Finishing place: ???
Time: 15:10-ish (?)
Alright, so this was my third time doing this event, and it was by far my best performance here. In 2013 I entered in a weird limbo between marathon recovery and hard interval training, and so nothing translated to a quality race performance. Last year I had run a great race three weeks earlier, but then strained my hamstring and didn't run very much leading up to the Blast, which showed in a poor race.
This year I entered in a good training rhythm after a solid block of base training. Only problem: it was a solid block of base training. I was in great fundamental shape, but not great race shape (especially a race as short as a 5k and competitive as this one). So I had to temper my expectations a bit...I knew I wasn't going to be competitive with the top runners going 14:20-30; for me at this point a sub-15 would be a great time on this course.
Having those tempered expectation, I had to stay disciplined and not get sucked out into a fast pace. I didn't, which was good (especially since I have a bad habit of going out too hard), but the downside was that I mostly ran alone for the middle two of this four-lap race. That said, it's not really running alone when the crowd is as great as it is here. That may be why this is my favorite local race: the crowd is loud. The entire crit course is lined with people and they get into it. The only time I've ever run through a louder crowd was through the scream tunnel at Wellesley in the Boston marathon. That's saying something.
Anyway, in the fourth lap I nearly kicked down a Kenyan (but not quite) and finished as the first non-African. I'll take the little victories when I can.
As for my reactions to the race, it went about how I expected it go. I felt strong but not fast...which is exactly typical of racing in the base phase. I didn't quite get sub-15, but a 15:10 on this course is still a solid time, probably worth 20-30 seconds faster on a flat course. but probably the best thing overall: I stayed disciplined in my effort and executed my race plan, which left me feeling strong instead of dead at the end (which is always a nice feeling).
I know I haven't raced much this spring (and that should change come fall), but this was a nice cap to a solid base-building season. I walked off the course with a lot of positive momentum and a lot of motivation to build on my current fitness. Now I'm psyched to hit the road this fall. "All systems go" for sub-1:05 and the Olympic Trials qualifier!
Time: 15:10-ish (?)
 |
| Photo courtesy of Shelton Graves |
This year I entered in a good training rhythm after a solid block of base training. Only problem: it was a solid block of base training. I was in great fundamental shape, but not great race shape (especially a race as short as a 5k and competitive as this one). So I had to temper my expectations a bit...I knew I wasn't going to be competitive with the top runners going 14:20-30; for me at this point a sub-15 would be a great time on this course.
Having those tempered expectation, I had to stay disciplined and not get sucked out into a fast pace. I didn't, which was good (especially since I have a bad habit of going out too hard), but the downside was that I mostly ran alone for the middle two of this four-lap race. That said, it's not really running alone when the crowd is as great as it is here. That may be why this is my favorite local race: the crowd is loud. The entire crit course is lined with people and they get into it. The only time I've ever run through a louder crowd was through the scream tunnel at Wellesley in the Boston marathon. That's saying something.
Anyway, in the fourth lap I nearly kicked down a Kenyan (but not quite) and finished as the first non-African. I'll take the little victories when I can.
As for my reactions to the race, it went about how I expected it go. I felt strong but not fast...which is exactly typical of racing in the base phase. I didn't quite get sub-15, but a 15:10 on this course is still a solid time, probably worth 20-30 seconds faster on a flat course. but probably the best thing overall: I stayed disciplined in my effort and executed my race plan, which left me feeling strong instead of dead at the end (which is always a nice feeling).
I know I haven't raced much this spring (and that should change come fall), but this was a nice cap to a solid base-building season. I walked off the course with a lot of positive momentum and a lot of motivation to build on my current fitness. Now I'm psyched to hit the road this fall. "All systems go" for sub-1:05 and the Olympic Trials qualifier!
 |
| Photo courtesy of Shelton Graves |
Comments
Post a Comment