Mother of All 5Ks

I ran my second Mother of All 5ks in Concord today. Yes, in the downpour of flooding rain. Hey. I ate rice the night before, I was well hydrated, rested, uninjured and ready to run. A few closed roads due to flooding wasn't going to stop me.

I ran 34:15 (11:02 pace), a decent improvement from my last 5K on Thanksgiving day, 35:47 (11:31 pace).

I also won a raffle! Each winner got to pick from two tables of prizes. There were lots of gift certificates, tool sets, umbrellas, a cozy blanket and two pairs of Hind running shorts! Black and topaz, both in my size. When my number was called, I went to the table and the topaz colored shorts were still there! I scooped them up right away. Hind is an excellent brand for running clothes. This and the race refreshments were well worth the race day registration fee.

Running an officially timed race helps me reflect on my training and how it could be improved. I knew I was running under optimal conditions. It was cool (although pretty wet), I felt great, everything was good. And yet I wasn't very fast at all. I knew I started my first mile way too fast. There was no countdown to the start. I was chatting with my mom towards the back of the pack when I heard the start gun fire. I turned and ran to catch up to the start line (the race wasn't chip timed, so my time started when the gun was fired, regardless of how close I was to the actual starting line.

I was so flustered I forgot to start my GPS stopwatch thingamajig (Garmin 201). Luckily the race provided officials along the course with stopwatches to call out times as everyone ran or walked by. My first mile was 10:23. Waaaay too fast for me. I tend to run faster overall if I start out comfortable and finish strong. Didn't really happen this time.

I quickly concluded that I need to incorporate speedwork into my training. I've been kind of a distance whore - run the required distance no matter what - which often means I'm running at a manageable pace, and no where near a race pace. Speed work will commence this spring. I picked up several fliers for upcoming local races, so I can test my practice as I go.

If any first time road racers are reading this, please take note: Don't cheat. Even if the race is just a fun goofy thing you're doing, or you don't care how you place. To some people it's a little more serious than that. Please respect your fellow race participants and follow the course as outlined. It's not cute or funny to cut out a whole section of distance just because you see your friend. Had my placing been compromised by these rude people, I would have had them disqualified. Instead, I told them what I thought as I passed them, and used it as fuel to make sure I stayed ahead of them no matter what. I paid $18 to be timed by Granite State Race Services and have my placing posted on coolrunning.com as a record of the results my training has produced. I'd like to think it's a fairly accurate account of my actual race. I can't count on that if people cheat. If you don't want to run or walk the rest of the way, drop out. Don't ruin it for everyone who's even a little serious about their race.

We placed 10th out of the Mother/Daughter teams and topped off Mother's Day at my mom's. We ate good chinese food (spicy garlic chicken with broccoli... mmm..), indulged in apple blueberry pie and ice cream, and watched a recent family vacation video. All in all, a good day.