One of my favorite local 5k races is the Melbourne Art Festival 5k. A ton of people participate, there is free beer at the end, and afterwards you can stroll through the art vendor booths. The 3.1 mile course for this race is a challenge. It goes over the 192 causeway and back. This is pretty much the only type of elevation change we can get in this area. This year, the art festival fell on Easter weekend.
I ran the Art Festival 5k last year. I wasn't working out regularly at the time so I definitely wasn't in good shape. Like all other races I ran last year I ran three or four times beforehand to prepare. On the day of the 5k I felt the usual level of not ready. Running up the causeway I felt like I was running so slowly. I was breathing really hard and I wasn't even close to the top. Wow, I felt out of shape. When I reached the top of the causeway and started heading back down, I realized the problem wasn't being out of shape (well, my primary problem). The problem was the ridiculous incline! My body was not prepared to handle it at all. I don't think I've ever felt that terrible during a race. I finished in 31:56.9.
My goal this year was to not repeat last year. I've been exercising regularly so I wanted to beat last year's time. The causeway is a beast so I wasn't shooting for a personal record. David and I did a practice run the week before, just to get an idea of what the race would be like. I wanted to get an idea of what my time would be. I tried to do my best. David totally smoked me as expected. He became further and further away until I couldn't see him anymore. The wind on the causeway was ridiculous. I finished the practice run in 28:13. At least I would finish before last year's time. A 9ish minute pace wasn't exactly what I was hoping for after running consistently for 3.5 months.
On race day I was excited to tackle the causeway. Over 1900 people signed up for the race! It was super crowded. We started up the causeway and I felt surprisingly good. Toward the top I was hating my legs, but I didn't feel like I was in slow motion like last year. I don't remember my time at one mile, the second mile mark was on the way back down the causeway on the return trip so I was a little more coherent. It was about 17 minutes. I thought to myself...that's a 8:30 pace. Better than my practice run. I tried to let gravity help and fly me down the causeway. I kept telling myself that I had less than one mile left. Some masochist decided to finish the race on top of a hill. I put my head down and tried to power up the hill. I tried to sprint to the finish, but I didn't have much sprint in me at that point. I made it my goal to not let one particular guy beat me. I think he knew that was my goal because as we got closer to the finish, he sped up. The course narrowed at the finish line causing us to bump elbows as we neared the finish line. I'm pretty sure we crossed at exactly the same time touching elbows. The time, 25:28.5! Seventh in my age division and over 1 minute better than my personal record!
I was so pumped to have beaten my previous time! At the finish line there was free beer, fruit, chicken wings, rice crispy treats, and more. I ate a ton and enjoyed the art at the festival. Overall, a great day.
While I'm glad to have done well at the race I'm confused about why I can't practice at the same level. I NEVER run a 8:12 minute mile in training. The best I can figure is that it's a group think type of mentality. I get around others and a competitive drive kicks in. My mind is distracted by the other runners and not on how tired I am or how much my legs hurt. I just feel like if I could train at that level my race results improve. I've entertained different ideas for bringing my training runs up to speed like wearing a heart rate monitor or speed training. I haven't settled on anything yet. For now, I'm going to be thankful and excited for a great race!
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