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Core + Shoulders and Arms

AKA: The Death of a 5 Weeks Old PR


Running Journal Notes: Shamrock Shuffle 5k

*Recovery Hours since Prior Run:
42 hrs

*Weather: sunny
*Temp: 55F (felt warmer)
*Precipitation: 0
*Humidity: ?
*Wind: Negligible 
*Sweat Factor: 6.5/10
*Terrain: Road / Small Hills
*I listened to: 
My breathing

*Special segments (speed, hills, race...):
Race
*Effort level: 9
*Shoes: @Saucony Endorphin Pro

*Comments:
Presumably my final 5k of 2021. Not sure why it was such a late start (11:00 am), but it gave me extra time in the morning, which was welcome. My goal for this race, which was admittedly ambitious was to get as close to 21:00 as possible, or at least sub-7:00 avg pace. 

Stopped at a gas station and grabbed a water to drink pre-race. Got to the school with a little too much time to spare. Hit the bathrooms (actual bathrooms!) and saw there were cones/markers on the track and they were setting up mats. I asked one of the volunteers about it and she confirmed we were finishing on the track. 

Then, I basically stood around waiting for about 20 minutes because I didn’t want to start my warm ups too soon. 

Did my warmup run and got lucky in that I found the first section of the course. Did about one mile, which felt harder than it should have; then I was questioning missing my shakeout Friday. Strides felt good and played them by ear instead of using a watch workout. 

On my way back to the bathroom for one last stop and saw Brian who I’d met at the St. Pat’s 5k last month. We met back up in the corral and chatted a bit about our seasons. I decided I’d try to stick with him as long as I could. He’s an amazing runner and I had no delusions about beating him, but I wanted to see how I stacked up. 

Not well. 

I did my typical start up front and get out fast for track position. I stayed pretty close to Brian for most of the first half mile, but by the time I hit the little hill I let him go. I got my mile split which was 6:37 and consciously backed it down. 

Somewhere early into mile 2 I heard someone literally, not figuratively, breathing down my back. I let her go and started managing my effort for the finish knowing I had a little time banked from a hot first mile. Things were pretty spread out at this point and there were no more moves for position happening with the few of us in our loose ‘pack’. 

The course has a bunch of turns, but there was a long straight stretch with the Mile 2 marker about in the middle of it. 

Soon after the marker, I saw a couple guys in front of the young woman who passed me who were coming back to us. I did a quick self-scan and decided to do some fishing. Once I got by them I realized there really wasn’t anyone else I had a shot at. 

We wound around a few more turns and  I could hear the music and announcer. This was it. Up another small hill that brought us up onto the backstretch of the track and one of the guys I’d passed got by me. I didn’t think I had enough to get him on the front stretch, but looking at the finish photos, maybe he was closer than I’d thought. Speaking of closer than I thought, the photos also showed the young woman right behind me coming to the finish. Either she was stealthy or I was clueless. 

I found Brian past the chute and met Chris; we both kind of knew each other from Strava. We had chatted a bit at the start with Brian, but didn’t formally meet until afterwards. 

Then my phone buzzed with a link to the results: Official time - 21:15, more than a minute faster than the PR I got 5 weeks
ago at St. Pats 5k. Just unbelievable. 

I chatted with Brian and Chris for a bit until we realized none of us were
winning the AG prize and took off. 

A good day at the office made possible by my excellent coach, Sarah. This wasn’t even a goal race. We messaged a bit about strategy and decided to put this race in the F*#k It Bucket. 

*Damage Assessment: 
None detected. 

*Pre-run fueling:
Bagels with cream cheese, coffee

*Mid-run fueling:
None

*Recovery Meal:
Rice and Cuban bowl leftovers

*Improvement thoughts:
Holy. Crap. 

*Should have done differently:
I did intend to drink some cherry juice before I left, but spaced out. Also, I should have had caffeinated Nuun. 

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Jeremy Noessel 🎸

Shamrock ☘️ Shuffle

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