Oshkosh Marathon 5k - Race Report

I opted to add the Oshkosh Marathon 5k to my race schedule on whim.  I worked the weekend of the race and the start line is just down the street from my work, so it seemed like an easy add to my schedule.  I figured, I had nothing to lose and worst case scenario is I just run nice and easy, opposed to running hard and get an easy workout in.  Plus, the event is put on by Du Tri Run, who offer a race series style competition called the 5 Star Series.  I ran the Oshkosh Half Marathon last year so, I do have some experience with this event.  This year, the race organizers added a full marathon option which brought out even more people and media coverage from area news outlets.  There definitely was a new buzz around this race when comparing to last year's race.

Training for This Race

As I mentioned, this race was added a couple weeks ago, so obviously I was specifically following a training plan with this race in mind.   I had been sticking to my previous mentioned "Run Less, Run Faster," training plan.  My training has been going very well and I have been hitting all my marks in my training and have been staying healthy, which is by far most important.  Since my last race, I have been taking rest days as needed and have also been very flexible with my schedule as my family and/or work obligations dictate.  I have been much more flexible with my training and skipping workouts when I have to much more readily when compared to previous years.  I must admit that I have been stressing a lot less when it comes to my training than previous years and I think it has had a profound effect on my family life, as well as my personal stress levels.

Prerace

I worked Saturday night into Sunday.  Lately, my sleep has been absolute crap and that remained true for both Friday and Saturday.  I was a little nervous of where my energy levels were going to be come race time on Sunday morning.  I ended up getting out of work a half hour early to get to the race site early enough to get my race packet and have enough time to get a proper warm up in before the race.  After getting my race packet, I started my usual warm up routine of a short and easy run, followed with some walking lunges with a twist, some leg swings, and then some skips.  I finish it all up with another shorter run, where I now work in some short strides to just work on some quicker leg turnover.  After a good warm up, I made my way to the start line.  The weather was OK, not great, but definitely not terrible.  The temperatures were in the mid 40's with overcast skies, and a strong wind out of the west.  It was definitely the wind that concerned me with its impact on the race itself - but hey, everyone is going to have to deal with it.

Nutrition Plan

I packed a normal lunch while at work before, but I pushed everything ahead an hour or so from when I normally try to eat.  I then ate a Cranberry Hammer Bar at 5:50am (about an 1:10 before the race).  I also took a couple Hammer Anti-Fatigue Caps at this time.  Around mile 2, I took a single serving of Hammer Energy Surge to help the my final kick.  That was the extent of my "nutrition plan," as I took in no water or calories during the 5k itself.

Gear/Equipment

Nike Zoom Streak LT2
Hammer Swiftwick Socks
Hammer Short Sleeve Running Shirt
Garmin 910xt

Miles 0-3.1

All 3 events (5k, half marathon, marathon) started together at 7am.  So, knowing that there was going to be guys running all 3 events starting near me and starting out at various paces based on their personal race goals.  Keeping this in mind I really wanted to come out at a strong pace and try to stay near the lead, all while running my own race.  After the gun went off, I started at a strong pace, just as I wanted.  I was probably in the top 5 after the first 50 meters or so.  At about this time, a gentleman from behind me, came flying by at a much faster pace.  After the first 400m or so, I was in the top 4 of all runners including this younger guy (I'd guess in the 20-25 range) who was running significantly faster than any other runner.  I tried to ignore it, thinking to myself, there is NO WAY this guy can maintain that pace for the entire race and that I'm sure he'll fade after the first mile and I'll end up passing him soon.  If you're unfamiliar with races, its not uncommon by any means for someone who has no realistic chance of winning the race to come out of the start at a very unrealistic pace, just due to the excitement of the start of a race.  All 3 events ran on the same course for the first 0.75 miles and after the 5k turned off from the other two events, the guy in first place was about 200m in front of me and I was starting to debate whether or not he would slow down.  The way I figured, was if I were to try and catch him, I would, without a doubt, bonk and be unable to sustain that effort for the remaining 2+ miles.  I just told myself, have faith in my fitness and stick to my gut with the thought that he would eventually cave and fade back.  By mile 2, I had significantly closed the gap and was only about 25-50m behind him and the gap was closing at a significant rate.  I pushed a little harder at this point, not only because it was the final mile of the race, but because I knew I was going to pass the leader and put myself in first place.  Shortly after the 2 mile mark, I made my move and was officially leading the race.  Now, my goal shifted from catching the leader, to putting some time between the two of us and expanding the gap now into my favor.  The final 1200m of the race was by far the most difficult, as it was directly into the strong winds that I had mentioned.  But, by far, the most difficult section of the race was the final 400m.  The last quarter mile of the race was run directly into the wind along the banks of the Fox River.  I felt as though you were running in a wind tunnel.  The fact that it was the final few hundred meters of the race and you are running on empty giving it everything you've got surely did not help.  I was able to hold off the guy I passed and actually put some time between the two of us and won the 5k by about 30 seconds with a final time of 18:07.

Post Race

After the race, I simply just stuck around and hung out by myself and waited for the awards ceremony.  To kill some time, I cheered on the remaining 5k finishers as well as watched the top of the half marathon field come through the finish line.  The award for winning the 5k was nothing more than what the top 3 age group winners receive - a cheep stereotypical trophy.  If there is any complaint I have of events put on by Du Tri Run, it would be their less than stellar awards.  I often see my fellow endurance friends from across the country post pictures of some pretty unique trophies and awards, from bottles of wine, to unique hand crafted articles. 

What's on Tap

After returning home I took a look at my Garmin data from the race and saw that, according to my GPS data, the course was a little longer than 3.1 miles or 5,000m.  My watch had a total distance of 3.22 miles.  While hanging around after the race I talked to a few other runners and almost everyone had a distance over 3.1 miles.  Another guy said he had a distance of 3.19 miles.  Now, I totally expect a variance in the total distance and do not expect the distance to be 3.1 miles, but 3.22 miles is a little long by my book.  When I had finished I truly expected a better time, honestly even a PR (current PR of 17:49).  After seeing my time and that the course was a little long, I did a little math and came up with a potential 5k time of 17:33.  The whole reason I bring any of this up, is because it brings me to the reasons for my next scheduled race, the Jailbreak 5k.  This race is only a few days away, Saturday April 25th.  I was debating whether or not to run this event all together, but after putting up a strong race with a poorly represented time, I wanted to try it again at another 5k, one that I have had a lot of success at before.  In fact, this is the event where I set my current PR for the 5k.  So, that is what is on tap for me, another 5k, 6 days after the Oshkosh Marathon 5k.  Now, I just need to focus on recovering physically from this race, to allow myself to enter the Jailbreak 5k as fresh as possible.

Thanks for reading! 
Cheers!