It's been a busy past few weeks for me, with 2 trips to California for racing. The travel was fruitful, as I ran nearly a 1 minute PR in the 10k last month and then dropped 30 seconds off my 5k time at Payton Jordan. You can't complain about a PR, but my 5k did leave something to be desired. Here's how things went down:
I got a bad start - usually I'm quick off the line, but this time I was a step back of everyone and found myself running out in Lane 2, working my way back to the front of the big group. It's been a few years since I've run a competitive 5k and it was a bit of a rude awakening to find myself fighting crowds and pushy elbows. Good practice for championship racing, but a tough start to the race.
The pace was fast-slow-fast, and again, I found myself out of my element. A creature of habit, I'm good at running the exact pace I'm supposed to, like a metronome. But races aren't always run with even splits, especially championship races, so while our 73-80-73 first 1200 threw me for a loop, in hindsight I know it was good practice for future big meets.
We came through the mile in 5:01, right where I wanted to be, but it sure didn't feel comfortable. 8 laps in and we were at 10:02, and I remember thinking "Man the 10k felt so much easier!" Yep, the 5k is a grind! I tried to get comfortable with the discomfort and stay positive. My face reveals how I was really feeling:
Pain face mid 5k with my high school teammate, Chelsea Reilly - go DHS!
I moved up in the field in the last mile, into 4th, but when I tried to dig, I didn't have much left. I got tangled up in some traffic with 600 to go and I unfortunately let this have an impact my race. I got outkicked in the last 100 meters but still finished a respectable 5th, in a PR of 15:42. You can't be disappointed with a 30-second PR, but I'd be lying if I said I was satisfied. I'm eager to get in another 5k at the end of this month and correct some of the mistakes I made at Payton Jordan.
But before my next 5k (which will be at the Adrian Martinez Classic on June 4!), I'm racing a 1500! Yep, you read that right - this distance gal is dropping down to the short stuff on Saturday at the New Balance Boston Twilight Meet. Let's see what kind of wheels this 10k girl has :)
