats.

I ran 36:31.  This was my third 5K since 9/8/2012 and I have improved each time, dropping 40 seconds at the Wild Hog and another 30 seconds today.  Given the 10K PR last weekend, and my work schedule yesterday, my lack of good nutrition in the last 24 hours, and my lack of sleep, I still had to be pleased.  First mile had me on a 33 to 34min pace, but I lost a minute in the second mile and another 1 1/2 minutes in the last 1.1mile.

Post race shower helped to warm me up, but was also a bit painful.  I was wearing a 1/4 zip jacket over a LS tee and I use the zipper to regulate body heat.  I was feeling warm, so I ran most of the race with the zipper all the way down/open.  The zipper rubbed against the side of my neck and created a painful spot.  I also aggravated my nipple abrasions that date back to last weeks 10K, and even had a bit of monkey butt.  So the shower had some sting and I used the neosporin after.  

The race entry included a nice fleece jacket with the Lake Agassiz Pacer's logo.  LAP has their final event of the year in about a month and I am going to run that race and I guarantee I will set a PR.  It is my first official race at the 5 mile length.  :)

I have another PR in three days so I am testing my new Adidas ClimaCool compression sox for recovery, have an easy 5 mile training run planned for the morning to get the blood flowing in the legs, and then focus on that run.