Race Report BDR Leftover 5k Safety Harbor, FL
Weather: 80 degrees, dewpoint 76 (hahaha Florida sucks), humidity 88%, and sunny. Super ideal, eh?
I rarely run 5ks anymore, so this was a little random treat. Warmed up and then hung out with the team a bit and then with Charles. Charles is just an awesome guy, so it was very fun before the race. I spent a little too much time with everyone and didn't get in a good warmup or any striders and was stuck in the bathroom line (as I forgot to pee this morning, a racing no-no in my book) until about 2 minutes before race time. I rushed to the start line and snuck in during pretty much the start of the anthem. Other than feeling rushed, to get to the line, I wasn't nervous. I lined up next to Anthony, Christina, Chris McCaffrey, John Robida, Jeremy Richardson, and my celebrity crush Becky H., who was a welcome surprise. The countdown began and we were off!
Mile 1: Was planning on averaging a 5:10 mile for the whole race and not go out fast and I was pretty dedicated to stick to it if someone got in front of me at least until the last mile. Shockingly though, I was on pace through the first quarter mile and not a single one of those guys decided to stick up with me. Actually, I somehow had a 5 second lead. I didn't really understand it as I know Anthony at least was shooting for sub 16. I slowed a bit as I was worried my watch was lying to me, but it wasn't- mile 1 in 5:14.
Mile 2: Feeling fine, I sped up a bit to take those 4 seconds back and scooted around the turnaround point (just after mile 1) and it was smooth for the first half mile after that which I did in 2:31 or so and then- holy hell. The other 1600 runners and walkers in the race started to not only take up the road, but literally the whole road to the point where the biker leading me physically stopped and could not continue forward. I hopped up into some neighboring yards and just ran on the ledge for about a quarter mile or third of a mile. To be honest, I had run that road a bunch of times and was half expecting it to happen, I was just more annoyed at how it would squander my lead (10-15 seconds) while making me more tired. I wish there was a nice, loud way to tell people to please "move over" without wasting energy. In the meantime I'll just continue to practice and hone my matrix moves until they're on point. ;) Hit the mile 2 marker in 5:14 again, but my pace was 5:05, so I am pleased with that effor.
Mile 3: Was tired from the weaving/running in the yards, but still maintained an okay pace. Lots of turns here: six 90-degree turns, one incline, one decline, one 180-degree turn. The 180-turn was in a pretty fortunate location though- about a half of a mile from the finish. I was able to "look back" without actually having to. Same thing, 12 seconds back for Anthony and then about 24 for Jeremy and Chris. With so little to go I knew I just needed to hold the spacing and I'd be fine. Crossed in 16:24 and almost tripped over the tape they had out. Pretty embarrassing end to a race on my part.
Final thoughts- I feel like I psyched Anthony out, as he didn't even go for it during mile one. I wanted to run/pace with him since I thought we could help each other get to/break 16 today, but I think it stressed him out. I was hoping to instill confidence and teamwork, but I think I did the opposite. This was disheartening, but hopefully I will learn to do a better job.
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