Another race, another PR…
Most people tell me I race too much, and maybe they’re right, but with Marine Corps Marathon just a couple of weeks away I found myself on the starting line of yet another 5k. I ran the All American Beach Ford 5k a couple of years ago and remember it as a fast, flat (aren’t they all in Virginia Beach!) course through a quiet neighborhood. Perfect for a Saturday morning time-trial.
It was a chilly morning setting out from the house (about 37 degrees), but the sun was starting to come up and it felt like it was going to be a beautiful day. By the time I’d arrived at the race, warmed up for a couple of miles and stripped down to my singlet and shorts, the sun was shining and the temperature had risen 10 degrees. The lack of wind made for almost perfect conditions.
The main attraction of this event (aside from the always popular mile race for the kids), is that the male and female winner each get to drive the Ford car of their choice for a month, courtesy of “Beach Ford”. People were joking around at the start saying I was in with a chance, but there were several faster looking runners positioned at the start I guessed would be quicker. No matter, I’d stick to my plan of running the first mile in around 5:40 and see what was left for the remaining 2.1….
As predicted, the start was fast and furious. I settled in about 10th place but gradually worked my way up to 4th by the mile (5:31 - a bit quick). I was right behind 2nd and 3rd, but the leader was already 40-50 seconds ahead and well clear. Enjoy the car I thought! I intentionally eased of a little in the second mile, but was still able to battle it out with the 2 High School kids ahead of me. My Garmin beeped to let me know 2 miles was up, but there was no sign of the marker on the course. Still feeling quite fresh, I glanced down, saw 5:39 and decided to surge a little for the finish.
About a minute later, Allyson (my wife) was cheering at the side of the road, next to a hand written 2 mile sign which I knew was wrong but I’m sure confused a lot of people. I’d built up a lot of momentum by now and was clear in second place. Time to race the clock and see how close I good get to my best time of the year (17:36) and my all-time best (17:24).
As I rounded the final bend, the funniest thing happened. A young girl standing with her parents clapped for me and shouted “You nearly won the car!” As much as I was hurting I couldn’t help but laugh. She was right, but the car didn’t matter - I was just chasing down a good time. I could see the 3 mile mark and then the finish line in the distance. Time was ticking away and I remember closing my eyes and sprinting as hard as I could to the line. I finally crossed the line and managed to stop my watch at 17:24 - equal to my best from a couple of years ago.
After a cool-down, still on a high, I looked at the official times printed off and saw my name in second place with a time of 17:23 - a new best by the smallest margin of 1 second! What better way to begin the Marine Corps taper……..
3rd mile split if you’re interested - 5:25 (fastest of the 3), Wish I could finish like that all the time.
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October 24th, 2006 at 8:51 am
[…] One day last week I went online to check if my latest 5k had been added, but was greeted with a “VirtuRace.com is becoming Athlinks. We will return 10.23.06″ message. The message is still there today, so I guess they’re having problems with their new site. I’ll be interested to see what new features have been added and if indeed the original functionality is still in place. For now, I’ll just have to wait and see…. […]