2009 Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure 16:03 - 10 Miles Total

Jump Rope

(140 each leg, 7 reps of 20)

3 Mile Warm Up

5k Race 16:03 (Official Time)

Mile 1	5:01
Mile 2	5:00
Mile 3	5:19
Last .14 Mile	5:03
Total Average Pace:	5:07 (16:05 Garmin)

4 Mile Cool Down

I woke up pretty late for the race and had to rush out the door. On my way there I checked the packet for safety pins and there weren't any. So I would have to race without the bib (There goes my pictures). At least I had the D-Tag so I would get an official time.

When I reached the race start I ran into Ryan Smith. Ryan Smith was the guy that ended up out kicking me at the end of last years race so it was good running into him and chatting up a bit.

We ended up warming up together but realized the race was going to start in 4 minutes so we had to run back to the starting line right before the horn went off. Certainly not the most optimal pre-race preparation. There were a ton of high school kids at the race. One of the kids at the starting line asked me what I expected to run. I said "15 something". He said "15 what?" I replied, "I don't know, 15 something." He whispered something to another kid's ear and and the other kid looked at me. I didn't know what to make of it, maybe I would be getting some competition from them? Well anyway, Adam Davis was there and I knew he would be my main competition, actually the favorite to win. He won last year and his credentials precedes himself.

The horn went off and I relaxed myself getting ready to ease myself into 5 minute pace. But I had no time for that because about 30 kids exploded like bats out of hell at sub 5 minute pace. I had to make a decision early on to sprint out to the front so they wouldn't be in my way. I had to zig zag and weave my way to the front more than I would have liked but I finally made it to a comfortable spot. There were about 3 or 4 guys in front of me and at the very front was Adam. At about a half a mile it was just Adam, a chunky high school kid and then me. The high school kid evidently thought running the course was optional because he was running on the median, on the other side of the road, etc. After mile 1 I passed the kid and was about 10 seconds behind Adam. I hit the first mile at 5:01.

The second mile was pretty nondescript as all that happened was me trailing Adam the whole time. I managed to whittle his lead to under 10 seconds. I was basically playing a waiting game because I knew the real race would start with less than a mile to go. I hit mile 2 at 5:00 minute pace and hit 10:01 for my first 2 miles, a PR. I was feeling pretty good by then and was planning my strategy for the last mile.

The last mile started pretty well. I was still feeling strong and I managed to whittle Adam's lead down to 5 seconds with .7 to go. Then a guy on the side tells me there's a big head wind coming and to take it easy. Not too long after this I feel the big head wind. Then I hit the gradual up hill. I'm still going about 5:06 pace but then all of a sudden the energy in the legs just give way. I had nothing. This happened almost instantaneously. Adam was steady. Once I realized I had nothing left, I mailed it in, trying to minimize the pain that I was sure to feel after the race. I ended up finishing mile 3 at 5:19!!!

The Garmin said the last .10 was actually .14, and it said I did that at 5:03 pace. Somehow some way I probably ran a little longer than I should have, but that probably didn't matter. Adam finished about 20 seconds ahead of me at 15:44. This was my slowest time of the year.

It's pretty amazing that I dropped 20 seconds on the last mile. It used to be that collapsing would mean dropping 5 seconds. Now I'm beginning to drop 10-20 seconds per mile. Not good. I'm definitely needing to get some more miles under my belt. The race really took a lot out of me. I've been comatose all day and I'm sore in a lot of areas. It's actually funny since it was only a 5k. I'm definitely not feeling the 10 miler next week :( I'm also thinking about shutting it down (racing) for the fall racing season. Not just because of this race but also because we our bringing our second child in to the world and that will bring along it's own responsibilities. Not too mention there is no way mentally I'll be focused enough to train hard for these long races.