Kansas City Corporate Challenge 5K - Run5k


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Shawnee Mission, Kansas
United States
Kansas City Corporate Challenge
Overcast
Total Time = 21m 10s
Overall Rank = 166/1007
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 19/134
Pre-race routine:

Up at 6:00 AM, took a "wake up" shower, ate a bowl of raisin bran.
Event warmup:

Stretched, ran up and down a small hill a few times.
Run
  • 21m 10s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 06m 50s  min/mile
Comments:

This was the Kansas City Corporate Challenge race so they split the men and women into 2 heats. There were 1007 men in the race and over 900 women so it's probably good that they did that as the start was quite crowded. The other benefit was that while waiting for our start we could cheer on the women as they were coming up the dreaded hilly finish.

I lined up between the 6 and 6.5 min. mile markers. Last year it started so slow I had to swing out wide and pass people by running on the grass. So this year I thought if I started more to the front, I could get into my stride early on. That didn't happen this year but it wasn't as bad as last years pace. A lot of 7-8 min. milers started at the 6 min. mile marker which was a bit optimistic. I haven't run enough 5K races to know if that's the norm. The course is fairly nerrow at the start and with over 1,000 racers, it was no surpise to me that a guy went down in front of me. Luckily he was near the left edge of the road so I don't think anybody else went with him.

It wasn't until about 3/4 of a mile into the race that I could get into a comfortable stride. That's of course where the long incline starts. I felt good, wasn't sure of my pace until I passed the 2 mile market (13:05) so I felt a bit of confidence having average 6:30 to that point. I knew that going under 22 minutes was in the bag, the question was could I go under 21....If you had anything left in the tank after the first 2.5 miles that hill took the rest, and my tank even collapsed a little trying to suck whatever fumes were still in there.

You really appreciate a flat course having run this one.

2009 Time: 22:34
2010 Time: 21:10

Took nearly a minute and a half off last years time so at least I'm improving.

What would you do differently?:

Start at the 5 minute mile marker.
Post race
Warm down:

Drank some chocolate milk, ate 1/2 a banana, drank some water. Talked with my co-workers.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not enough hill work. Not enough speed work.

Event comments:

The race was pretty well organized. I had, nor heard any complaints.




Last updated: 2010-05-01 12:00 AM
Running
00:21:10 | 03.1 miles | 06m 50s  min/mile
Age Group: 19/134
Overall: 166/1007
Performance: Good
Course: The first half mile or so is down a 4-5% grade hill. Then it levels off for a bit then before you get the mile 1, the long gradual climb starts. For the next mile or so you're going up hill starting with 1% grade to about 3%. Then it levels out for the next 1/2 mile followed by a little downhill action (2%). Then to finish off you have to go up that same 4-5% hill you began the race with.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4