The Endurance Pig: St. Pat's Day 5k

I had this race on my race schedule since I first became aware of it. This was the first year this race was run in Kimberly, WI, which was convenient as it was literally about a 5 minute drive from my driveway to the start line. When I did decide that I would do this race I had pictured a cool morning, maybe 35* and sunny, not warm by any means, but still not cold - a typical early spring morning you would come to expect in Wisconsin. But nooooo, it had to feel like late January, in the dead of winter. The race was originally scheduled to start at 7:17am, but with cold temperatures in the forecast, it was pushed back a whopping 13 minutes to start at 7:30am to allow the sun to come up and hopefully warm up more. Well, that didn't seem to really make a difference. The temperatures at the start of the race where hovering around 12*. As if that wasn't enough there was also a decent wind from the North which made it feel like it as about 0*! The only positive as far as the weather goes, was the fact that it was bright and sunny.

I had no real clear goals for this race as it was simply a "C" race - or a high intensity training day. I worked a regularly scheduled 10p-6a shift the night before the race and I didn't make any adjustments to my training schedule as I was originally scheduled for a 6 mile run this morning anyway. My outlook on the day was to still try to get in a total of 6 miles through a longer warm up or by adding a cool down after the race, or a combination of the two. I just really wanted to still log about 6 total miles, some how, some way. I also originally had a 10k run test scheduled on day 2 of my cycle, but was unable to complete it due to extremely icy road conditions that day. So, knowing I had this 5k already on the docket, my plan was to use the race to help judge where my current run fitness was at. On top of using the race as a run test, I still have a personal goal of running a sub 18:00 5k. My personal best for a 5k was at the 2012 Jailbreak 5k with a time of 18:07. That goal is always sitting in the back of my head when I toe the start line to any 5k race. Plus after getting my race kit from TheTriShop.com this past February, I was looking for any opportunity to finally wear my sweet new gear in a race to do my part and support my sponsor!

Training Plan

As I already explained above, I viewed this race as a race, but still just another day of training. I made no adjustments to my training plan to incorporate rest in the days leading up to it, nor did I incorporate recovery days for the days after. I have reached a point in my endurance career that a 5k is nothing more than a short tempo run, even at race intensities, and therefore, there is really no need for extra attention for recovery. The day before the race (Saturday, March 16th) I had a short interval swim session followed by a half hour strength session in the weight room. I didn't hold back in either of the two workouts and treated them as any other workout on any other day. As far as the day following the race I have a short "long ride" scheduled of 30 miles, which will probably be done on my indoor trainer due to the lingering cruddy weather in Wisconsin. On Tuesday, I have my weekly long run scheduled in preparation for the Green Bay Marathon. This week's run is up to 18 miles with 10 at goal race pace.

Day/Night Before the Race

Saturday night was my "Friday" at work, meaning the end of my work rotation. So, I had worked 3rd shift for the prior 5 days and Saturday night was my 6th and final night before my weekend. I went to work Saturday night after eating a good dinner at home of vegetable stir fry on top of a bed of quinoa, along with a salad and a banana and peanut butter for dessert. I worked Saturday night from 10p-6a and stayed busy, which was nice. I was happy that I got out on time, which is never a given, especially on a Saturday night, not to mention over St. Patrick's Day. I never register for a race when I plan on working the night before just in case something were to come up near the end of my shift and I end up getting held over, just so I don't end up losing the money. It's no fun paying the extra cash for the inflated "day-of-the-race-fees" but it's a small price to pay to guarantee I don't completely loose the money without even participating. But, like I said, I got out on time and since they pushed the start time back by 15 minutes, I was there plenty early and got myself registered and left myself plenty of time for an ample warm up.

Getting to the Start Line

It was about 6:50 by the time I finished registering, which left my about 40 minutes before the start of the race. I was very happy to have that much extra time, as I had thought I would only have about 15-20 minutes due to the fact that I was coming directly from work to the race. Since I wanted to run a total of 6 miles as part of the 5k race, I decided to take advantage of the extra time and do a much longer warm up than I normally do for a 5k. The weather was freakin' cold. The wind chills had to be below zero since the sun wasn't completely up at this point, so I knew a good warm up would be beneficial. I decided to run the course with my extra time. My thoughts were that I would know what to expect as soon as the gun goes off and it would put my total miles at over 6 after I actually run the race. My warm up consisted of running the first two miles at a comfortable, easy pace, and then begin to incorporate some "pick ups" throughout the last mile. By the end of my warm up my GPS watch had a final distance of 3.25 and I didn't even run through the finish line! With my warm up complete and knowing that the course was longer by at least 0.15 miles I was ready to go all out and put forth my best effort.

