Shamrocks and Shenanigans 5K

Today was the Running Fit Ann Arbor Track Club* Shamrocks and Shenanigans 5K in Ann Arbor. The race was at 2:00 pm so I got to sleep in but it messed up my usual race meal planning. No real problem, just had to figure out what to eat that wouldn’t kill me in the race. I grilled chicken in the morning and made turkey meatballs too but couldn’t have any of it till after the race. :( Had my usual bowl of super colon-blow for breakfast at 6:30 (darn back woke me up), and had some pasta at around 11:00. Bagel at noon. And a gel about 1/2 an hour before the race. I like the gels. Its gross but I do like them.

Anyway, there were a bazillion people there and it was freezing cold. (30F) but sunny. I found a nice parking spot a few blocks from the start and went to the pub to get my bib. Lots of folks in line but everyone was jolly and in a good mood. The Ann Arbor track club ran the Valentine’s Day 5K I ran in last (just after pneumonia, ugh).

They had bagpipes in the street and even some spectators were out to watch the race. I took a look at the map on the wall and it was nothing like I had planned on. Good thing there were people running in front of me. Walking back to my car to change I began to notice the big hill and then realized that there were going to be some big ones on the race. Ann Arbor has some hilly spots. I decided to wear my lycra pants, long sleeve shirt and running jacket. I also wore my white cotton gloves that I got from the Valentine’s Day run (good luck charm) but I turned the red hearts in towards my palms. Looks a little silly on a guy. Had my last gulp of water and headed back to the pub to wait.

Eventually we all headed over to the start. Lots of folks chatting it up. Me and another guy stood in the street and tried to get a signal for our Forerunners. Finally right at the start we were locked in. One guy asked me if there were hills on this course. I said they were all hills, but mostly down. ;)

Go!

Wow! I was shocked at how fast we were all booking. I had nudged my way over to the far right on the curb, near the front so as not to end up trampling the walkers and getting run over by the speed demons. A quick scan of my Forerunner said 6:05. Egads! Ok, ease it off a bit. I found a good pace and held it until our first downhill. 6:50. Fast but it felt good.

First downhill, I was thinking about what Paula Radcliffe said about letting go and not breaking as you went down the hill. So I let it fly, whoa! I was just booked down the hill but it didn’t hit my shins and quads like normal.

Mile 1: 6:51 - we were booking

Then a flat area, over the train tracks, and back up the hill. This one was long and wound around a corner. Pump the arms. I passed one guy on the hill. Never happens to me. More hill and finally we pass the pub and back to the first big hill. (This is a two lap course).

Mile 2: 7:22 - Forerunner says this was actually 1.19 miles (6:12 pace??)

Another fly down the hill and back to the tracks. Now, its starting to hurt a bit. I found a woman who was hitting my pace and we kinda jockied back and forth for the rest of the race. She wasn’t struggling like me though and looked about 10 years my senior. She passed me at a little turn around heading into the home stretch. Wait’ll next year, she’ll never catch me. :D

Mile 3: 7:20 - Forerunner says this was .975 miles (7:32 pace)

Into the home stretch. I could hear someone coming up behind. I thought of just booking it to see if I could keep him back but decided I had pushed enough and he was just pouring it on anyway. I didn’t need the few seconds and I hoped he was alot younger and not in my age group. Maybe. Could be 30 or so.

Last 0.1 mile: 00:39 s - Forerunner says 517 ft, 6:44 pace.

Final time via Forerunner was 22:14, 3.25 miles, 6:50 pace. Oh my.

Official time 22:16, 3.1 miles, 7:10 pace. A new PR for me! Trounced my old time from November by 55 seconds. Sweet! And this time I was no where near as dead as in November. No gasping for air, didn’t need to fall down. I was dead tired but not like then. Maybe I needed to run harder. :D I’m thinking this speed training is working.

And the standing in my age group? Well, last year I would have taken second with that time, and this year I got 7th. Oh well. A PR suits me fine. We’ll see how I do this summer after the 1/2 Marathon training is done.

Time to go have some of that grilled chicken!

*Edit by Jon - Oops, this was put on by the Ann Arbor Track Club, not Running Fit. Both set up good races. I was tired and confused. Thinking clearer today. :)

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 13th, 2005 at 4:27 pm and is filed under Races. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.