The Sweatiness of the Long Distance Runner
After spending the weekend in beautiful Chattanooga at the in-law family reunion, the Tenacious McDs sped back to the Boro at breakneck pace so that I could make the start of my first ever race, a little 5K that Frances and #3 could have sailed through without breaking a sweat.
Not so for the Tenacious one. We made it home with just enough time for me to throw on some running shorts and shoes and then hightail it to campus and sign in, with three minutes to spare. Whew. The race was a fundraiser for a Veterans' Memorial with which I am somewhat involved, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to lose my road race virginity. We were pleased with turnout for a first-time run/walk, with 255 registrants. Then there was the weather. The race began at 2PM on a beautiful, sunny, humid, 94 (!) degree day. Unshaded course. Let me just say that this kicked my old, white ass. I've been running slightly longer distances on a regular basis this summer, but at 7AM on a shaded trail when temperatures were about 15-20 degrees lower.
Damn. I'll just say that my athletic respect for the marathon runners on this site, always ample, has now shot through the roof. Me, I'll be recovering for a few days. My time was a not-too-impressive 23:32, or at least that's the time I saw on the clock as I crossed the line. I was hoping for some of that legendary race-day adrenaline burst to boost my time, but oh well, the heat took its bite. My first race, and I'm already making excuses. Must be a Democrat thing.
posted by tenaciousmcd @ 10:35 AM
3 Comments:
23:32 for 5K. You're a speed-demon by my current old-man standards, although in my last 5K race 7 years ago on Labor Day I ran it about 23 minutes too...
Running fast is harder than running long, all else equal. If you don't care about your pace, you can always go farther, given even decent mechanics. But it's hard to go faster, especially as you get older. I haven't run a "fast" race in a couple of years. I did run a 10-miler in sub-8 minute miles this spring, with a colleague from work. I was pacing him, so I probably could have run a bit faster, on my own. How much faster, I don't know.
So sub-24 minutes for a 5K is pretty respectable, especially given the heat.
Given the circumstances, the time certainly wasn't awful. Looking at the final results, to which I have now linked in the post above, I finished 4th in the 31-40 age group and 38th overall with an official time of 23:33, beaten by a total of 8 people my senior. So I placed my age--not bad for my first race.
But based on my solo training runs, where I've been finishing 4 miles in a range between 29 and 30 minutes, I was hoping for a little better. My goal had been to approach 22:00 in the 5K.
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