this race has been on my calendar since i did it last year. i ran a PR despite running stupidly -- went out too fast and died pathetically well before the finish line. it was hot with no shade and little breeze, and i needed to pee most of the race. given all those factors, i felt sure i could better my time if i ran smarter.
as it turns out, a new PR was not in the cards. it was blazing hot again this year, with high humidity. no shade had appeared on the course since last year, and the breeze was minimal.
we lined up and i started well with a good pace for the first mile but already started flagging in the second and slowed further in the third. i walked through a water stop somewhere between miles 2 and 3, once i figured a PR was out of reach anyway. i finished in 24:50, about 34 seconds slower than last year. i still beat amani toomer, but only by 1 second this time! :)
i had more fun running down the field this year since i wasn't feeling as demolished. so that was nice!!
i will call this a mild success -- i did run smarter and felt much better after the race, but i didn't come close to a PR and in fact my pace was barely faster than at a 10k a couple of weeks ago. on the other hand, this was my 4th race this month, plus hill training and tempo runs, so i think that has all taken its toll. will make me stronger in the long haul but not so much faster in the short term.
i also did solstice yoga on the friday before the race, which consisted of 108 sun salutations, leaving my shoulders and arms a bit sore. though i don't honestly think that negatively affected my running at all.
anyway, i plan to run it again next year. i figure one year we are going to get perfect weather for this race, and since the course is flat, it's a PR waiting to happen. i don't currently have any other road 5ks on my calendar this year, so a new PR will have to wait a while.
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