National Police Week 5K - Run5k


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Washington, Washington, D.C.
United States
Concerns of Police Survivors
61F / 16C
Sunny
Total Time = 19m 25s
Overall Rank = 19/1701
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Nutritionally, I couldn't have had a worse day on Friday. I knew I had a race the next morning but food and willpower have always been my Achilles heel. Anyhow, I'm pretty sure that gorging yourself on the best Pakistani food outside of Islamabad and then having 2 pieces of cake and a couple cookies at a going away party is not in anyone's "proper race preparation" book. It was yummy though!

Got a decent night's sleep... not great, but not bad either. Woke up a bit earlier than I would have liked, I'm sure I would've felt better with an extra half hour or so of sleep, but I did get more than I do most nights so I guess I ended up making out in the deal.

Had my usual bowl of cereal and cup of joe to start the day and then headed out to the race about 0730.
Event warmup:

I parked at my office; which is about a mile or so from the start so I had a nice 20 minute walk to the race site, then I checked in my gear, ate a power gel, and headed out for a 10 minute warm up jog. Got to start line and corraled up and did some light stretching and then I was good to go.
Run
  • 19m 25s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 06m 14s  min/mile
Comments:

I had a surprisingly good run. I really have only been concentrating on the bike over the winter so I've mostly done maintenance runs up to this point in my training. I had a few random interval sessions here and there, but nothing that I'd consider run training, let alone 5K race training. I went into the race thinking I'd be happy with anything under 21 minutes and figuring that a 20:30ish race is what I would do.

I felt pretty good from the gun, I think I had timed my warm up just right. By the time I got to the line the gun went off about 90 seconds later and I was still pretty well warmed up and my HR was still hanging at about 140 when the gun went off, so that was pretty good. The start is downhill for about the first 3/10 of a mile so this helped me to get out well and I did a good job of not blowing up my quads by chasing after the guys who totally went all out down the hill. Once we leveled off I hit a pretty nice stride and was figuring out the folks in front of me. As things started spreading out I found a couple guys that were running well and at a good pace for me, so I tucked in with them and tried to draft as much as I could.

By the end of the first mile I still felt good and my "pace group" was still running well and maintaining an even 6:15ish pace. My HR was in the low 180s so I knew that I could be running a tick faster, but figured that drafting and conserving some energy may be the better strategy. So I stayed with these two guys for through the next mile.

About 2/10 of a mile from the 2 mile point, the race course took the first of its 2 pretty successive 180 degree turns. At this point I got a good look at my placing and counted 19 people in front of me. At this point I knew that only one of us in my group of 3 would go top 20, barring any breakdowns or super speedy kicks from behind. It was at that point that I decided that I needed to break from the group and put a little distance between us to make sure that I got the top 20 spot. I waited until after the 2nd of the 180 turns which came at just past the 2 mile mark.

Once I rounded that 2nd 180 turn I broke around my two running partners and goosed up the pace a bit. I knew that the uphill part would be coming so I didn't want to blow up too much by kicking a bit early. I put in enough effort for about 3/4 of a mile while it was still flat, to bridge the gap to the next runner. I picked him up at the bottom of the hill and was able to pass him by the top. At this point it was about another 2/10 of mile to the finish and I just prayed I had enough to hang on.

Once I hit the top of the hill the course leveled out, but there are 3 90 degree turns before the finish so it was a bit technical. I simply ran as hard as I could on the straights and took the corners as close as I could. I held on for the most part and finished solid, without anyone passing me before the line.
What would you do differently?:

Really not too much race-wise I think that I executed pretty well and didn't make any mistakes. I may have been able to push just a bit harder from the .5 to 2 mile mark, but that may have cost me some go juice at the end.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around for a bit, got some water and then circled back to the finish to cheer folks on, and look for people I know.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Only thing I can think of is if I ate decent food the day before, and got that extra half hour or so of sleep... but I certainly wouldn't say that "limited" my ability.

Event comments:

Great race for a great cause, and I'm proud to run it every year. I don't do many 5Ks but I make sure I do this one each year.




Last updated: 2012-02-13 12:00 AM
Running
00:19:25 | 03.11 miles | 06m 14s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 19/1701
Performance: Good
It was a 5K... so I pretty much pegged the HR from the gun and it stated there! 184 average and 190 peak. Mile 1 - 5:54 Mile 2 - 6:18 Mile 3 - 6:12 Mile 3.1 - 1:01 (.148 miles on my GPS)
Course: Mostly flat loop with a decent decline at the start and then the same hill as an incline at the end. Course wound around DC, starting at the Police Memorial, down 3rd st by the Capitol, around the Indian Museum, out Penn ave to the FBI building and then back to the Police Memorial.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4