Pioneer Spring Run Off Race Report

Despite the lack of speed work and running in general, I am proud to report that I felt like I had a decent 5k race at the Pioneer Spring Run Off!  It's funny that I have only run one other 5k race, and the first was with Jennifer at her pace.  That was several years ago, and here's a picture of what we looked like then...

This was my first 5k by myself, so I wasn't sure exactly how hard to go out or conserve.  I figured that it was only 3.1 miles, so it would be retarded to "save" something.  But, before I go into details about the race, I have to give mad props to by buddy, Jonathan DeWeber!  This guy has been fully transformed in the last few months.  He has last 60 pounds!  Not only that, but he's picked up running and is a lean, mean, running machine!  Good grief!  The crazy thing is that you wouldn't see it unless you trained with him, but he has this fierce competitiveness inside that he has a hard time holding back.  He actually trained for this race and put the effort in, and it paid off for sure.  We did several runs together, and here's how the race played out for us.

Our goal was to run sub-23 minutes for the 5k, so we decided to go out quick and then see how we felt.  We lined up somewhere closer to the front, because we figured we would be some of the faster runners.  The race started, and we easily got caught in the fray of people going out way too fast.

We were running somewhere in the 6:20's for at least the first half mile or so.  I could see Jon's competitive spirit really working on him as he would surge every time someone would pass us.  I kept giving updates on our pace until we settled into where we wanted to be, in the 7:20 range.  The course was a pretty flat course that was two loops around campus.

Lovely heel-striking, eh?

Both of us were feeling pretty good after the first loop, and we were holding our pace very well.  Our plan was to throw in a little kick at the last quarter mile, and if one of us was feeling better to just go for it.  Well, when the kick came, Jon had more!!  So, with a "Keep it up, man," he took off.  I watched him finish and then followed 26 seconds later.

The course ended up being 3.23 miles, so my time was 23:32 averaging 7:17's.  That means that for an ACTUAL 5k, my time would have been 22:34!  That made me pretty happy!  Seriously, I would like to go sub-20 at some point this year.  That will require some actual speed training, but I think it is possible.

After sticking around to see another friend, Joshua Bennett, finish strong, Jenn and I went home.

Joshua finishing strong!  What a stud.

Probably 30 minutes later, I got a text from Jon saying, "You got 3rd place!"  What?  That's crazy!  I said, "That means you got second!  Grab my medal for me!"  He came over a few minutes later and we were stoked to be age-group winners.

Here's how that worked.  Normally, the 25-29 age group is full of speed demons, but not at a university where you're getting your masters and the majority are undergrads!  Hah!  It pays to pick your races carefully.  So, we both scored medals and had a blast doing it.

A special thanks to Jennifer for braving the cold just to be such an awesome support and photographer.  You're the best, Babe!