I competed in the Polka Pace Race 5K in beautiful Havana, IL this morning. We had some nice weather with temps in the high 50's and sunny skies. The PPR is a flat and fast course and is where I ran my post-married-with-children PR (19:02) last season. If any race on my club's Points Series can be described as a "home" meet for me it is this one. My grandparents live three houses down from the starting line, a block before the two mile mark and about four blocks from the finish line. Add them to a town full of aunts, uncles and cousins (many of whom I have never met) and a good friend's parents who live around the corner from my grandparents and I have I rather large cheering section.
I had high hopes for this race even though my training has been derailed a few times this year by IT band syndrome, a hamstring pull, grad school and a new job. The plan was to hit the mile in 5:55 - 6:00, two in 11:55 - 12:10 and then try to hold on and get the last mile under 6:20 where I could use my finishing speed to dig under 19:00.
I got in a two mile warm-up and took my place on the line with a few high school football players. As the starting gun (siren) went off I broke my cardinal rule of racing, "don't get caught up in the initial sprint". I could tell that it was going to be a long day as I was breathing hard by the time we hit downtown Havana, not even 800 into the race. I hit 800 in 2:50, surged down the hill to the riverfront and found myself in 4th place as I passed the mile mark in 5:59. I was surprised to here 5:59 as I felt like I had run 5:50 or faster. I managed to hold form and could see that I was only 20 - 30 seconds behind the leaders as we wound our way to the 1.5 mark. I can't remember my exact split at 1.5 but it was sub-9:10.
I was passed by a guy from my club who passed me in the exact same spot as last year and I tucked in behind him and rapidly fell off the back about two blocks after the two mile mark (12:17). The hardest part about the final mile is that you basically have two long straights of about a half mile where you can see exactly how far you have to go to the turn or the finish line. As I approached the 2.5 mark I felt as if I was in a bad dream where I was running and running but not moving any closer to my destination.
The third mile was a long, shoulder-cramping, lung-searing stagger to the finish line where I ran fast enough to get passed by two more runners and finish in 19:22.79.
I finished in 7th overall (again) and won my age group only because the fastest 30-34 year old in the race placed third overall. On a happier note, I believe I clinched my club's Point Series championship for my age group to defend the title I earned last year. I also earned 8 points in the overall standings as I was the third club finisher across the line today. I have no idea where I am in the overall standings because they haven't been updated since late May but I finished 15th last year.
I think I am going to run the Shoreline Classic 15K in a few weeks but I'm not locking myself into it as I think the IT Band is flaring up again.
I think I'm going to have to give up on the sub-19:00 goal for at least this year.
Maybe I'll go play the lotto with the 18:34.64 from my dream.
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15 comments:
With that first block of the race being slightly downhill, it's easy to get caught up in the start. It's happened to me there before, especially on the Wednesday night fun runs that they used to have each of the three weeks before the race.
And you're right about the last mile plus. When you're struggling, the turn off of Pearl can't get there soon enough, and that last six-tenths on the bricks can take forever as well. It doesn't help that it's pretty quiet back there with not much in the way of spectators once you get past the water stop.
All of that said, it looks to me like this was the second fastest 5K you've run since your comeback, and even though it wasn't quite what you'd hoped, I think that's still a success.
I hope that you had a nice time with your grandparents.
I can't complain too much about a top-ten finish, an age group win, nearly clinching my age group in the points series (I need one more race) and running my #2 5K time since my comeback.
I just wish it had been about 30 seconds faster.
I signed up for the Shoreline 15K because the shirts are cool. IT band be damned!
I remember the Autumn Shorelines shirts being pretty nice. Do they still have a 5K as well (for runners with gimpy IT bands)?
yeah. But "Damn the IT Bands!" It is more of a rubbing than flat out pain like in March. I know what I need to do to fix it and I need the 15K to clinch.
Hey!!! Don't beat yourself up over a 19:22(I'll round down instead of up). That is a great time all be it that it wasn't quite where you wanted. If the weather for this year's Jingle Bell run is anything like last year, I bet you can hit the sub 19:00.
Lance
Thanks Lance. It is a good time but after smoking Abe's like I did I thought I was going to do the same at the PPR. It just wasn't my day though. I might make another attempt at the Jingle Bell but I never try very hard at that race because I just want to have a good time at what is usually my last race of the year, unless I get stupid and run the Frostbite on a whim like I've done the last two years.
You ran a decent time yesterday too, didn't you? I remember Jason being frustratingly close to going under 20:00 but I can't remember for the life of me what your time was even though I looked for your name.
Aaron - sorry the race did not go as hoped. You had good weather for it. Not to beat you when you're down, but your race strategy going in was to run positive splits and hope for your finishing kick to be there. In your mind, you may have been a bit self-defeating.
I had thought your prognostication was a bit ambitious, but not too far off, as you did excel at Abe's. As you said, it's your 2nd best time, and I'm sure you'll look back in a few days and agree it was a good effort.
The 15K at Shoreline is a terrific race, has great shirts, and is a challenging distance. Plus the chili and post-race food is great to stuff yourself with after.
A PR at Jingle Bell? - the course is slightly rolling and an out-&-back, which could be to your disadvanatge - and coming so late in the year, it is difficult to be in peak form then.
Matt M.
I have never run negative splits in a 5K, and only once since I started running again have I run even splits.
I agree that 18:45 was ambitious but last year I ran 42:06 at Abe's along with 5:27 and 11:56 at Sizzling Mile and Parade Run. I followed that up with 19:02 at the PPR.
This year I ran 5:21, 12:00, and 41:30 so I thought I wast at least in the same place as last year.
Splits from PPR last year were 6:00, 6:12, 6:20 and :30.
Splits this year were 5:59, 6:17, 6:35 and :33.
I'm guessing that yesterday just wasn't my day.
Historically, my PPR times were 30-40 seconds per mile faster than I'd run that year at Abe's. Your 18:45 prediction was within that range.
As for the positive splits, when it's not an out-and-back, it's hard to know what to make of splits in a 5K. The first 3/4 miles of the PPR are significantly downhill. Yes, you have to climb a little coming back up from the river, but even so, a fast first mile is expected, even from someone looking to run even splits. Finally, that third mile, with half of it on bricks, tends to be slow despite being flat.
I tend to think you nailed the one real issue in your race report. The excitement of the start probably got you the half (and I'd bet especially to the 1/4) quicker than the legs were ready to handle.
Jason and I both PR'ed. Before the race, we talked and we both were looking for something under 21:00. I personally would have been happy with mid to high 20's but when I turned in a 19:57, I was ecstatic. Dan won the age group, I finished 2nd and Jason finished 4th. All within about 10-15 seconds of each other. My goal for next season would have been to run under 20:00 so I'll take it. If this is my last 5K for the year, then I guess I ended on a high note. It's nice to see numbers like that. It means all the training that I have put in was well worth it.
Lance
way to represent. i see french won it in 17:44. I beat him last year so that paturbed me, that if I was training I could have won it. Congrats though, 7th overall is great! Did you stay for the festivities??
I stayed for the awards but only had pancakes and sausage that I shared with my son.
French did win it. What chaps me is that I beat the guy who got third last year. Oh well.
I actually beat French two years ago. I ran 19:35 and he ran mid-20:00. He's dropped almost three minutes since 2006.
hey, i got 3rd last year! french cut some time, probably fueled by some adrenaline since he was in first and not thinking houghton was behind him. i remember in highschool always being in havana and wondering why houghton ran so much, now that I do that, i wonder how many people think the same.
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