St. Patrick's Day 5K

This past Saturday, I raced the Colorado Springs St. Patrick’s Day 5K, and ran the fastest 5K of my life to date. This race has it all: drama, suspense, hot chicks. But before I delve into this epic journey for my new 5K PR, I’d like to take the time to fill you in, my loving, doting fans, about the hellish week that preceded this race.

I guess it all starts with my drive back from the Winter Series #4, where the ‘Check Engine’ light on my car came on. STFU Sam this has nothing to do with running or your gorgeous bod. Bear with me here; see, when I first drove out to Colorado back in July, that same light came on. But because it was my second day of owning my car, and I’m a procrastinator, and I’m poor, I sort of just…ignored it. This was until my mom came to visit me and vowed to disown me if I didn’t have my car checked. So I did, and thankfully, the awesome mechanics at ToyTech fixed my car, good as new.

So when that light came on again, I decided to be a somewhat-competent adult and actually have it checked out right away. But this time, it wasn’t an easy fix – this time, that check engine light was flashing, which is your car’s subtle way of telling you it’s (actually) about to explode.

My colleagues actually think I'm Chris Traeger now

ToyTech said they’d need to work on my car for a couple days (spoiler alert: turned into 8 days). And during this time, I still had to get my daily run in, AND get to school every morning. So I did as any idiotic masochist did: I ran the 8ish miles to school. There’s no great route, which means I literally have to run on a highway for a portion, but for about a week, I ran the 8ish miles to school (of note: all money I saved on gas was instead spent on copious amounts of food).

My colleagues were gracious enough to provide me with rides home after school most days (shout outs to CG, Veronica, and Brandon!), and I actually really enjoyed it. The whole ‘illegally running on the shoulder of the highway’ thing kinda sucked, as did commuting a good 2 hours before sunrise, but it felt good knowing I was logging some decent mileage without really trying. I did in fact run home one day, which stifled any more desire for this run-commuting thing. This past Wednesday, I ran to school, then, thanks to the sun’s decision to exist again, decided to make the commute home after school. But: I was pulled over by a cop, got lost, and stumbled home in the dark for an 18-mile day. Good news: got my car back the next day!

~

So, needless to say, I felt like butthole this past Thursday, then Friday. Honestly, I was considering DNSing this race, on account of this feeling like butthole. But waking up Saturday morning, and realizing that I’ve already paid for this race, I might as well go pick up my tee-shirt. So I made a slow and painful jog over to the race course, still sore and tired and butthole-like. But once I picked up my tee-shirt and found some friends Phil and Brian (who even read this blog! So it’s not just my mom!), I figured I’d yog a nice and easy 5K, “for fun.”

But, as I stepped up to the starting line, it hit me: I don’t know how to not race. I don’t do “fun” – I run to slowly and painfully kill myself. Plus, soooooo many hot chicks to impress.

At the start, behind a million people.

When the gun went off, people started flying (video of the start is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWysUOYMoQY. I'm at around 30 seconds in). My GPS watch was telling me I was clipping off sub-5 minute pace for that first 400 meters, and I was probably in 25^th place, getting smoked by middle schoolers and geezers. Focusing on staying relaxed, I finally cooled down my pace to 5:30ish, intent on passing these little kids ahead of me (seriously, who do these 11 year olds think they are, making me look slow in front of all these ladies?) The course itself was relatively flat, but had a total of three 180-degree turns that basically required you to come to a stop, or swing waayyyy wide.

Mile splits and a general map of the course.

Finally getting into a rhythm, I went through my first mile split in 5:30ish. Quick for sure, but I felt relatively good, so decided to try and push this mile, as I’ve always got something left for the end. So I worked on passing the guy in front of me, then the next, then the next…the benefit of racing in a big race (more than 2,000 in this 5K) is that there’s always someone to run against, and so I was able to pick off people over that second mile.

After making two quick 180-degree turns, we were finally on the homestretch, about .8 miles to the finish. I’d stopped checking my watch at this point, focused solely on closing the large gap between me and the next runner. At this point in the race, the rest of the 5Kers were making their way out to the 180-degree turns, so flying by them with the occasional cheer was a big boost. With probably .5 miles to go, I started my signature grunting with each exhale (but really, when did that start?), and my form must’ve started to look real atrocious, because I definitely saw someone hurl.

But I was making up ground on that guy ahead of me! As we neared the finish line, I heard someone shout “Don’t let that kid pass you CJ!” Obviously I’m not CJ, so as “that kid,” I had to show this CJ who was boss, and threw down the nastiest kick (and not in a good way) to just narrowly fly by him in the finishing chute.

Suck it CJ.

Checking my watch, I couldn’t believe it. Just 6 weeks ago, I’d raced the Gameday 5K and finished in 17:49, a time I was very pleased with. My PR in college was a 17:17 (although it’s definitely possible I split a faster time in an 8K race), and without any (like, zero) speed training, I would’ve been happy with another sub-18. But my official finishing time was a 17:08, a 5:31/mile pace, good for 15^th overall (and at 6,000 ft. too!).

Going from feeling like butthole and almost not even racing to finishing 40+ seconds faster than last month, I was pretty stoked. But, there were still 14 people ahead of me (winner finished in 14:45!), so I’ve still got work to do. I’ve got a slight break from racing, my next being the XTERRA Trail 24K on April 12^th, so until next time!

