Afternoon Run

Evening Run

This is the first 5k I've run in my adult life that wasn't at Disney World as part of the Dopey Challenge.  It was also another gentle reminder why I love the marathon so much more than the 5k.



T+D of 113, wind 4 mph, full sun.



The goal going into the race was to stay between 6:08-6:12 for the first mile.  At the first beep notification I was around 5:59, so I let up a bit.  I felt comfortable for that first section of the race.  I did a quick head count and realized that there were 9 people ahead of me (and one WAY AHEAD).  I tuck behind another runner (white shirt) and just tried to stick with him as we seemed evenly paced.  I knew that if anyone passed either of us it would be critical we passed someone else or me him to ensure a top 10 finish.  A 5k is really hard for me to put my finger on.  I need to go really fast as to not leave anything in the tank, but not too fast and crash and burn like two weeks ago time trial (19:29).  As we neared, the turnaround the leader was coming back.  We chatted at the start and he was going for sub-15 (he got 15:07).  We hit the 2 mile mark and me, and white shirt were still in lock step.  Behind us were two other runners (orange and green).  With about 0.7 miles to go, me and white passed blue shirt.  I had a feeling this would be the last person we Pac-Man chomped as the next person was just too far ahead to catch,  With about 0.5 mile to go, orange made a move and passed me, white and green.  I felt confident I couldn't cover that move and just tried to stay ahead of white and green.  With about 0.2 miles to go, I could feel green starting to press.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw him pass white, and knew he was going to try and take me next.  He pulled even with me and I pushed with everything I had.  The next 0.1 miles was me and him step for step.  Neither willing to yield the corner.  Just meters before the last corner he gave one last push and nudged ahead to get the turn.  I just didn't have anything left to cover the move and did everything I could to hold off white.  I crossed the line in 20:30.  I knew it would be close, was I 10th or 11th overall male for an award....



It was agonizing sitting there... waiting....



Then the race timing company posted the sheet...



And that's when I saw - Blaser 11th....  UGH, so deflating.  But by how much...  Well green came in 9th at 20:25.2 and white at 20:25.7.  So looks like white started a little further back from the start.  So 10th by gun time and 11th by chip!



I have to admit, it was a lot of fun racing a 5k.  Covering moves, trying to keep up, doing my best in a dead sprint at the end.  It was the best I could do today, but... it was still disappointing.  All I can ever ask of myself is to do the best I can that day, and today's best is not necessarily where I want to be yet.  The run is a bit of a blow to the confidence and a sub-3 marathon in October.  The 19:29 time trial shows me I'm close (a 3:05 equivalent), but I'm just not there yet.  The fact that my times over the last three weeks has slipped from 19:29, to 20:11, to 20:30 shows me I might be carrying a lot more fatigue from these races then I realized.  The weather played a role, but I'm not sure if it's that big of a role.  I've got the 10k in three weeks and it might be a good idea to pull back and push the reset button.  Because the "A" goal is the October marathon.  I need to be ready and prepared to attack this next training cycle with full force.



Final Stats:

Overall - 11th/247 (4%) *New % PR

Gender - 11th/108 (10%) *New % PR

Division - 7th/19 (37%)



*New % PRs based on non-Disney races of any distance.

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William Blaser

Brat Fest 5k

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Afternoon Run

Afternoon Run

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