National Police Week 5K - Run5k

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.

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.

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.


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.


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.