Running Trails w/the Men in Green 5k
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Running Trails w/the Men in Green 5k - Run
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Comments: With such a small field my plan was to take the first half mile comfortably hard and see what the competition was. My achilles was sore and if a few people took off hard I was going to let them go. If not, I was going to step it up and see what happens. After the few overly exuberant kids tired after a few hundred yards, there was only one guy about 10 yards ahead of me. Given that I was tired and sore I figured I'd just shadow him for a while. I was running hard but very comfortable as this section was relatively flat. There had been a huge windstorm the week before and the first of a few downed trees was laying across the path. In steeplechase-like fashion I leaped up onto and over the tree. I had to chuckle as I went over because I just as easily could have landed flat on my face. It was kind of a leap of faith as I am no spring chicken. At about the half mile mark, the course took a turn onto a single track loop. The guy I was following missed the turn and went straight though it was clearly marked. I yelled to him but he just kept going. I had studied the course map before the race and had the RD (talk me through it). I've done a lot of races in this park and the trails are somewhat of a labyrinth. The single track was very windy and narrow through thick brush. I could hear lots of heavy breathing behind me as I entered. I decided to put on a burst and quickly get out of sight of those following. I wanted to be out of sight out of mind if I could. I have been running a lot of much tougher trails in training and felt like a deer scampering left and right, up and down. After about a quarter mile, the trail linked back onto a wider gravel path. I didn't hear anyone behind. I continued to push until the path came out onto a residential street. The street traverses the park and had a nice downhill grade. I was afraid to look behind me but I didn't sense anyone around. I used the downhill to settle my heart rate a bit while focusing on good leg turnover and keeping strong form. I had a great section down this stretch and figured I had a good lead heading back onto the trails for a very tough uphill grind to the finish. The pain in my legs was building and my breathing became much more rapid. I did not want to implode so I took it down a notch. I was not terribly fast on this section but was strong enough to keep a steady pace all the way to the finish line. Though the field was small it still felt great crossing the line first . I was sore and tired before the race but I felt like I made good race decisions and did the best I could with what I brought to the race. What would you do differently?: Not much. Post race
Warm down: Walked around for about ten minutes and drank a few bottles of water. What limited your ability to perform faster: More recovery from training before racing. Event comments: For a new, small race it was very well organized and had some nice little extras. The shirts were great. I get a lot of shirts and most go into storage but this is one I'll wear often. Also had drawing for some nice prizes. Beautiful trail system. Last updated: 2015-09-07 12:00 AM
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2015-09-07 7:52 PM |
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2015-09-08 12:45 PM in reply to: #5139212 |
2015-09-08 3:25 PM in reply to: 0 |
2015-09-08 4:30 PM in reply to: melbo55 |
2015-09-08 5:23 PM in reply to: popsracer |
2015-09-09 12:50 PM in reply to: Asalzwed |
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2015-09-11 10:30 AM in reply to: #5139212 |
2015-09-11 10:39 AM in reply to: jmkizer |
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2015-09-15 9:10 AM in reply to: #5139212 |
2015-09-17 4:49 PM in reply to: #5139212 |
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United States
55F / 13C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 1/30
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
I had not planned on racing this weekend and had trained hard the two days prior including a very tough trail run the day before. I had forgotten my SOL was organizing a 5k to raise funds for a charity and saw the race on a local website before going to bed. Figured I should support his efforts.
Ran about a mile to get my heart rate up and then stabilized. Did some light stretching and a few strides. My right achilles was sore and tight so was cautious during warmup.