I had been dealing with a bit of a knee issue caused by an over stretched hamstring from yoga so I wasn't 100% sure about running. But running flat and uphill didn't bother it so this flat, and fast 5k course was perfect. So after an awfully early wake up (it was daylight savings time) my coworker and friend Sarah picked me up. The day was beautiful except brutally cold. Sarah and I got there, got registered, and headed out for a quick
20 minute warm up and check a bit of the course out. I'm glad I did because the finishing area can be a bit tricky. (Photo, half of sarah and myself getting ready to race). So as we stood on the line, I didn't really know what to expect which was probably for the best. The horn went off and we blasted off. I felt pretty good for the first 300m but i realized I needed to push harder. The one thing I have learned about 5k's is their supposed to hurt, badly, and for the majority of the race. I started in the third row of athletes and but I think this definitely helped. Mentally, i find it difficult to gain a lot of momentum when i'm constantly being passed by people. When i'm passing people I find I can push harder and pick people off. Today was one of those picking days. After the first km (which was a 3:07 split). I decided to surge up and start going after people and not stop until the finish. from 1k to 2k the split was 3:17. A lot slower than I would have hoped for but I was feeling good and gaining tons of ground. I missed the 3k marker but 2k to 4k was 6:39. Enroute to the turn around I got a glimpse of the leaders (Simon Witfield and Scott Simpson were leading). After turning around I just began to cruise my way, maintaining pace and keeping relaxed. I was really starting to feel the effects of the shorter distance but I was loving every second of it. It was weird for me because after the Pioneer 8k I hated shorter races. But after training with Coach Noa for a little over 4 months now, the improvements I have seen are incredible. Back to the racing. As We took the turn to the finish I started my final push towards the finish. I was hurting but managed to fend off those behind me who were trying to gain ground and went about Sean Chester. Trying to beat Sean was an all out kick battle for me. We ended up finishing with the same time. 16 minutes 19 seconds. Last km was 3:14 for me. I felt like barfing after the race but it was a good type of "feel like i wanna puke." I have to say that training with Noa is the reason I have seen these types of improvements. To give you an idea about what i mean. I felt this good and feel like I ran this well on a 80km week, with a 25km run the day before and a 15x1km repeat workout on the track the thursday before. Also this is officially about a minute personal best for me on a certified 5k course (I ran 16 minutes falt at the Peachland Canada day 5k in '07 but its not "accurate", even though the race director assured me it was).Alright back to reality for the week. Training and Schoolade. I have a bunch of papers and stuff to do this week but i'm thankful that in less than a month, i will be free of all this. I would like to give a shout out to Tony Austin for letting me steal these photos for my blog. Tony, you take awesome photos!! Elk/Beaver is coming soon....
The Agony
