CATS Victory for Victims 5K - Run5k


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Lake Balboa, California
United States
Northridge Hospital Foundation
61F / 16C
Overcast
Total Time = 20m 26s
Overall Rank = 9/601
Age Group = M 55-59
Age Group Rank = 1/16
Pre-race routine:

Last minute decision to register afternoon before race. Wanted to feel 100% healthy...had a touch of sciatica that had cleared up in time to feel okay signing up. Opted not to push things with the 10K.
Event warmup:

Walked from car. Had a small cup of coffee. 1/4 mile around HM pace. One hard 50m before start.
Run
  • 20m 26s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 06m 34s  min/mile
Comments:

Haven't done any speedwork to speak of this year...mostly focused on getting through LA Marathon healthy. Had a really solid 6.5 mile tempo run with my club two nights before the race, so I had a feeling I would at least have a respectable time if I stuck to the 5K, rather than the 10K.

First race with new Garmin Instinct GPS watch...which meant first race of my life with a heart rate monitor. Kind of a meaningless data point for me at this point, but I figured I'd at least keep a peripheral eye on it to see if I got near my (assumed) max HR, which I know is well above 180. (Most of the race I was in the 150s, but did get up to 171 near the end, so I think my effort was appropriate, fwiw.)

Lined up at the front with some younger guys I knew would be faster--I'm usually in the top dozen or so in this race when I do it (wound up 9th). A guy who looked like he might be around my age came up on me around 1km, but he couldn't get by me...ran with me for about a mile, then couldn't hang after that (ended up not far behind me...and turned out to be in the next younger AG).

Pushed pretty hard and thought I just might sneak in under 20:00, but wound up 20:25.7. Only my 8th fastest 5K ever (I've only run 17, according to my race log), but quite possibly my most even splits ever.

What would you do differently?:

Maybe go out slightly harder...my left psoas was threatening to pull, so I was pretty focused on my form the first 1/2 mile as a result.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around a little. Ate 1/2 of a small banana. Did a nice comfortable 1/4 mile cooldown.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of race-specific training (particularly interval sessions) so far this year. That and the fact that I'll be 59 in three weeks...

Event comments:

Well organized charity race in its 17th year. I've done the 5K and the 10K (even the 8K when they had it one year) multiple times.




Last updated: 2019-04-19 12:00 AM
Running
00:20:26 | 03.11 miles | 06m 34s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/16
Overall: 9/601
Performance: Good
1 - 6:41.42; 2 - 6:37.90; 3 - 6:42.27; 0.07 - 0:24.58 (5:51.14). 9th of 226 men overall.
Course: Generally a lollypop around Lake Balboa. Grass at start and finish, otherwise concrete MUP.
Keeping cool Good Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4