Miles 0-3.1

As the race started I went out a little more conservative then usual. I never race a 5k with a heart rate monitor and run simply based on RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion). Over my years of running, I have developed a pretty keen sense of pacing, just as many experienced runners have. Throughout the first mile, I felt different than normal for the first mile in a 5k - it felt easy. I was still within reach of the lead runner and in about 8th or 9th place overall. I feel like I had extra speed in the tank, which is a GREAT feeling after the first mile in a short 3.1 mile race. I debating cranking it up, but figured it was best to just hang with the pack of runners I was with and save any energy for the last mile - if I had any left. Throughout the next mile, I held onto my current pace and my strategy of not loosing or gaining any ground. Just before the 2 mile mark I started to crank up my tempo and began passing some of the runners in front of me. The course was an out and back course, which allowed me to see exactly what place I was in at the 1.5 mark. I knew I was in 9th place at the half way mark. There was a pack of 5-6 guys within reach just ahead of me. For the last mile I really pushed myself and before I knew it there were only 2 guys ahead of me, who were out of reach. I finished as the 3rd runner to cross the finish line unofficially with a time of 19:07.

Link to my Race Information from my Garmin GPS Watch

Post Race

After crossing the finish line, I took a straight beeline to get indoors for warmth. The only thought that was going through my mind at this point was, 19:07?!?! Here I thought I was running at a pace for a "sure thing" PR, and then I finish in a time more than a minute over my goal time? According to my Garmin, the race was a total of 3.28 miles with an average pace of 5:50/mile. Immediately I began attempting to figure out what my theoretical 5k time would be. After realizing that I was not nearly smart enough to convert minutes and seconds into a theoretical finish time for an odd distance such as 3.1 miles, I just gave up and realized that I knew I ran a good race. My mom and dad also participated in the race, so once they came in, we talked about the course. A short while later, the results where posted - I was officially 3rd overall and 1st in my age group! I was so pumped, it was my first overall top 3 finish. My only regret/disappointment is the fact that the "official race time" looks rather pathetic for a top 3 finish. The 3 of us hung out for the awards ceremony as my dad also took home an award for placing 1st in his age group, which was awesome.

Other Notes

I feel as though this race needs to have an asterisk due to the extra 2/10th's of a mile. The fact of the matter is still that everyone had to run the extra distance - so in the end it was a level playing field. Everyone had to run in the same sub zero wind chills, for the entire 3.28 miles. So regardless if the race was 2.9 or 3.28 miles, I still took 3rd overall, and no one can take that away from me. I just wish, when people ask, what was your time, I don't have to explain the longer time. But, like I said, oh well, get over it!

Lessons for Future Events

The biggest thing I took away from this race is incorporating a longer warm up. A typical warm up for a 5k would be a total of about 1 mile running with pick ups and active stretching. This was the first time I ever did a warm up which lasted longer than 10 minutes. Based on how this race went and how fresh I felt right out of the gate, I will definitely incorporate a warm up of at least 15-20 minutes for most, if not all distances.

What's Next

Well, its right back into training. I have two more workouts left in this training cycle - an easy paced bike and my weekly long run. This current training cycle is the last Base phase cycle. After this cycle I transition into my Build phases. The build phase is just that, the volume really begins to build, I begin to incorporate more two-a-day workouts and the weekly training volume builds setting up my final training phase - The Peak phase - or the race season. The next race on my schedule is another indoor triathlon on April 13th. I know I just said I would not do another indoor triathlon just a month ago, but this race is held at my local YMCA where I do all my swimming so I feel a since of obligation to support my Y. Plus, they structure their race much better than the Oshkosh YMCA did. They award points for each discipline based on how you rank in each individual event. At the end of the race they total your points and the most points will determine your final place - not just your final distance covered.

As usual, below are pictures from the day!
Be fast, be strong, and carry on!