Polar Bear Run

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Polar Bear Run - Run5 Mile

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Indianapolis, Indiana
United States
Ken Long and Associates

Total Time = 00m
Overall Rank = 192/786
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 6/74

Pre-race routine:

I had to work on Friday night so I didn't get to bed until after 1am. I set the alarm for 6am and tried to get some sleep. It seemed like as soon as I fell asleep the alarm was already clanging to wake me up. I begrudgingly crawled out of bed, gathered my gear, printed directions, and put together some breakfast. I headed out the door to find everything covered in white. Stupid snow. The Interstate was mostly clear but there was enough slush and slower traffic that I started to worry I might not make it in time. Luckily I was able to cruise right into the city and found parking about 2 blocks from the race venue. I found Mom, got my race number, stowed my bag, and headed to the start of the 3 mile race.

Event warmup:

The race organizers changed things up this year. They did both a 3-mile race and a 5-mile race with a 45-min gap between start times. Racers had the option to sign up for the Double and run both races. I opted to give the Double a try with the intention of taking it nice and easy for the 3-miler and pushing it for the 5.

I was running a little behind schedule so I only had time to do a very short warmup before the start of the 3-mile race. I seeded myself in the middle of the pack but when the gun went off I ended up running a fast first mile just to get out of all the traffic. I hit the 1-mile mark at 7:45. I tried to ease up a bit and then settled into a nice pace for the race. I crossed the line at 24:14 giving me an average pace of 8:05. I was 6/57 in my AG and 96/536 OA.

Run

40m 29s
5 miles
08m 06s min/mile

Comments:

I had just enough time before the start of the 5-mile race to wait in a long line for the bathroom. (Seriously. They should just make all the guys pee outside and let the girls use the men's and women's restrooms. We have to carry around a stupid uterus AND we always have to wait in line for a restroom? Unacceptable.)

I tried to seed myself a little better for the 5-mile race but it was still a train wreck at the start. I had to wend and wind my way through slower runners and more than a few times had to just bide my time behind a wall of people. I hit the 1-mile marker at 8:30 - much slower than I wanted to be going. I finally found some clear space during the second mile and tried to pick up the pace a bit. I manged to make up a little bit of time that I lost during the first mile but I never could get the legs churning.

I wanted to use this as a gauge of how my fitness is coming along for Half-Mary training. I was a little disappointed that I wasn't able to go faster in the 5-miler but, in retrospect, I'm happy with the results. I ended up running my goal HM pace in both races. If I can run 8-miles at that pace why not 13.1?

Post race

Warm down:

After the race I found Mom and D and we headed out for pancakes and coffee. And eggs. And potatos. And more coffee. And maybe some bacon. I've decided that I can never give up triathlon because then I would have to give up the luxury of being able to eat a guilt-free plate of pancakes smothered in maple syrup. Yum!

Last updated: 2010-02-14 12:00 AM