The 5Ks of Summer: 2010 North Shore Half Marathon / 5k
Sunday, June 13, 2010 ~ 7:15am ~ Highland Park, IL
Results: 27:03; 93rd of 520 overall; 7th of 19 in Male 35-39 division
I’ve set a goal to run a 5K every week this summer. Last week, it was the Hope for the Hungry 10K Race / 5K Run/Walk at Old School Forest Preserve in Libertyville, IL. I didn’t have a good experience. It was muggy all morning, and I was still dragged out from the end of the school year and graduation and after-graduation parties the night before. I never quite set my pace and my breathing was wrecked throughout. I finished in 28:34, which was considerably slower than the 27:26 I ran in a 5K over Mother’s Day Weekend.
So I was hoping to do better yesterday. I was well-rested, and made sure to drink plenty of water the few days before the race. I didn’t dig the idea of waking up at 5:30am on a Sunday morning during summer vacation to drive a half hour for a race, but thought it would be a testimony to my determination if I did. So I did.
I knew before the race started that I was “on.” I had a vision Saturday evening that I was going to run hard. I could see myself doing it, all the way down to what I would be wearing during the race. I saw myself halfway through the race, running with a gleeful lack of effort; just breezing along like I was born running. There must be some credibility to the notion of positive visualization and how it can affect an outcome– I’ve commented before in these pages about how I envision myself writing days before I actually write (and many times it goes as far as where I’m sitting and what I’m wearing). My writing experience at those times usually turns out positive.
So I was excited about running as I went to bed Saturday night, and was even more excited about it when the alarm went off Sunday morning. I couldn’t wait to get to the starting line.
The race was huge. And I mean HUGE! There were over 2500 runners combined; 520 in the 5K alone. I felt insignificant among the ebb and flow of runners, which was good for me because I didn’t feel self-conscious about my slow pace. It wouldn’t have mattered how fast I ran anyhow; there were plenty of runners around me at all times (because misery loves company!).
I passed a couple hundred people in the first mile, picked off a few dozen more runners on a quarter-mile uphill stretch, and was still in the thick of a pack of runners. It was that uphill stretch that wrecked my breathing. I couldn’t seem to regain it for another half-mile, and then only in spurts. I tried to pace myself off some runners near me, which helped a little bit, but by the time I reached the third mile, it was a lost cause. I tried to keep going as best I could until the end.
I broke the finish line in unbelievable time. In fact, I’m calling this a sub-27 min. 5K. Things were so crowded at the start line that I can reasonably say I lost 10 seconds of time swerving away from walkers and baby stollers. Regardless, it’s the fastest 5K I’ve run since I was 19 years old. In fact, it’s faster than many of the 5Ks I ran when I was 16. What makes me even happier, though, is that is a complete turnaround from last December when I ran a miserable 5K in Racine (30:51; I was still building back up from the Achilles injury).
So now I’m sore. I don’t mind the pain so much because it reminds me that I really pushed myself.
I’m happy that I can push myself.
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