I finished the 5K at Daybreak, South Jordan, Utah in 30:43, a decrease of 1:45 and a new PB! I was 54th across the finish line out of 238 runners and walkers. I was 10th (out of 19) in the age group of 46-99. Not bad for an almost 72-year-old geezer. My splits were
Mile 1: 9:53 (includes part of a 30-second walking break)
Mile 2: 10:24 (includes the rest of a 30-second walking break)
Mile 3: 9:32 (followed by a 0.1 mile sprint to the finish)
One runner, who is much younger than me, told me that he watched me come in to the finish and I was going pretty fast. I had a negative split for the race, and that is good. I hadn't planned on taking walking breaks, but as I neared the end of the first mile, I was pretty tired and took a short walking break, my only break. My mile 2 split shows how tired I was in mid race. Most of the first mile was level. Most of the second mile was uphill (not a steep hill, just a continuous uphill grade), and all of the third mile was downhill.
My average pace for the race was 9:53. To meet my goal of breaking 30 minutes, I would have needed an average of 9:40. I came close. I did get a new PB, and I'm happy with the race.
I walked and jogged for about a mile before the race to begin my warm-up. However, I wasn't fully warmed up until the end of mile 2. This same pattern, needing 2-3 miles to warm up, has been noted in my blog lately.
I commented in my blog a few days ago that I suffered a serious sleep deficit last week. I didn't mention in my blog that I had another sleep deficit Thursday night. And, I had a still another sleep deficit last night, as I always do when I have something important going on the next day. My wakeup heart rate was 3 beats higher this morning than it has been during the past few days. So, I wasn't in very good shape for this race, and I think I did very well considering everything.
Congratulations, Allen! Almost a two minute decrease for a 5K is outstanding, especially if you didn't feel you were racing under optimal personal circumstances.
ReplyDeleteI may also be back at the SLC half marathon next April if I can convince my youngest sister to train for it with me. I'd actually prefer to run Moab, but if she commits to training, I'd hate for one of us to get a spot in the race and the other not. Better to go with the sure thing.
Enjoy your latest victory!
Again, congrats on getting a new PR! I believe you're so very close to your sub 30 minute goal, and with better rest, harder training, you'll be primed to clobber that goal. Out here in the West we always say, "Strike, while the iron is still hot," you're hot right now and shouldn't waste the opportunity. Nice thing about 5k races, we don't need as much recovery as a half-marathon and you should be ready for another 5k race in October.
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