Super Sunday 5K

Time: 25:48
Overall: 164 out of 681
Male 40-49 division: #18

I rock!

Hey, if I can’t blow my own horn today, when can I?

Last night I was a mess. Nervous as hell. Couldn’t fall asleep. Weird dreams. Woke up at 5 a.m. Once we got in the car to head into Boston, I felt a little better. Once I was there and warming up, I started to relax. Here’s the race report I wrote up for Daily Mile:

I was shooting for under 27, and vaguely hoping for under 26. So I’m very happy with that.
I lined up near the back of the pack but then a lot more came in after me, so I wound up about 2/3 back. Once we started moving, I passed a whole bunch of people. Continued a positive ratio of passing / being passed throughout the first couple miles.
First mile was 8:18 and I felt good. During mile 2 I noticed I was running sub 8 for a while. Knew this was a bit too fast, so took it a little easier and finished mile 2 in 8:12.

Mile 3 was where it started to hurt. My passing to being passed ratio started to reverse. Part of my brain told me that it would be OK if I wanted to stop and walk for a while. I kicked that part of my brain in the face and told it to shut up. Mile 3 took me 8:42.
With the finish line in site, my watch said 23 something. But there was a big loop I had to go around to get there. I gritted my teeth and attempted a sprint. I did the last 1/10th of a mile at a pace of 8:05.

Everything felt great throughout the run. The thing that got me the worst is that I have slight exercise induced asthma. It can kick in when I run in the cold. It’s actually gotten way better since I’ve been running. Most runs I don’t even notice it. But pushing it this hard really brought it on good. Plus, it was about 20ºF and the race was at Boston Seaport. Nice harbor breeze made it feel a lot colder.

Feel pretty good afterwards. Right calf has a nice knot. They served Legal Seafoods clam chowder and Harpoon Brewery beer. Free beer on Sunday morning? If this isn’t a reason to run, I don’t know what is.

I don’t really have much to add beyond that. I hung around for a while, looking for a couple of other fellow Daily Milers, but it doesn’t look like any of us found any others. Went back home, took a shower and changed and went out to IHOP to celebrate. Then came home and took a nap. Right calf is still tight. It’s the only thing that’s really bothering me though, so I’m cool with that. Then again, DOMS usually sets in 24 hours after exercise.

More pics from the race here.