Mother's Day 5k 2012

Why do I sign up for races the day after long training runs?  Two weeks ago I ran the Cherry Creek Sneak 5-mile the day after a 20-mile training run.  Today I ran the Mother's Day 5k in City Park, one day after running a 22-mile training run.  Why?

Actually, in one respect I think of it as not a terrible idea.  It's a useful tool to help judge how I'll feel in the final miles of my marathon.  I like to think of the marathon as a 20-mile run followed by a 10k.  I can run 20 miles.  The trick is keeping enough in reserve to then handle the 10k that follows.  Yesterday, I ran 22 miles.  After that, a 5k should seem like small potatoes.  (In fact, as I joked to some teammates after the race, I should've gone out for a 1.1-mile cooldown.)

But the fact is, I was tired after yesterday's run (plus I had a performance of A View From the Bridge last night), and my legs were stiff this morning.  My proposed two-mile warmup quickly disintegrated, as did any thoughts I had of keeping my race today under 23 minutes.  But I did feel confident that I could hold an 8-minute pace for 3.1 miles.

As usual, my music mix helped propel me through the race (it's like a heavy-metal dance party in my head that I wish everyone else could hear).  I ignored my tired legs as best I could for the first 2 miles, making my way slowly and steadily through the crowd.  I was passed by a handful of runners (mostly young kids!), but on balance I passed more runners than passed me, which always counts as a win in my book.

Normally in a 5k, I run flat-out for the whole race, and today was no exception (although my definition of "flat-out" today was somewhat slower than I would have liked).  Usually, I try to turn up my intensity in the 3rd mile.  That didn't happen today, however.  I didn't have enough left in me for it.  Which goes a long way to explaining how I suddenly found myself alone (relatively speaking) as I started that final mile.  For the first mile and a half, I'd been in the thick of a decent-sized crowd of runners.  Even as we went along to the turnaround at the 2-mile mark, I had enough runners around me that I could hear their breathing and their footstrikes.  But suddenly, in the last half mile, I was no longer surrounded.  I think it was because all those other runners had enough left in their tanks to turn up their own speed for the last mile, which I couldn't do.  Although I am happy to say that I increased my turnover (I've come to believe this is the key to getting myself faster) in the last quarter-mile, and had a very strong finish.  True, it was about 3 minutes off my PR, but considering the miles I'd put in yesterday (not to mention my extracurricular activities last night), I'm quite pleased with it.

Official Time: 24:31
YTD Race Miles: 26.7
YTD Total Miles: 551.6
"Podium" Finish: I didn't tell them my age, so my division is listed as "M0-0."  I came in first in my division.