Winter Series #4

Woof. If there’s the perfect word to summarize the last race in the Winter Series, this would be it.

Since my last race two weeks ago, Colorado decided to be Colorado, and we got veritably dumped on. Little did I know that February 14^th would be my last time seeing sunshine, as these past two weeks have brought ridiculous amounts of snow, ice, and cold, which even amounted to two snow days last week (probably the only good thing to come out of all this fluffy white stuff). Desire (and physical possibility) to run in this cold has waned, especially considering where I was this time last year (for those of you who don’t know, it was the muthaflippin’ CARIBBEAN).

This would've been around this same time last year...

So when we had another snow day the day before Winter Series #4, I was fairly relieved. See, I had run the race of my life two weeks ago, and having filled the time since then with slow trudging through mountains of slippery snow, a weight was lifted. I knew there’d be no way of racing a really “fast” race – instead, I had to race smart and just attempt to solidify my 2^nd-place standing in the overall rankings.

~

Arriving in Black Forest Saturday morning, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew our race would be roughly 20 kilometers (Strava data post-race had it 12.4 miles), but this was the furthest I’d driven for a race in this series, and I was in unknown territory. After collecting my bib and nearly busting a blood vessel in the port-o-potty, I managed a slow 10-minute warmup where I came to the conclusion: it’s cold. In addition to the slippery snow and 10-degree temps, unsheltered areas had some nasty gusty wind.

Now, this is going to sound inconsequential right now, but it’s a necessary detail: I thought I was going to be an idiot and race in my short-shorts. So this morning, I put on my tights over my shorts, then laced up my shoes ONCE, because I figured I’d be unlacing them soon to take off my tights. But during this 10-minute warmup, I made the executive decision to race avec tights, and the idea of double-knotting my shoes went out the window. You can probably guess where this is going…

Starting video of the race (I’m literally there for 0-1 seconds at the very start, which makes it look like I’m in first, but the camera guy just started late): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJGfgbBrUZE

I run up to the start line with 10 seconds to spare, see Alistair (semi-pro who’s currently 1^st in the series), and then we’re off. Alistair and another runner (spoiler alert: the eventual winner by more about 4 minutes) fly off into first and second place, while I’m content holding down third at an easy effort, keeping the two in sight. Not a minute into the race, though, do I notice: my shoe’s untied. Cuss. I briefly toy with the idea of running the entirety of the race with it untied, but after a mile of my foot gradually slipping more and more, and the laces continually whipping my ankles, I realize how stupid of an idea that is.

Through the mile at 6:30ish, I’m sitting 15ish seconds back from 1^st and 2^nd, and decide I need to stop before this hill and tie both shoes. If you check my Strava data, you can see a blip where my speed drops to 0 for 10-15 seconds, during which another runner passes me, and I find myself in a chase pack (runners in 4^th-7^th place). I somehow manage another 6:30 mile, despite the shoe-tying, and gap the pack I’m with, inching my way back to the 3^rd place runner 15 seconds up (AKA that’s where I should be had I not been an idiot).

You've gotta admit, the shades are fly

Then, we all ran. 1^st place was out of sight by now, but Alistair was probably 40 seconds ahead in 2^nd, 3^rd place was 15, and 5^th place was probably 15 behind me. We rolled in this train, each runner gapped by 15-20 seconds, as we all made due with the terrible footing and steep hills. I wish this was more exciting, but everyone maintained these gaps until about mile 10, clipping off ~6:30s.

GAP: Grade Adjusted Pace, making me feel a little less crappy about such a slow run

It was with about 2 miles to go when us 20K runners merged with the 10K runners, and combined with some long hills late in the race, made things more interesting. See, I found myself flying with ease on the flats and downhills, but towards the end, even the slightest of uphills really took it out of me. At mile 10.5 we hit a pretty nasty uphill that gapped me from the 3^rd place runner, and I even heard 5^th place right on my heels. Bridging the crest of that hill, I completely lost sight of the 3^rd place runner amidst all the 10K runners we’d been joined with. But passing people always helps, so I started picking it up again, breaking away from the 5^th place guy and after one more hill climb (plus someone telling me it would be the last hill), found myself flying downhill towards the finish.

So fly

Strava will tell you my pace going down that last half-mile was 5:11 pace, of which I’m not surprised. I was surprised, though, that I never got sight of the 3^rd place runner; soon, I was making a quick 90 degree turn into the finishing chute. Official time for the race was 1:21:03, a 6:30 average for 4^th overall. Turns out, Alistair got 2^nd in less than a minute ahead of me, with 3^rd less than 40 seconds (5^th just 30 seconds back from me). Fairly pleased with my performance, yet totally trashed, I yogged an easy 10 minute cooldown with Rocque, stretched, then sought warmth.

However, despite my 4^th place finish, I managed to secure my 2^nd place standing in the overall series! Something I didn’t even dream about doing when I initially signed up, I was pleased with how this race series went, and pretty stoked about where my training’s at, just two months into the New Year - it looks like my 5 am runs before school aren’t just in vain.

I’ll attend an awards dinner next weekend, but won’t race again until March 14^th, which will be a St. Patrick’s Day 5K. Soon, I want to start logging some heavier mileage and get back into marathons/ultras, but I’m content to wait until the earth unfreezes. Until next time!