Monday, April 12, 2010

Race for the Roses 5K 2010 Results

So I ran this 5K last Sunday.

There was some trouble with TriMet - MAX trains were backed up and blocked by the race route. It made me get off my train and walk across the Steel Bridge; it cost my friend Shawn some stress since he was on a train with closed doors within line of sight of the convention center.

But that was just a minor hiccup, and soon my friend and I stood at the starting line, waiting for the race to begin. The weather was perfect: around 50° F, a little wind, but no rain and plenty of sun to cheer up the competitors.

I told Shawn (though I'm not sure if he heard me) that if we got separated during the race, that I'd wait for him at the finish line on the right hand side. I wanted to push myself, to see how close I could come to my personal best today.

I started strong, and for at least the first mile and a bit more, when I turned to look, Shawn, who was running his second race ever, and his second 3 mile run ever, was right there next to me or a few steps behind. I thought he did very well!

I did not take a walk break until just past the 2 mile mark, feeling a small bit of shame for having to do it. I walked a few more times on the final mile-plus; but looking at my Runkeeper stats, even with the walk breaks, I was still faster than 10 minutes per mile! And my first two miles were a tick or two better than 9 minutes per mile. To put this in perspective, today's time is my 6th best 5K time since I've started running races in 2004.

I'm pretty much a 9 minute miler for the 5K. I'd like to be an 8 minute miler, but I suspect that time and my weight are working against me. I can't de-age, but I can lose weight. I can also work on my upper body strength, which more than one person have told me will help my breathing and endurance.
• 5:39 AM

Comments:
You did awesome Brian! There should be no shame at all. At first I felt like I let myself down also because I had to walk a couple of times in this race, but I know that if I pushed myself to keep running then I wasn't listening to my body say OUCH (very loudly!). I just know I will need to make sure to run some extra before my next race (yes, I will do another one, just not sure the one in May, we have a server deployment that Sunday that I have to be here for).
# posted by Blogger shawn :: 4/12/2010 2:31 PM
 
I think you did very well, and that you've basically found your race pace; you finished both the Shamrock Run and the Race for the Roses in nearly identical times. Of course, for one race you kept a steady pace throughout the course, and for the other you kept up with my faster pace at first and had to rest a bit on the back half; if you just keep the steady pace you'll feel more comfortable, I think.

And thanks for the kudos. I'm pleased with my time; but there's always the negative voice in the back of my mind.
# posted by Blogger Brian Moon :: 4/12/2010 3:12 PM
 
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