"I Just Felt Like Running" Virtual 5K Race Report

From the warmth and sunshine (even though it happened at night) of the Golden State,
I bring you my race report for the I Just Felt Like Running Virtual 5K sparked by Jeff of DETROIT RUNNER.  And if you want to play, too, it's not too late!  Head over to his blog and sign on up!

The East Bay running of this race was scheduled for Tuesday, March 1, 2011 @ 7 p.m.  The night was clear but a bit windy.  The course, flat and fast.  wish the entrant could say the same ;-)  It consisted of 4 loops (each of 0.75 miles) and a 0.1 mile chunk tagged on the end.  The starting line was The Mailboxes and the finish line was around the other side of the block, marked by the neighbor's tree.  According to Googlemaps, the course measured 3.103 miles.

No weirdos appeared to be out, the husband arrived home on time, the kids were fed, and Miss C 'unloaded' just as the lone entrant was leaving for her warm-up, allowing mommy to miss the diaper change ;-) Perfect timing, Miss C!  Mommy loves you, too!

It is so funny to me how much of a warm-up I like/need now that I am older!  A lot of time has passed since I was a competitive athlete, and I remember scoffing at long warm-ups.  All of those old timers wanted to warm up for almost an hour!  What the heck?  Shove from the dock, do a couple of drills, a few 10's and shifting 20's, head to the line... good to go :)  That was then...

Last night, my warm-up consisted of one of the 3/4 mile laps very easy, followed by nearly a half a mile of drills, jogging and short sprints.  Then I was ready...

At the starting line...

marked by The Mailbox

My start was good.  No crouching, just started running.  Hit stride quickly, felt really even and on my game.  Nice...  did make the mistake of futzing with my iPod a couple of times.  

note to self:  learn to just go with whatever music that bitch throws your way. losing time over it isn't worth it.

Checking the splits after Lap 1...
unfortunately, not hitting my overly-optimistic goal pace :-/
but still pretty okay at
6:20 for 0.75 mile (8:26/mile)

Big Thumbs Up at the almost-halfway...
exact same split of
6:20 for the lap 
so
12:40 for 1.5 miles (8:26/mile)

The photographer and cheering crew were notably absent as I crossed the lap marker at the end of laps 3 and 4... splits tapered off a smidge... 6:24 and 6:23 (8:32/mile)... but that last 0.103 mile was where I really showed the road who's boss ;-)  46 seconds!  Yeah, baby... 7:40 pace for a whopping 0.1 mile :P  And I was toast when I crossed that line.

A good run.  A very solid effort.  A new "return to running" PR... 

26:12

I knew I was really working when I realized that I was trying to run with my eyes closed.  Not a good idea ever.  In the middle of the street and in the dark... really dumb.  Thankfully, I didn't fall or trip or slam into a parked or moving car or a person (not that that would ever happen in this neighborhood... no one is ever out, remember?  well, except creepy guys in hoopty cars occasionally and the olderwalkingcouple).


Do you like 5K's? 
–I think I do.


Have you ever run with your eyes closed?  What happened?
–yes! nothing... fortunately!