Saturday, July 29, 2006
Etowah River Run 5K
Etowah River Run 5K
(Boling Park, Canton, GA)
#80 5K 22:48 (results)
It was a stressful week at work with long hours and I spent Friday night mostly tossing and turning before waking long before planed at 3:00 AM. I sipped a sports drink and flipped channels before heading over to my parent’s house to pickup my mom.
The race start was actually at Cherokee High School, after running out of the parking lot the first half-mile consisted of a short downhill, a short uphill, and a longer sweeping downhill. After that, the course was fast and flat, mostly on asphalt, with short sections over dirt and grass. I started better than usual. I did not feel like I was moving that fast, but when I get to the first split I discovered that I did the first mile in 7 minutes. This race my focus was not to drop off the pace in the middle of the race. I would lock in on the next runner in front of me and mentally pull myself past them. If someone tried to pass me, I would try to project an invisible wall to either side of me that a competitor might push on, but would not be able to get through. Towards the middle of the race, I fought off one such runner for almost a mile before my wall crumbled, my pace faltered just a bit, and he pulled ahead. I did not let him out of my sights and almost caught him at the finish line. It was interesting study in contrasts. For everyone he passed he had words of encouragement. An attitude I have the utmost respect for, and even perhaps a little envy. Everyone I pass makes me feel a bit like a pilot in the Rebel Alliance who had just taken out another Tie-Fighter.
My pace did fall off on the final third of the race to an 8:00/mi, giving me a finishing time of 22:48 with an overall average pace of 7:20/mi. That makes this race one of my fastest to date.
Note: It was mom however, that took home the first place trophy in the age group-which-I-am-not-allowed-to-divulge. I did win one of the door prizes however, a four pack of two-liter diet cokes.
(Boling Park, Canton, GA)
#80 5K 22:48 (results)
It was a stressful week at work with long hours and I spent Friday night mostly tossing and turning before waking long before planed at 3:00 AM. I sipped a sports drink and flipped channels before heading over to my parent’s house to pickup my mom.
The race start was actually at Cherokee High School, after running out of the parking lot the first half-mile consisted of a short downhill, a short uphill, and a longer sweeping downhill. After that, the course was fast and flat, mostly on asphalt, with short sections over dirt and grass. I started better than usual. I did not feel like I was moving that fast, but when I get to the first split I discovered that I did the first mile in 7 minutes. This race my focus was not to drop off the pace in the middle of the race. I would lock in on the next runner in front of me and mentally pull myself past them. If someone tried to pass me, I would try to project an invisible wall to either side of me that a competitor might push on, but would not be able to get through. Towards the middle of the race, I fought off one such runner for almost a mile before my wall crumbled, my pace faltered just a bit, and he pulled ahead. I did not let him out of my sights and almost caught him at the finish line. It was interesting study in contrasts. For everyone he passed he had words of encouragement. An attitude I have the utmost respect for, and even perhaps a little envy. Everyone I pass makes me feel a bit like a pilot in the Rebel Alliance who had just taken out another Tie-Fighter.
My pace did fall off on the final third of the race to an 8:00/mi, giving me a finishing time of 22:48 with an overall average pace of 7:20/mi. That makes this race one of my fastest to date.
Note: It was mom however, that took home the first place trophy in the age group-which-I-am-not-allowed-to-divulge. I did win one of the door prizes however, a four pack of two-liter diet cokes.
