Race Day

Workout of the Day: MSO Allegra 5k Run

Pre-race:

So, it's 0650 and I'm sitting in the parking lot of the Ocmulgee National Monument. I wanted to be here early in case it took awhile to register or whatnot. Apparently only one other guy had the same idea. He's probably around 70. Sigh. When I'm 70 I guess I'll be showing up the day ahead. Anyways, on the spur of the moment I decided to come up here and just get it under my belt. I don't really care about the time I run just as long as I finish and set a baseline for later races. I'm guessing ~ 30 min. I'm basically going to jog the whole thing unless I get hellaciously motivated in the middle somewhere. Uhhh....not likely. Ok, now the guy has gotten in the back seat of his truck and is apparently praying with his dog. LMAO! The dog looks embarrassed too. Ok, I see the race volunteers are setting up. I'm going to go register and see what's up.

Post-race:

First, the course. It was basically downhill the first half and uphill the second. Maybe the last 1/4 mile was flat/downhill. I took the first mile easy as I was determined to run the whole thing no matter what. Hit my split at 9:25. Yeah, I know. That was really easy. That was the downhill part. The second mile was straight back up the hill but I guess I sped up. I do remember picking off runners one by one. Split: 18:00. I don't remember anything about the third mile except pain and breathing. All uphill but just because I kept running I passed dozens of people walking and no one passed me. One guy about my age told me he was going to run the rest of the way with me but the last quarter mile sprint killed him and he let me go. Final time: 28:38. About what I thought and I'm glad to get it under my belt now. No one passed me the whole race which tells me something. I should have started faster and hung in as long as possible then slowed in the middle uphill and finished fast. Maybe next time there will be a place for strategy and tactics.

Stats:

1st mile: 9:25

2nd mile: 8:35

3rd mile: ?

Finish: 28: 38

Overall pace: 9:13 per mile