Well, my loving followers/blog worshipers, I have finally made my long-awaited
return to racing! Despite a cross country move, 10 days in California, and the
start of my new job with HOKA ONE ONE, I was still able to pull off the dub and
a shiny new sub-17 5K PR. How does Sam do it, and stay so good looking? Only
one way to find out...
~
My last day in Colorado was oh-so bitter sweet, leaving the
beautiful Rockies for the interminable cornfields of the Midwest. Thankfully
though, the transition was made easier with ten days of sunbathing running
job training in Berkeley, California. As your new Illinois (and parts of
Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas) Field Service Representative (FSR) for
HOKA ONE ONE (all caps), I had the opportunity to meet and train with the 15
other FSRs working to spread the great message that is HOKA ONE ONE (parentheses).
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| Don't tell anyone, but I'd do this for free! |
Not only am I beyond grateful to be working with such an
innovating and prolific company, but my coworkers really are the best of the
best, and it’s an infectious environment to be around. The highlight of this
trip, though, was most definitely witnessing HOO sponsored athlete Mike Wardian
race the 50K World Record on a treadmill…in the middle of our annual sales
meeting. And not only that, but I was able to run alongside him for a couple
miles, something that probably would’ve been my dream for the Make-A-Wish
Foundation.
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| Thankfully, you can’t see the stains on my running shorts here. |
It was during that run on the treadmill, though, that I
realized I was in pretty good shape. See, I was able to set the pace to
whatever I wanted, and managed to average roughly 5:20 pace for those 2ish miles
(kinda felt like a dickwad next to
Wardian, but I DID have a workout scheduled for the day…). There's also a really cool video documenting Wardian's record-setting run, found here: http://www.runnerspace.com/video.php?video_id=144492. I'm the squealing 5-year old at 1:17.
After returning home, moving into the oh-so accommodating basement
of my Dad’s house as I search for a place of dwelling, I decided to also look
for a local race, quickly finding a 5K later that week up in Deerfield. With
the day an official holiday and no work obligations, I decided to pay the
exorbitant race registration and soon found myself standing on the starting
line of the Essence of Freedom Memorial Day 5K!
~
Despite some solid training the days and weeks preceding
this race, race-day conditions were far from ideal. With 20mph gusts and close
to 80-degrees of muggy, humid Midwest moistness,
I remember being distinctly slimy and dehydrated on the starting line.
Having raced 17:08 two months ago at the St. Patrick’s Day
5K (which you can read about here: http://samwelchruns.blogspot.com/2015/03/st-patricks-day-5k.html), my goal was to slip under 17 for the
first time ever. I knew that if I stayed relaxed and raced like a competent
human being, averaging 5:25s wouldn’t be an issue, now that I was back at sea
level.
When the gun went off, I immediately flew to the lead, with
only one other runner sitting on my shoulder. We ran for about ¼ mile when I
looked over, or more accurately, down,
to find a kid no older than 10 years old. Thankfully, he dropped back soon
after that, but it WAS a mighty blow to my ego. After dropping the
pre-pubescent middle-schooler though, it was just me and the dozen motorcycles
parading/pace setting right ahead of me. I’ve never been in this situation
(LEADING a road race), and I quickly became aware that it kinda sucked, as I
was inhaling nothing but diesel fumes.
The one plus was that they kept a consistent 5:15 pace, and
I was able to zone out for the first mile, just following the noxious exhaust
along the rolling course through a Deerfield neighborhood. I remember checking
my GPS watch at 1.5 miles, having slowed to 5:20ish pace, and feeling pretty
tired, but just stuck with the motorcycles and just kept trucking.
Going through mile 2 just a ½ mile ahead though, and I was
really tightening up, having slowed considerably going up the slightest of
hills. I trudged through that next ½ mile at 5:40ish pace, but with the end
nearing, I was able to drop my pace back down to something resembling a kick.
My upper body (forearms?) really tightened up on the last straightaway (1/4
mile), and of course I reverted back to that weird grunting thing with each
exhale, but seeing the clock tick up, still in the mid-16s, was motivating, and
I crossed the line totally spent, and official time of 16:40.
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| Some stiff competition, if you ask me... |
Exhausted, it took a good minute or two to catch my breath,
and having a sip of water was like drinking the nectar of the gods. Racing
under 17 has been a goal since my collegiate days, and demolishing that barrier
left me pretty stoked. Second place came through a couple minutes later, which
made me wonder how I’d fare with some other runners to help pace me/compete
against.
Racing in my HOKA ONE ONE Huakas, I was able to talk up the Hoka brand
with the first place female finisher Katie Haberman (who happens to be an old
coworker at JCC Camp Apachi!), and later collected my first “1st
Overall” award from a road race, which sounds cooler than the reality: me
beating some 6th graders and their moms.
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| The legacy of 'that naked runner' lives on... |
But if I can race 16:40 in sub-par conditions, it leaves me
hungry to keep training and go for that ultimate goal of running a sub-16 5K
(there, I said it). I’ve got no race planned next, but will make sure to find
something soon, so until next time!
